National Sales Center

How Sales Training Can Help You Succeed In Sales

Salespeople often ask, “Can sales training help me?”… and a big issues hides behind that question. Often, these reps think there isn’t anything new to learn. Well, I’ve been in sales and sales training for a long time and I’m still learning. In fact, I’ll never stop learning about new sales skills, strategies and techniques.

When a rep asks me if sales training can help, I probe to uncover their concerns. Most reps have healthy egos and then those egos get exposed to periodic high-octane motivational sessions. No wonder they think they know it all and their glass is always half full.

My mission is to get down to reality. Reps that ask, “Can sales training help me?” already know they need to improve but are having a hard time admitting it to themselves. Before they blame themselves, they’ll blame their product, pricing and a host of other factors. If I expect to get down to reality, I need to harvest some facts so I launch into a series of fact-based questions.

• What is your percent of quota?
• Are your YTD earnings above or below your income goals?
• Based on your close rate, is your funnel adequate to support your income goals and quota attainment?

Those are just a few of the questions I ask when I’m asked, “Can sales training help me”. In short, sales training can help anyone that wants to earn more commissions.

What about a motivational seminar? Could that be what’s needed? Sure a motivational seminar is a positive step in the right direction and I support them. They’ll get you all fired up to work harder. Unfortunately, you’ll be working harder at sales techniques that could be made to work better.

What about product training? Could that be the answer? Well, you need to know what you’re selling so I also support product training. However, knowing about a product and knowing how to sell it are two different things.

Besides discovering new way to implement the sales process, there are additional benefits of a powerful sales training course. First, there is nothing wrong with being reminded to the things you already know you should be doing. For example, most seasoned reps know about open-ended questions but many forget to ask them.

A second often-overlooked benefit is that sales training is motivational. I enjoy seeing reps rush into the field anxious to put their new sales techniques to good use.

The top pros are on top because they are serious about their profession and serious about further developing their skills. They know that sales training isn’t a one-time event or even a periodic undertaking. The top pros have a career long commitment to sales training so they’ll never ask if sales training can help them. They already have a firm hold on that answer.

I hope you can see just some of the concerns I have with reps that ask, “Can sales training help me”. If you are in sales, rest assured that prospecting training and sales training can help you succeed in your chosen profession.

So, what do you think? Can sales training help you?

To your sales success!

Nick

Tags: Sales Training