Is Sales Training A Waste Of Time And Money?

Is sales training a waste of time? The typicalreading say they do.
company spends tens of thousands to hundredsThe Solution: Learn how to 'open' the sale and the
of thousands of dollars to put its entire salesclosing part will take care of itself.
force through the latest, whiz-bang sales closingOpening a sale calls for more listening and less
techniques to increase its bottom line numbers.talking. It is all about asking the right questions.
Then there are those businesses that investYou would be amazed at how much information a
hundreds of thousands of dollars training theirprospect will give you if you just ask them what
salespeople but hardly spend anything motivatingtheir biggest frustration is? (in relation to the
them. (They end up with a bunch of highly-skilledproblem that your product or service has the
people with little or no motivation).solution for).
Others invest a small fortune motivating peopleBy getting clear answers to your questions early
but never give them the hands-on training theyin the process, you can develop a strategy that
need to make sales out in the real world. (Theywill dramatically shorten your sales cycle, allow
end up with a bunch of highly-motivated 'looseyou to anticipate and defuse objections ahead of
cannons')time, and make a lot more sales as a result.
But perhaps the biggest mistake that most SalesDealing With Objections In Selling:
managers make, is that every member of theirThe best way to deal with objections is to ask
team receives exactly the same training.good questions early in the sales presentation;
You should NEVER make the assumption that allquestions that anticipate, identify and quantify
your salespeople are at the same level in termspotential objections, BEFORE the prospect raises
of experience and expertise or that they eachthem thus allowing you to show how your
have the same "sales ability".company holds the solutions.
Is There a Solution to This Madness?If you deal with potential objections upfront
My friend, James Yuille, ( is of the firm opinion andrather than hoping they don't get raised it
I agree; that good sales training starts and stopsgenerates believability. People will trust you more.
with the fundamentals.In conclusion: Sales Training is not a waste of time
FACT: The main reason why people can't sell isif you bear in mind that:
that they simply don't understand the process of- - When people understand the process of the
the sale.sale, they will sell more.
Because of this basic flaw in their training they- - People need to learn how to open the sale
turn to manipulative 'techniques' like 'tie downs' orrather than close it.
1001 closing techniques to 'clinch the sale'- - Your sales team are individuals. They are not
When these techniques fail, (and trust me theyclones. Some personality types respond better to
do fail) the salesperson becomes more and moredifferent training methods.
desperate and many give up on sales altogether.- - A Good sales trainer will ask you lots of
The trouble with this method of selling is thatquestions about your staff before they jump in at
people are not machines. They don't alwaysthe deep end and give them materials that don't
respond the way all those books you've beenmeet their needs.