| What is your company's core sales strategy? | | | | greatest, or overwhelmed by all the choices |
| Which skills must your producers absolutely have | | | | available at any given moment. Not only are there |
| to bring new accounts into your firm? And now, | | | | dozens of sales trainers and firms each offering |
| one more question: are those the skills and | | | | their own signature programs, but there are also |
| techniques you're teaching in sales training | | | | fads and hot topics that come and go with each |
| sessions? | | | | season. |
| It should go without saying that if you can't | | | | For as long as men and women keep selling - and |
| answer the first two questions; your company is | | | | I'm not expecting the profession to go away |
| in big trouble. There are a lot of ways to find new | | | | anytime soon - there are going to be all kinds of |
| customers, but it's important that your sales | | | | "new and improved secrets." Some of these |
| team knows which ones are working in your | | | | actually work quite well; often they blend |
| industry, using the same sales system and | | | | technology, motivation, or time management |
| emphasizing the same benefits. Otherwise, you're | | | | techniques with the psychology of selling. A great |
| going to get a very mixed bag... and very mixed | | | | many more, however, are based on gimmicks |
| results. | | | | that distract you and your team from learning the |
| Assuming you've figured out how you want your | | | | basics of what you really need to know. |
| team to sell, however, the next step is to | | | | Every sales department, and every selling |
| reinforce that during your sales training sessions. | | | | situation, is a bit different. What's working for one |
| If your team is finding prospects over the phone, | | | | team or one industry isn't necessarily going to fly |
| then give them seminars and sessions that help | | | | in another. For that reason, it's important that you |
| them reach decision-makers. Or, if you rely | | | | not send a lot of mixed messages to your sales |
| heavily on hands-on presentations, then train | | | | staff. Teach them what's working in the field, |
| techniques that are going to work well when | | | | practice it, and then teach it again or build on |
| they're standing across from a hot prospect. | | | | those skills. Trying to change your focus |
| Basic as this advice might seem, it's often | | | | month-to-month is never going to work because |
| overlooked. I suspect that's because lots of sales | | | | it leaves you with staff that knows a lot, but can |
| managers become enamored by the latest and | | | | do very little. |