Sales Training Lesson - How Behaviors Will Always Triumph Over Sales Skills

Check out most sales processes and they usually focus on the potential customers (a.k.a. prospects) and the sales skills of the sales professionals. Yet, sales research continue to reveal that the actions from the behaviors are the major obstacles in achieving sales targets. 

For example, follow up is a sales skill.  Yet, business research suggests that almost 50% of all leads are not followed up.  So it is the skill that is lacking or the application of the skill?

Years ago, my coach David Herdlinger created the KASH Box and since then with his permission I have expanded it into the KASH Box for Sustainable Change. The essence of this model is that Knowledge and Skills are not the obstacle for performance improvement be it in sales, leadership, customer service or management.  Attitudes and Habits are the real culprits preventing people, teams and organizations moving forward.

Too often we confuse learning with performance.  Learning is the acquisition of knowledge while performance is the application of knowledge.

With this understanding of the difference between learning and performance, I realized that sales training departments in organizations were asking the wrong question. Instead of asking do they (the sales people) know it, they should be asking do they (sales professionals) want to do it?

When we begin to look at the Attitudes and Habits, we are looking at the demonstrated behaviors. Most sales professionals know that they need to follow up, they know that very few sales are made on the first contact, they know that they need to listen more than talk.  However, given that sales research suggests anywhere between 50% to 80% of all sales targets are not achieved, then this data confirms that the issue is not sales skills, but rather behaviors.

When the focus is on the technical sales skills be them negotiating, fact finding, asking open ended questions, there is probably little to no emphasis on the behaviors.  Sometimes it seems that there is an apparent assumption that somehow the skill will immediately become a learned behavior. 

Sales training to be effective must look at both developing Knowledge and Skills while providing opportunities to apply (practice) these sales skills and then allow for feedback and additional practice. Many sales training programs be them 5 days to 1 day are like drinking from the fire hydrant. A lot of information given very quickly with little time to digest, practice and very rarely opportunities for feedback.

Sales Training Coaching Tip:  If you want your sales training to stick, the look at your curriculum and make sure you have both Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills and Habits.  You will discover not only a lot less redos, but a lot more positive return on your sales training dollars.

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Chicago Sales Coach Leanne Hoagland Smith helps to achieve Sales Goals because the real issue is not "Do they (you) know it (Sales Training), but "Do they (you) want to do it?

Receive a special offer for Leanne's sales coaching book on how to be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits.

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