When I first starting selling, I read sales training books from the “masters” Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie and Napoleon Hill.
From there, I went on to read books on Strategic Selling, Consultative Sales, Selling to the C-Level, etc.
I had formal sales training delivered by three different vendors when working for a large corporation.
More recently, I’ve worked through the Challenger Sale, SPIN Selling, and Predictable Revenue.
I also try to keep up with what today’s sales trainers, gurus and “experts” are doing.
It pains me to say it, but I think most sales training is garbage.
I group sales training into 3 broad categories:
#1 Positive Attitude/Altruistic – This training is focused on “being the best you can be” and “getting what you want by giving the customer what he wants”. I find this training to be very light on specifics that can be translated into actions – especially for people who are new to sales.
#2 Hustle Harder and Be Aggressive – This is a favorite of former hard-charging closers who now run sales training – think Boiler Room or the Wolf of Wall Street style training. It works for people who are naturally aggressive, enjoy negotiating and have no qualms about fast talking a customer into a sale. In other words, this training is great for people who don’t need it.
#3 Proprietary Model – Many (almost all) sales training companies use this. They create complex powerpoint graphics to describe their “unique” stages of the sales process. Despite different terminology, they are all depressingly complex and never followed by sales reps once training is over. If you see the pinwheel of doom or the block arrows process diagrams below, get ready for a time waster.
Typical Sales Training
Usually sales training occurs because management wants the sales reps to sell more. Management also wants the reps to follow a formal sales documentation process so that reports can be created to measure and track predict pipeline, sales, revenues and forecasts.
Aha —- there’s a problem. We just identified two distinct and unique goals.
From here it goes downhill.
Sales training becomes a punishment for sales reps.
- It’s incredibly tedious.
- It pulls reps away from revenue generating activity (prospecting, talking to customers, closing).
- It is immediately ignored once the training has been completed.
After training, 95% of all reps go back to working the way they had before.
What then usually happens is that management forces reps to comply with the documentation and administrative parts of the training so that reports can be generated.
We’ve missed the main goal- to increase sales!
Sales Training That Works
You’re not going to like this answer, but effective sales training requires individual coaching and mentoring.
This can be done with a manager and a rep, with a rep and a rep, and when appropriate with two reps and one manager.
It can also be extremely effective when a rep decides he wants to learn on his own. In fact, that’s going to be when training is the most effective. A rep who is self-motivated to learn will soak up every lesson he can and will not be afraid to try things on his quest to improve.
What Should You Teach?
This depends on your specific situation.
If you need to standardize documentation and CRM use, then brief how-to-lessons accompanied by cheat sheet guides are effective.
If you want to improve prospecting, then rep shadowing, role playing and call coaching will make a huge impact.
If closing is a problem, then perfect forecasting and the step- by-step checklist it outlines for how to close a sale.
If you want your reps to be more aggressive, first make sure you have the right sales reps. Then make sure you have the right manager. Then create a commission plan and reward system that encourages taking risks to obtain high performance.
Final Thoughts
Sales training doesn’t need to be a waste of time. It doesn’t need to be tedious. It doesn’t need to cost a lot.
If you are not seeing the results you wanted from your sales training, you’re probably doing it wrong.
Also, if your training is being done by someone who’s never been a sales rep or by someone who hasn’t done the job in over 10 years, chances are it’s falling on deaf ears.
Front line managers and reps are the best sales trainers. Most everyone else will be ignored. This is especially true when the trainer pontificates and makes it clear he (or she) has no idea what it’s like to be “in the trenches”.
The good news is that you now know there’s a simple way to address this.
For more posts on effective, real-world sales training, check the categories “Coaching & Mentoring” and “Selling”.
For advice on your specific situation, please post your question in Ask The Dude or contact me to purchase Coaching Services.