Design A Successful Training Program: Sales Training Tips From The Trenches

POST AN ARTICLE

Featured Sales Blogs

In Partnership Wth:

DiversityJobs.com

JustJobs.com

MAIN MENU

Design A Successful Training Program: Sales Training Tips From The Trenches

Written by John Boe

More Gravy
Perfect Practice Makes Perfect Performance: Role Playing in Sales

One of the biggest challenges for most organizations is helping salespeople execute in the field what they've learned in theory in the classroom. It is easier to execute a sales technique in class when there isn't anything riding on the outcome. It’s in the field, when the lights are the brightest and the pressure is on, that sales capabilities must be demonstrated.

How important is it to you and your organization to actually use the sales skills and techniques learned in the classroom out in the field? That’s a critical issue for most.

In the classroom and, more importantly on a sales call, there are five critical sales capabilities that successful salespeople master:

Ask the right question, the right way, at the right time. Asking questions is the key to great selling but only if the questions are the right ones and they are asked in a way to build trust and help the prospect to further disclose details around their ‘severe mental anguish’.

Listen to the answer, closely. Salespeople must really listen. Most of the time the problem a prospect identifies isn’t the real problem. Salespeople must uncover the real problem by listening intently and asking probing questions.

Dig deeper. Salespeople have to master questions and statements like: “Tell me more about that.” and “Why is that so important to you?” They must be comfortable asking questions such as “Is that problem compelling enough to take action on?”

Reject rejection. Salespeople need to understand that selling isn’t personal. So if they don't move forward with this opportunity, they must still keep moving forward with their sales activity and other opportunities.

Be prepared. Preparation will allow salespeople to utilize their sales capabilities when they need them the most, if they are under pressure or when there is a surprise.

How do you ensure that what was learned in the classroom will be executed on the sales call? The key is to role play, frequently, relentlessly and thoroughly. When role playing, have salespeople sell products that they don’t currently sell. This will ensure that they stay focused on asking questions of the client to understand their issues. It will prevent them from downloading technical knowledge about their products. Role playing in this manner will help salespeople get better at asking the right questions at the right time in the right way because they will stay focused on the client and not on themselves.

In role play, make it as tough as it is going to be in real life. Role play before phone calls, before initial meetings, before meeting with committees and boards, before presenting and before closing. In other words, practice every sales situation possible.

Do you remember the old saying that practice makes perfect? To expand on that, perfect practice makes perfect performance. Now go role play that next call.

Recruiting And Training Equals Award Winning Sales

If recruiting is considered the lifeblood of an organization, then training must certainly be its pulse. Experienced salespeople are often reluctant to take time away from their busy schedule for training and as a result, over time, become less productive. It is only natural to expect commission-based salespeople to resist any activity that takes them away from their customers. Award winning sales managers place a high premium on training and purposefully design their training programs to be timely, relevant, realistic, and reoccurring.

There is absolutely no substitute for a well-trained and highly motivated sales force! In his best selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen Covey makes a strong case for the fundamental importance of training, or as he calls it, "sharpening the saw." In addition to skill development, Dr. Covey points out that time allocated for training also provides an opportunity for much needed personal reflection and renewal. Progress and growth are virtually impossible in an environment void of assessment and training.

Timing Is Everything

It is important to operate from a written training program and schedule training well in advance. Due to the damaging ripple affect on appointment calendars, training must be scheduled at least 30-days in advance and short notice changes should be avoided. Planning ahead not only helps minimize scheduling conflicts, but it also provides opportunity for training preparation and promotion. Attendees are typically more receptive and inclined to participate when they have been given sufficient time to plan and prepare for the training.

A Self-Administered Skills Assessment Survey

For training to be perceived as relevant and beneficial by the sales force, they must be given the opportunity to contribute to topic selection. An excellent way to elicit input and establish training priorities is through the use of a self-administered, skills assessment survey. A well-designed survey will evaluate skill expertise over a wide array of categories such as administrative tasks, product knowledge, and sales proficiency.

For example, it is quite common for a low producer to rate themselves high in product knowledge and low in sales related categories. The skills assessment survey not only provides a good benchmark of an organization's current overall training level, but it also serves to identify potential peer trainers as well. With the appropriate person, peer training can be extremely effective and therefore should be encouraged.

As they say in the military, train like you plan to fight! Obviously, the more realistic and thought provoking the training, the greater its impact. Build value into your training sessions by finding ways to inject realism.

For example, if you are role-playing phone scripts, it's preferable to separate the participants and conduct the training over the phone vs. across the table. Due to the lack of visual cues, this approach closely mimics the real experience. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then videotaping a role-play session speaks volumes. Videotaped training sessions don't lie and therefore, provide an excellent opportunity for self-critique. A videotape provides meticulous feedback on body language and sales techniques that otherwise may go unnoticed.

Designing a successful training program is limited only by your creativity. With a little effort and imagination, you can develop a world-class training program that will excite your sales team and keep them coming back for more!

For additional help, click here.

John Boe
		About the author:
		John Boe is an entertaining speaker with a powerful message and a passion to help salespeople reach their full potential. He has devoted the last two-decades to training and motivating high-performance, successful salespeople. His knowledge has been synthesized into one of the most powerful sales training programs ever created on the subject of peak-performance selling and personal achievement! .