| Corporate Executives are always looking for | | | | market your company's products and services |
| ways to boost revenue. That usually means | | | | may experience frustration and low morale |
| turning up the heat on the sales team to produce | | | | resulting in unmet sales quotas and revenue goals. |
| better numbers. Research shows that increasing | | | | There is absolutely no substitute for a well-trained |
| the pressure to perform on the sales team | | | | and highly motivated sales team! |
| doesn't necessarily increase revenue. Pressure to | | | | Effective sales training benefits new and seasoned |
| perform might bring in a few short-term sales, | | | | salespeople alike Training is critically important for |
| but at the end of the day, customers don't | | | | both the new and seasoned salesperson alike. |
| respond well when they feel pressured into | | | | Experienced sales leaders place a high premium on |
| buying. | | | | both product and selling skills training and |
| If you want your sales team to produce 20% | | | | purposefully design their programs to be timely, |
| more, the question you have to ask yourself is, | | | | relevant, and ongoing. An effective program |
| are they 20% better? The best sales leaders | | | | should: |
| don't only increase the pressure to perform on | | | | - Train your sales team to engage new prospects |
| the sales team; they set about making the | | | | and how to sell based on value without simply |
| individual salesperson more effective. | | | | dropping your margin |
| Building the selling capability of your salespeople to | | | | - Train them how to effectively listen and |
| sell and build relationships is a very effective tool | | | | diagnose the needs of your customers |
| for gaining competitive advantage. A well trained | | | | - Train them how to effectively ask the "hard" |
| sales team will set you apart from most of your | | | | questions up front and qualify sales opportunities |
| competitors simply because most sales | | | | so they won't waste time and resources with |
| organisations don't really invest the time, effort | | | | prospects who can't/won't buy |
| and resources required to effectively train their | | | | - Engage multiple decision makers |
| sales teams. | | | | - Train the team what to do to ensure they bring |
| Most companies will invest some time and | | | | home the sale |
| resources to train their salespeople on their | | | | - And much more. |
| particular products/services. However, salespeople | | | | There are no shortages of skills in which you |
| that rely on their product/service's capabilities to | | | | could be training your sales team. Extensive |
| win business will, more often than not, leave sales | | | | research has identified the five Mission Critical |
| opportunities lying on the table. | | | | Selling Skills that a sales professional must master |
| Companies that only train their salespeople on | | | | to effectively move beyond their current |
| their particular products/services leave sales | | | | limitations and to achieve your sales goals. When |
| opportunities lying on the table The right sales | | | | understood and mastered, these five skills will |
| performance improvement training, that is, sales | | | | dramatically help you to increase your |
| training specific to your industry and market | | | | salespeople's productivity and get them to sell |
| segment, assists salespeople to master the skills, | | | | more, more often. |
| tools and techniques, concepts and behaviours and | | | | The 5 Mission Critical Skills of Outstanding |
| attitudes required to enhance their | | | | Salespeople are: |
| persuasiveness, influencing the buyer to make | | | | - Time and Self Management |
| purchasing decisions in your favour. | | | | - Business Development |
| An effective sales performance improvement | | | | - Diagnostic Acuity |
| training program can reduce sales personnel | | | | - Engage All Parties |
| turnover as well as enabling salespeople to: | | | | - Wrap Up |
| - Understand their customer's underlying buying | | | | In his best selling book, The Seven Habits of |
| motivations and maximise their effectiveness with | | | | Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen Covey makes |
| each customer encounter | | | | a strong case for the fundamental importance of |
| - Qualify and prioritise genuine selling opportunities | | | | training, or as he calls it, "sharpening the saw". |
| more efficiently, improving the cost effectiveness | | | | What often happens is that over time, the sales |
| of their selling activities | | | | team becomes less productive because sales |
| - Deal more effectively with customer concerns | | | | managers are reluctant to invest the time away |
| and objections | | | | from their busy schedules as well as the |
| - Plan, use and manage their time more efficiently | | | | resources it takes to effectively train their |
| - Maintain a positive mental attitude when things | | | | salespeople. So train, train, train and continue to |
| are not going their way | | | | build the capability of your sales team. The result |
| Salespeople who lack confidence in their ability to | | | | will show up in your "bottom line". |