| "Repetition is the mother of all skill." - Tony | | | | call, and with the adrenaline flowing, they revert |
| Robbins, author of Unlimited Power. | | | | to type asking controlling closed questions and |
| In sales seminars and sales training programs I | | | | "forgetting" to ask carefully constructed open |
| often talk about the difference between sales | | | | ones. |
| skills and sales techniques. | | | | As Robbins says, "Repetition is the mother of all |
| Sales techniques are something external to you, | | | | skill." |
| they are something that you hear or that you | | | | * If you want to be a great golfer you need to |
| know. Sales skills are something that you own, | | | | practise your swing, over and over. |
| they are yours through hard work and practice. | | | | * If you want to be a great pianist you need to |
| And, what's more, they won't abandon you in | | | | practise your scales, over and over. |
| even the toughest of markets. | | | | * If you want to be a great at anything you need |
| When I speak at sales conferences many | | | | to practise it, over and over. |
| salespeople sit back, cross their arms and ask for | | | | * If you want to be a great salesperson you |
| "the advanced stuff". They tell their boss that | | | | need to practise your sales skills, over and over. |
| they don't need sales training because they | | | | If you are a salesperson and you want to outsell |
| already know it, they've heard it all before... | | | | your competition and win more clients fast, you |
| Take open questions as an example. Any | | | | need to create an ongoing sales development |
| salesperson with more than about 5 minutes | | | | program for yourself that includes regular practise |
| selling experience knows what an open question is | | | | of all of the sales training basics. |
| - a question that requires more than a "yes" or | | | | Don't wait for your boss to put you on a sales |
| "no" answer. We all know that open questions | | | | training program. Don't wait for your sales results |
| start with the words what, where, when, why, | | | | to fall off a cliff. Don't wait until it's nearly too late |
| how, who which. But how many salespeople put | | | | to start. Start now and make regular sales training |
| undue sales pressure onto their clients by asking | | | | practise of your selling skills part of your daily |
| (self-centred) closed questions when they should | | | | habits. You'll be amazed what you can achieve |
| be asking (well constructed) open questions? | | | | from a mere 15 minutes a day practising your |
| "Most salespeople" is the correct answer. | | | | basic sales skills. |
| The ability to ask great questions is one of the | | | | If you're a sales manager, sales leader or business |
| critical skills for being a sales superstar yet most | | | | owner then you need to think about how you can |
| salespeople fair badly at best in this area. Think | | | | help your sales team to practise their core sales |
| back to the first time you were taught about | | | | skills regularly. One-off training is not enough by |
| open questions. Did you understand it? I'm | | | | itself. You need to create ongoing sessions and |
| guessing that you did. Let's face it, it really isn't | | | | exercises for them to participate in, both |
| that complicated is it? Most salespeople hear it, | | | | individually and as a team. |
| think that it makes sense and move on. They | | | | Not convinced it's worth the effort? Not |
| hear it, they acknowledge it but they never | | | | convinced you can get the same results? not |
| practise it. They get it intellectually but because | | | | convinced that you buy into this whole practise |
| they never practised it, it never becomes a skill | | | | argument? What would Tiger Woods, David |
| for them. It never becomes something that they | | | | Beckham and Johnny Wilkinson tell you to do? |
| own. | | | | I rest my case. |
| Put under pressure in a sales meeting or in a cold | | | | |