| Great sales training differs from what you're | | | | Today, there is far too little time dedicated to |
| probably doing, in five significant ways. In your | | | | enabling new hires to observe veterans at work. |
| heart you knew these things. You've just | | | | (3) Today's salespeople get far too little feedback |
| forgotten! | | | | from everyone, especially from their managers. |
| (1) Nobody ever learned a behavioral skill by being | | | | Getting a sale or failing to get one, teaches very |
| talked at. Want to improve that golf, tennis or | | | | little. It doesn't say, this close worked, or you |
| baseball swing? Don't expect a speech by a | | | | failed to suitably get to the real objection. |
| retired Hall of Fame athlete or a video to do it for | | | | (4) We're afraid to drill our people so they can put |
| you. | | | | together and take apart a sales talk like a soldier |
| Yet, what do we do? We have classroom training | | | | can a rifle; blindfolded, if necessary. "Give me |
| sessions because most of us have warmed | | | | three different ways to close a sale, right now!" |
| school desks for so long that we're used to that | | | | (5) Most trainers are failed salespeople who were |
| medium. Some chalk-talk is fine, as an overall | | | | kicked aside or kicked upstairs. Therefore, they |
| orientation, but the best method is to coach | | | | lack credibility. Truly great salespeople have no |
| trainees, one-on-one. | | | | time to train others because they're making big |
| (2) For thousands of years apprenticeships have | | | | bucks in the field. Peter F. Drucker said we don't |
| worked in all of the skilled trades. Aspiring | | | | achieve at what we don't respect, and let me add |
| shoemakers learned by being around their | | | | to that the idea that we don't learn from people |
| parents, who were seasoned pro's, and they, in | | | | we don't respect. |
| turn, learned at the feet of their parents. Novices | | | | Take a hard look at your training program. If it |
| watched, noting how the family interacted with | | | | consists of a lot of automation, web based |
| customers, and they were given small tasks to | | | | modules, videos, workbooks, and other mass |
| master before being given bigger ones. | | | | production tools, then redesign it. |