Sales Training – Making it Stick!

Communication is often touted as the most important aspect of sales training, but the most important thing about sales training is whether or not it brings about results. Why is it that when you simply repeat your requests in memo after memo or yell what you need changed, the change in sales training that you are hoping for doesn’t come about? Because what is going to happen if they don’t implement the new training procedure? Another memo? Another yelling session? For most, this is not enough motivation to make a change, especially a change that they are not inspired to absorb.

A child does not stop repeating bad behaviors and adopt new ones because her mother is disappointed in her. She stops because she quickly learns that there are repercussions for her actions. In sales training, an effective tool that is often downplayed is the idea of consequences. You can effectively communicate the sales training techniques, share this effectively communicated sales training softly or loudly, repeatedly in memos and meetings and trainings, but still not have the desired outcome.

The problem comes in when you don’t follow through. For example, you have spent a great deal of time encouraging them to learn the sales training techniques that you’ve designed because, ultimately, it will make their jobs easier and more fluid. However, learning these new techniques may be more difficult or time consuming than they may have thought and, for them, their job is not made easier with this new responsibility. You may have communicated quite efficiently to your employees that you would suspend anyone who wasn’t implementing the new sales techniques by a certain date, but that date came and passed without suspensions despite the fact that many were still using the old ways. This may be due to an overwhelming work load or an inability to do the actually suspending, but whatever the reason, your lack of follow through communicates to your employees that you probably won’t follow through with these new sales training techniques either, so why bother?

Along with working out how you will communicate your new sales training, decide what consequences, or incentives, you will put into place. When an employee successfully learns and implements the new training, there should be a benefit or reward. When an employee does not learn the new training or does not put it to use, then, too, should there be a consequence.

These consequences should be very personal to your employee they should not be benefits or drawbacks for the company. For example, the benefit should be a monetary bonus for the individual employee instead of the airy concept that profits will soar for the company and that this will trickle down into raises for everyone. The drawback should be a suspension for the individual employee or a cut in hours rather than the general threat of bankruptcy for the company – or even the threat of layoffs in general. Just like sales to the customers, the way to sell your new sales training techniques to your employees is to make it personal.

Simply put, repetition or angry tirades do not back up effectively communicated sales training strategies. Instead, put your time and energy into creating and backing up consequences for jobs well done (or not done). Plan casual meetings during the work day to get input on how things are going, to see if anyone has questions, concerns, or needs help. In this way, you will create an environment of trust and a foundation of follow through that will not only help you implement your current new sales training ideas but future ones as well.

Question by Earth: Can somebody please please help me correct this translation?

I TRIED TO TRANSLATE IT FROM SPANISH TO ENGLISH

MARKETING SPECIALIST

Mary Hernandez

000 Benito Juárez St.
Mexico City
000.000.000
0000.0000.000.
00000000@hotmail.com

OBJECTIVE

To be part of a marketing work team focused on results to create integrated strategies to develop new or existing customer sales in order to increase the company’s incomes

SUMMARY

Marketing Specialist with two years of experience in retail and marketing strategies. Knowledge in marketing research, consumer behavior, distribution channels, promotion. Strong team player, leadership, clear vision to accomplish the company goals, work under pressure, results-oriented, consumer- oriented, communication skills, analysis capability.

PROFESSIONAL
ACCOMPLISHMENTS

113% growth in consumer products sales in the last half-yearly of 2008.
Control of annual store expenses budget $ 664, 000.00 vs $ 759, 000.00
Wastage control in the half-yearly inventory 0.63% vs 0.80%
Member of the couching leader team for the opening of the very first Soriana store in Mexico City.
Member of the leader team in the Gigante’s systems change project.
Manage and couch 8 department heads.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Dic 2006 – Tiendas Soriana S.A. de C.V.
Dic 2008 Deputy Manager Branch

Development of consumer products sales plans.
Development and monitoring of market penetration strategies.
Developing and implementing customer loyalty programs.
Monitoring competition.
Negotiating with suppliers.
Communication with the commercial, purchasing and logistics areas.
Inventory Control.
Planning and controlling the operation expenses and sales budgets.
Providing material resources for the operation of the branch.
Implementation of programs to improve customer service.
Merchandising.
Training and motivation of my staff.
Solving customer complaints, claims, and legal aspects of the branch.

EDUCATION

2010 Marketing Specialist
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

2002 – 2006 Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration
Faculty of Accounting and Management.
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

ADDITIONAL ACADEMIC
COURSES

2006 Qualified in Marketing
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

SKILLS

LANGUAGES
Spanish, native language.
English, TOEFL IBT Certified.
French, DELF B2 Certified.

SOFTWARE
Office, internet.

ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Mexican citizen, single, with a valid passport, and valid U.S. Visa as well.

Best answer:

Answer by Big Albert 77
Wow

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Sales Training Delivery Methods

Technology and the internet have given many more options with regard to how training is actually delivered. Most of the key methods are shown below.

elearning

A quick Google search will show over 15 million entries for elearning. Its a big, and growing, topic with many potential application areas and a great many supporters. However, we believe it has limitations in sales training.

Most elearning being commercially developed and delivered today is not interactive (called asynchronous). Elearning can also be synchronous, where there is interaction between the facilitator and participants, and we have participated in trials of video technology (webinairs and webcasts) for synchronous sales training.

These trials were complex to set up and run, for both the training team and the company’s IT department. But we are sure these issues can be remedied in the future, especially if the training is being run on a campus basis.

Currently, we would recommend elearning modules as a way of bringing participants up to a common level of understanding. Somewhat like DVD/CDs, but probably with an interactive web-based assessment at the end of each module that can be captured by L&D.

Both standard modules and tailored elearning training is available, with the normal cost versus effectiveness equation to be considered.

Face to Face Training

Many consider this to be the “old way” of sales training. Getting a small group of 10 to 15 sales people in a room and getting them to learn by role playing, working in teams on case studies or working on their own live accounts.

We believe if done properly, face to face training still is very engaging and can actually translate into changes in behaviour back in the field. However, it is often a mismatch of thinking, part product knowledge dump, part case studies that aren’t appropriate to the participants and part humiliation of the people chosen to stand at the front and role play in front of their peers.

Our view is simple, we want to create an environment where real learning can take place, and sales people are encouraged to try new things. So small teams of three for the role plays, with each team member taking it in turns to play the sales person, the customer and an observer, who leads the feedback sessions positively.

We also now make a virtue of not using PowerPoint. Each participant has their own workbook containing the exercises (individual, pairs, threes and teams) and space to note down the information from the various exercises and flip chart sessions. Why do we recommend this approach. Its fresh, its fully interactive and very engaging for both the facilitator and participants. Too many facilitators hide behind a snow storm of PowerPoint charts and technology.

Add some DVD sessions into the mix plus some team competitions and we are starting to get a lively session. We would also recommend finishing off with action planning – what are they going to change, what will they do differently following the training. Even better if this is shared with their managers and sales coaches.

Launch Events/Seminars

Some people label this form of training the “sheep dip”. It is often carried out at the yearly sales team meeting or the launch of a new product. Most of these events are seen as team bonding sessions that tend to involve lots of liquid being consumed late into the night!

At best, we feel that the effectiveness of such events is limited. But you answer, we have the sales force all in one place at the same time, what better opportunity to train them (and it won’t cost much!)?

We see the logic, but we are still concerned about how engaged the audience will be especially as “death by PowerPoint” is often the chosen method of delivery.

If you do want to do this, please make the sessions short, focused, interactive and based on small teams, maybe competing for prizes. We find teams of about 6 works well, and we have developed some interesting ideas for how to get the teams functioning and interacting, even after the night before!

Power Hours

The “Power Hour” concept isn’t new, but maybe the way it can be used can improve the effectiveness of your sales training.

We have seen the idea used in the past by companies that want to reduce sales time away from the desk or off the road. The idea is to fire the training at the sales team for just an hour, often at 8.00 am, and hope something sticks.

We would recommend that power hours are used more for re-enforcement than the first line training. In fact, if your own sales managers are trained to do this, it becomes very cost effective and an excellent way of both sales and management working on the same ideas.

DVD/CD Training

What can we say? Probably the least engaging of all the various training options. However, it still has its place and can be used effectively to distribute technical information to a large, disparate sales team.

It also has one advantage over elearning, it that the demands placed on I.T. are not as great. Everyone just needs access to a DVD/CD player on a PC. With elearning there can be minimum configuration issues on desktops/notebooks as well as network access issues for remote members of the sales team.

On The Job Training

We all do on the job training as part of our normal roles within our companies. What we are talking about here, is a more formal approach to on the job training.

Learning by watching experienced people and then doing it yourself in the real world under supervision, with feedback, is the very best way to learn. Unfortunately, much of the so-called on the job training is really no training at all. New sales people are left to struggle along by themselves, without role models, with no real supervision and with no effective feedback.

We recommend that on the job training is built into any training program, but with thought given to how it is achieved and how best practice can be effectively shared throughout the team.

For more information about sales training please visit http://www.sales-training-consultants.co.uk

Going Above and Beyond in Graduate Sales Training

The level of graduate sales training needed by young professionals depends on the nature of a particular industry. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to graduate sales training that takes into account every element of a particular industry. It may not seem possible for graduates entering the sales profession to study training materials outside of their own industry. This additional work can help you turn your first sales job into a career through a clear understanding of proper sales techniques.

The high level of competition in the computer software field makes graduate sales training critical in this industry. There are dozens of small developers and individual designers for every major software company. Most computer software companies offer graduate sales training that focuses on differentiating products, customer service and warranties from the competition. You need to devour information on competing software products in order to place your company’s products in the right context.

Sales professionals working for grocers, food suppliers and agricultural businesses need to get graduate sales training to deal with a wide range of products. The constant need for food in grocery stores and shops does not mean that there are no problems within this area of sales. The mixture of small farms, agricultural businesses and other food suppliers means that distributors need to have sales people who can work with diverse populations. Your familiarity with the needs of individual farmers, agricultural business owners and grocers can help you make sales as an entry-level professional.

The automotive industry requires graduate sales training that focus on precise distinctions between new vehicles. There are dozens of vehicle classes ranging from economy to tractor trailer trucks with fine distinctions that may be difficult to understand for consumers. Car companies run graduate sales people through extensive training and certification programmes to turn these professionals into able advocates for their car lines.

The narrow margins of success in book and music distribution make graduate sales training necessary in these fields. The Internet as well as portable technologies have led book publishers to create e-books and record companies to create MP3s for mobile consumption. Graduate sales professionals need to know how to promote these new technologies to consumers as well as vendors who are sceptical about moving away from traditional media. You need to obtain months of graduate sales training prior to working in book and music distribution before you can deal with the daily grind of graduate sales in these fields.

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Sales Training and the Way you Think

Confucius observed, “He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.”

Learning and thinking are fundamentally linked. They need to be.

Let me state a working assumption, that is, people who choose to work in sales have been through a selection process to identify competencies and the individual has a realistic understanding of the sales role, responsibilities, and challenges.

When starting a sales career, sales training plays a critical role. Development usually focuses on three key areas, technique, process, and product. Layered over these are marketing components that address networking, prospecting and promotion. Together they form the technical components of sales training. Once mastered, they only improve with practice and repetition.

Arguably, the technical learning described in the preceding paragraph is not difficult. Product knowledge may be the exception as product can be complex. The topics have been studied and presented over many years. They have evolved and adapted but there have been few changes to the fundamental concepts of selling. Perhaps the last major change was the shift to needs based selling and the impact of a more informed consumer due to greater access to information on the Internet.

So then has the art of selling been perfected?

Perhaps, but some say it’s all for naught if you haven’t first tackled the way you think!

In fact my experience suggests that how think should be an “up front” consideration.

Before getting on the road to technical development, there are real advantages to individuals and their organizations if both appreciated the impact effective thinking has on learning. Imagine an individual who is negative, pessimistic, lacks self-esteem, and procrastinates. Compare that person to a positive, self-starting optimist who is full of confidence and believes in himself or herself.

How you think, or your mindset, sets the tone for what follows in your career. It sets the tone for how you learn, how you interact with peers as well as prospects and clients.

In the perfect world, we would only hire those with a positive and optimistic attitude. We attempt to avoid recruiting those with a negative mindset who don’t have a strong belief in self and who are not achievement oriented. In reality, we encounter individuals all along the spectrum.

The good news is someone with a negative or neutral mindset can learn to be an effective thinker. In fact, even those with a positive mindset can find ways to improve.

If one consciously understands their personal thinking style, and is able to recognize such things as negative self-talk and counter-productive behaviors, they are well on the way to affecting their mindset. Similar to learning, practice and repetition will enable and adjust the thought process. In time, the conscious re-framing, positive self-talk, and awareness becomes the new mindset.

Imagine the impact a positive mindset can have during the training event. The outcome can be significant. This permits an organization to better leverage its training investment – and ultimately the individual benefits from increased likelihood of personal success.

I’ll close with a last thought on mindset from Confucius, “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.”

Question by littlesnugglebuggles: Can someone with legal experience regarding the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act answer this?

I am a Work-At-Home-Mom. I make custom baby carriers and sell them. Each of my carriers is one-of-a-kind. I buy my fabric from nationally trusted retailers such as JoAnn Fabrics, etc. I do not buy loads of fabric since I make them on an order-by-order basis (so I can customize for my buyer). How is the CPSIA going to affect me in particular? I am not the one importing the fabric or thread. Shouldn’t my supplies be tested before I buy them? Also, even if they are tested, I usually only buy fabric remnants instead of whole reels. It would be ridiculous for me to ask for certificates for 1 yard of fabric. I feel like this whole thing is going to put me, and a whole bunch of others like me, out of business. How can I possibly afford to have each and every one of my baby carriers tested for lead?

BACKGROUND INFO:
Congress passed a law in August 2008 called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). This law came about because of the numerous recalls of children’s toys in the past two years and specifically the issue of lead in the toys. While I applaud the attempt at making children’s products safer, the law as stands, will actually remove many of the products that we have turned to in place of those made in China.

As of February 10th, 2009, ALL children’s products sold in the United States will need to be certified to be lead free and many products will need additional testing. To be certified, the final product sold needs to have each component on it tested for lead. This sounds wonderful when you think of all of the “Made in China” children’s products that are out there and all of the children’s items that are mass produced (mostly imported). HOWEVER, think of the handcrafted items sold within the US. Think of any children’s item that is a ready made item that has been personalized with a child’s name (it would need to be retested because it is the final sold product that needs to be certified). Think of the children’s items that are sold at craft shows, garage sales, ebay, consignment shops and fundraisers. As of February 10th, it will be illegal to sell any children’s products without certification, no matter when it was produced. Collectible vintage toys and trains? A “banned substance”. You will not be able to donate items for charity because they are a “banned substance” since they are not certified. This applies not only to toys, but all products such as books, shoes, clothing, school supplies, sporting equipment, jewelry, etc. that are possibly intended for children 12 and under.

Best answer:

Answer by jerry-the-bookkeeper
Write to your congress person and your states senators. Ask them to sponsor a bill exempting domestic craft products from testing provided that the components are lead free.

Then contact everyone you know and know of involved in making and selling domestic craft products and ask them to do the same thing.

If enough people write enough members of congress corrective action will be taken.

Hope this helps
Jerry-the-bookkeeper

Add your own answer in the comments!

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Sales Training: Why You Must Establish Yourself As an Expert

One of the key parts of sales that you will learn in sales training is the importance of being the expert. There are some obvious reasons why the prospective customer must view you as an expert in the products that you are selling. The methods of being viewed as an expert are a little more difficult.

Trust is the major reason why you must be viewed as the expert in the products that you are selling to your customer. They must be able to see you as someone who will guide them along the right path toward the product that they should buy. Most people realize that sales people are interested in selling, but they still ask the questions and they still seek advice from sales persons.

You must know your product well so that you can answer these questions. Before you begin trying to sell a product you should read every bit of information that you can get your hands on so that you will be able to answer your customer’s questions. This is one of the ways that you will be viewed as an expert. If you are not able to answer a customer’s simple questions, they will not be able to trust you to sell them the right products.

When customers are looking at your products, offer them some information on the product that they may not have realized before. You are in a good position to know every facet of the product and if you can give them some information that they didn’t have before, the customer will see you as knowledgeable on the product.

With online selling, becoming an expert is the same except that you will establish yourself as an expert by the content on your site. Create content that will give some useful facts to those that are looking for information on the problem that your product can solve. Include articles and other information so that the web shopper can visit your site to read more information on the product.

Make sure that the content on the site is updated frequently. This is the way that you can bring your customers back for more. It will keep you established as someone who knows more about the product than the average user.

This is something that you will learn with effective sales training. It will take a bit of hard work and homework on your part, but it will be worth it when the customers come to you for your expert opinion on the products that you are selling.

Learning how to sell effectively is not an easy task. There are a great many nuances to the art of selling to consumers. There are some books on the subject that will give you some good direction. For a more intense look at sales, you can take a look at a sales training course for you and the people in your business. If you own the business, it is in your best interest to make sure that your staff understands this kind of information.

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