| J. Douglas Edwards, Earl Nightingale, and others | | | | defined, as far as it pertained to results. If you |
| would be pleased, and yet somewhat mystified | | | | followed the exact system, with no modification, |
| with today's sales representative training. We | | | | your normal closing ratio was bound to increase -- |
| have, as businesses, known that it is sales and | | | | if you were seeing enough prospects. At best, |
| sales first cousin, marketing that is responsible for | | | | most of these sales systems have now fallen on |
| the revenue within any company. | | | | hard times. The economy and the Internet have |
| Most companies have also ascertained that it is | | | | changed our world, and we now look for that |
| not just the guy or gal with a gift for gab, or just | | | | sales representative training system that is |
| an extroverted personality that always makes a | | | | efficient, effective and price sensitive. It also must |
| peak performer. Sales training departments | | | | have buy-in from the client company |
| recognized that it was a mixture of | | | | organizational chart to assure that proper discipline |
| communication and critical thinking skills - | | | | is being done, to assure the behavioral changes |
| extroverted or introverted, that contributed to a | | | | that accompany any sales training. |
| peak performance sales profile. Sales | | | | If this is not done, if the rifle, instead of the |
| representative training became a necessary | | | | shotgun, is not sought for sales representative |
| component of many companies. | | | | training, companies will have taken something that |
| The advent of Psychology Today Magazine in | | | | is "good", and morphed it into something that is |
| 1967 became a seed that has germinated through | | | | "bad" and "expensive" -- very expensive. Studies |
| time to produce stellar results from the | | | | have shown, that if there is not buy-in, and follow |
| magazines everyday reader, and others. It has | | | | through training to assure behavioral change, |
| taught the world at large, that "yes" - psychology | | | | nothing happens. |
| works. | | | | "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, |
| As a result of that, and other events, we began | | | | more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its |
| seeing sales systems that incorporated | | | | success than to take the lead in the introduction |
| psychological techniques, that were gently folded | | | | of a new order of things because the innovator |
| into sales system frameworks, which directly and | | | | has for enemies all those who have done well |
| indirectly addressed what I call, "the whispers of | | | | under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders |
| the mind". We saw sales people directing the | | | | in those who may do well under the new." |
| psychological components of the sales interview. | | | | Machiavelli, Niccolo |
| At first, it was attention, interest, conviction, | | | | Machiavelli had it right. Introducing change in the, |
| desire and close. Then, it was the "probing | | | | "order of things", is not easy because the people |
| questions" of another system, and then the magic | | | | who are certain of what they will lose with the |
| of questioning to determine directionality. | | | | change will oppose it. |
| The systems all worked, but were largely user | | | | |