Choosing a Sales Training Program - Finding the Right Training Program For Your Sales Trainees

In the competitive marketplace that we live in today, differentiation many times comes simply from the quality of salespeople on the street. How effectively they present themselves, build value, drive the sales process and meet and exceed their customer expectations can be the difference between getting a sale and failing. Training should be a vital part of your Sales Management philosophy. However, I find that there are misconceptions about what sales training can and cannot do. Many Sales Managers believe that sales training is the answer to their problems - train my salespeople and they should sell better. I understand that logic considering the investment many make in these programs - facilities, trainers, materials, lost sales opportunities while salespeople are in the program, travel expenses, etc. These costs can surely add up. The expectation that there will be an immediate ROI can leave some weary of making such an investment.

Here are several ideas to keep in mind as you consider investing in a sales training program.

Personalization - Generic training is not as effective as personalized training. The salesperson must understand how they perceive and engage the consultative sales process. Their "uniqueness" as a salesperson must be infused into the sales training in order to make it real to them. If your salespeople have to make a mental leap in attempting to connect with the material, then there's a good chance they won't learn it or apply it at all. That's too costly for you as a Sales Manager and your company. Find out if the program provides in-depth, personalized assessment tools that provide personal feedback about the salesperson inside of the sales process. Also, find out if they can customize the course material to your specific industry, company, language and culture. This will connect the salesperson to the training material and help them understand their strengths and areas of development much better.

Reinforcement - If the training is not reinforced, the learning is lost. Be sure the program you select has sufficient tools and resources to keep the content of the sales process in front of your salespeople consistently over a long period of time. The training concepts must be transferred from the salespersons short-term memory into their long-term memory. The internet, along with a variety of digital learning tools, makes reinforcement much easier today. Check out the reinforcement tools built into the program - if they're lacking, or flat out don't exist, move on.

Coach Salespeople After the Training - After the training program ends, the real work begins. As a Sales Manager, you're also a "coach". Part of your responsibility is phone or field observation. Are your salespeople applying the knowledge learned during the sales training program? Are they using it correctly? What do they do well? What do they need to improve? What action steps will you take to help them? Keep in mind that a good training program will not attempt to turn you, the Sales Manger, into a sales trainer. That's not really your job. However, you should make it a part of your weekly objectives to observe and "course correct" each of your salespeople in alignment with your new sales methodology.

Hold Salespeople Accountable for the Training - Finally, a good sales training program should offer you the tools for accountability. What if your salespeople don't learn the material? What happens if they don't apply it? How should you respond? Likewise, what rewards should your salespeople expect for going through a training curriculum that requires more time and energy from them? Testing and measurement are excellent ways to determine if what was taught was retained. Observation enables you to actually see their learning in action. In either case, formal accountability plays a vital part in your Sales Manager role.

There are many other factors to consider when assessing a sales training company to train your salespeople. Consider the costs and the realistic expectations you have associated with the training. Determine what will work best for you and make the investment. Remember, regular sales training and daily sales coaching should be part of your competitive strategy to help your company grow. I hope these ideas help you make that happen.

Barrett Riddleberger is an internationally recognized leader in the fields of sales assessments, customized sales training, sales recruitment and sales consulting. He also is founder of Resolution Systems Inc., a strategic sales consulting firm. His book, "Blueprint of a Sales Champion," details how organizations can find, train and retain top performing salespeople... even in a highly competitive market. An accomplished author and sales consultant, Riddleberger is also highly in demand as a business development and motivational speaker for organizations seeking to drive their sales force to greater levels of performance. For more info visit ResolutionSystemsInc.com or call 866.350.4457.

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Finding The Right Sales Person

Thanks - I'm Just Looking!

One of the hardest parts about making an investment in a new piece of digital gear

is finding the right Sales Person! The Sales Person will most likely have a very

significant effect on what you purchase. In many cases you may even walk into a

store with a very specific product in mind, but walk out with an entirely deferent

item because of the Sales Persons input. The question is did he help you or him?

Two types of Sales People.

Commission and Non-Commission. Is one better than the other?

This is more of a personal preference and depends on what kind of a sales

experience you are comfortable with.

Commission Sales People may come across as being a bit

more aggressive but are also more motivated in making sure all of your questions

are answered so you can make a buying decision. Commission Sales People make

more money when they sell more, to sell more they need to know more. This can

benefit you the customer. This type of sales force is usually well staffed so getting

help is usually very easy. Commission Sales People will try to avoid the Tire

Kicker, if they sense a lot of questions followed by a "I'll think about

it" then you more than likely lose their attention while they scope out the

next buying customer.

Non-Commission Sales People tend to be more laid back

but in some cases can be less informative. This is because Non-Commission Sales

People usually have other tasks to do like stocking shelves, cleaning, ordering etc.

you may not be their number one priority that day. Non-Commission Sales People

are usually hired based on their product knowledge and less for their sales skills,

they can be very informative and are more willing to help you with something even if

a sale seems unlikely to them. This type of sales force also seems to be

understaffed meaning you may have to wait for assistance.

So what is going on in a Retail Sales Reps mind?

One tool that is common to both Commission and Non-Commission

Sales People is what is called the "Spiff". The

"Spiff" is an incentive that can either originate from the

company that makes the product or even the retail store itself. It can sometimes be

cash or a prize for the most sales of a specific product. Not all products have the

same amount of commission to the Sales Person, two similarly priced products can

have different profit amounts, more profit means more commission to the Sales

Person.

How does this affect you the buying Customer?

You need to establish a good relationship with your Sales Person,

this way they will be more likely to sell you what is best for you, not them. A good

Sales Person knows that a happy customer will come back time and again and will

be willing to make a bit less on one sale in return for another sale down the

road.

What makes a good Sales Person?

A good Sales Person will ask a lot of question so they can
determine what is best for you.

A good Sales Person will be knowledgeable and if they don't
have the answer can get you the answer.

A good Sales Person will give you good follow-up support to make sure you
are happy with your purchase and get the most out of it.

A good Sales Person will be open minded to a variety of
products, not every product fits every person.

A good Sales Person can adapt to different personality types to
make the customer more comfortable.

What makes a good Customer?

Are you the kind of customer that will ask a thousand questions
and then go and buy the exact same product from another store or Sales Person just
because you got it for $5 less? Do you really think the original Sales Person will give
you the follow up support on a product you bought from someone else? No way!
Every store price-matches these days so buy from the Sales Person who was the
most informative.

Be nice to the Sales Person, it's not an easy job and can be very
draining especially when customers treat them like disposable product brochures.

If you are not ready to buy a product be honest with the Sales
Person and give them your time frame, more then likely they will spend the time you
need to get a good start on figuring out what product is right for you.

What about the extended warrantee?

This seems to always come up at the end of a sale and can be a bit

uncomfortable. It is true that Sales People make a part of their income from

extended warrantees but do I really need one? It's all about peace of mind, is the

price worth it? It only takes one repair and your warrantee can pay for its self. On

the other hand, are you the kind of person who will be re-buying an newer updated

version a year later, you may not get back your investment value for the remainder

of the unused warrantee on resale.

The bottom line.

You need to be comfortable with a Sales Person, personality types

are important. If possible make all of your purchase through the same Sales Person;

this will improve your sales experience. Your Sales Person should give you excellent

pre-sale and follow-up information. Remember a good Sales Person usually has a

lot of customers and can be very busy so be prepared to wait a bit for their

assistance, it will be worth it.

Michael Kaye - founder of [http://www.DigitizeMe.info]

Do you have difficulty when people talk about computers? Does it feel like they are speaking another language? We are here to help with the language used in computers, digital gadgets, email and the Web.

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Finding A Sales Force That Pays For Itself

The elements involved in building a sales force, especially one that pays for itself and also adds value to any business, are many and varied. The whole purpose and direction of a sales manager needs to be directed to creating a sales force that causes the employing company to expand through increasing sales.

This is done by the following general steps: Training sales staff to be able to sell the company product in large volume; correcting how sales presentations are made; handling any customer flaps his sales people make; and then testing and hiring more sales people, to create an ever increasing sales force. This is a continual process that a sales manager must be doing to justify his existence. If he doesn't, the company cannot expand.

Training to make a good sales person

"Training them to be able to sell the company product in large volume." A very wise American philosopher once stated that all a salesman had to do was to continue to try to interest the customer and the customer would eventually buy, if the sales man continued to try to interest the customer! Like all great truths, they are 'obvious' once stated.

So, what does it take for a sales person to continue to try to interest a customer, no matter what objection the customer raises and despite the sales person's own impulse to 'give up' after a while? Lets look at the elements:

The sales patter: The first of these would be a successful sales patter. Here we are talking about getting a hold of someone or several people who are successful, at selling to customers, in the target industry, or a similar industry. Once such person(s) are found, you need to interview them to find out what they DO that made them a success. We are looking for the actions they take and the things they do, not what they think.

The best person to interview for this information is usually the most successful sales person, right there in the company, if one exists. Notes should be carefully made of the actions they take to get a sale and these notes should be very exactly written up and turned into a patter that can later be drilled on new and old members of the sales force.

Advertising and preparation: Next, a series of sale recruitment advertisements need to be created for the local newspaper. The receptionist of the company needs to be briefed on what to do when calls come in. The adverts need to be big enough to attract attention and have enough mystery in them so that people actually call in to find out what its all about.

The receptionist should understand that all she is doing with calls from the advertisements is routing them to the person doing this project. She does not answer questions about what the company is and what is being offered. She simply arranges for them to come in for an interview at a scheduled time or collects their phone numbers so that they can be called back and scheduled to come in, by someone else.

The interview: When applicants for the sales position come in, their interview is very specific and to the point. There are certain very specific criteria that are being looked for in a good sales person. The two main one are, (a) can they persist along a given course? (b) Are they are interested in people?

That is an easy statement to make, to be sure. However, to find such people requires very exact interview procedures. The first step is testing. We use a series of 3 tests. One of these provide a detailed look into the 10 most important job related traits such as Stability, Goal attainment, Composure, Certainty, Activity level, Aggressiveness, Responsibility level, Correct estimation, Appreciativeness and Communication level.

The other 2 tests measure an applicant's ability to solve problems and how well they are able to following instructions - a vital test for anyone operating machinery where understanding and following instructions are very important!

With the results of the 3 tests, one only needs to ask the applicant questions regarding his past job failures, past job successes and when they first decided that they wanted to be in sales. These answers, compared to the results of the 3 tests tell the whole story and can really make it very easy to select applicants most likely to succeed as sales people.

How the compensation is done: For this project to be successful and actually pay for itself, the sales applicant needs to be hired under very specific financial conditions. They need to be hired on a draw + commission. This means that they get a low amount of money weekly for a certain period of time and if they do well, they should be producing enough sales to repay their draw and start making money quickly, for themselves as well as the company. How this is worked out is key to the success of the project. If this is not worked out correctly, sales people will either not start, not produce and stay too long and drain the company or quit before their training is effectively completed.

The mastery of the conversation: A successful sales person requires one skill above all others. This is the ability to guide and control a conversation. If he or she can guide and control a conversation, it is then possible to continue to try to interest the customer and be successful at it.

For a salesperson to do this one action well, an in-depth 3-day training on the basics of conversation and how to guide and control a conversation, is vital. Communication between people (conversation) have very certain and definite laws, which if followed, puts a sales person in total control of a conversation without making the other person feel like they are being controlled!

Drilling the sales patter: After the sales applicants have successfully mastered the art of controlling a conversation, they now need to be drilled on the successful sales patter. If a full day is devoted to drilling them on this and they are drilled to a point where they easily and smoothly deliver their patter, without referring to notes or becoming tongue-tied or embarrassed, then and only then, will they be ready for the next step.

Get them out selling: After the above steps are completed and your sales people are ready to 'hit the streets', they should be divided up into groups of 3 to 5 people with one of them being the sales manager of the group. They are then sent out to find customers and deliver their pitches (sales patter).

This should be done in such a way that there is not great pressure on the sales people for the first few days. Tell them to go out and practice on any customer they find. The objective is to get them comfortable delivering their patter.

They are given realistic targets to achieve and when they flub and do not get results, they are corrected and sent back out by the person that is overall in charge of this project.

Failures: Not all will make it through this line-up. Correct them as much as possible and if they cannot make it, turn them loose and concentrate on the others that are making it. As the sales manager you also need to work on starting new groups through the process. Continue these steps until you have all the sales people you need to really boost the company sales.

Personnel: The number of sales force trainers required to train the company sales manager on this procedure and help him build his sales force is only 2 people. They will need to work in the company for 30 days. One of these would be the person overall in charge of the project. He or she creates the sales advertisements, get the people in, does the tests on them, interviews them and decide which ones to hire. This person also does the corrections. The assistant does the conversation-control training; the successful sales patter drilling and help the lead trainer with the corrections of the sales teams.

Summary: An effective sale teams can be built that pays its own way, enhances the company sales and increases the value of any business. The key to it all is having a hiring method and training program for the sales people that follows the exact laws involved in guiding and controlling a conversation.

About The Author

Willard Michlin is an Investor, Business Broker, California Real Estate Broker, Accountant, Financial Distress Consultant, Well known Public speaker and Administrative/Business Consultant. He can be contacted at his Ventura, California office by calling 805-529-9854 or by e-mail at kismetrei@earthlink.net. See other articles by Willard at [http://www.kismetgroup.com]; kismetrei@earthlink.net

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