Whether you’re a rookie salesperson, a veteran salesperson or a sales manager, here are 5 sales training tips you need to take action on:
1. The success you have in sales is dependent on your level of confidence.
Every salesperson needs another voice they can count on for support. One of the biggest things a sales manager can do is to help salespeople build confidence. This means even though things may not be going as desired, you’re still providing them the support they need to win.
2. Learn something from every sales call.
No matter how many sales calls you may have made, there is always something to be learned. Benchmarking performance and process is critical, as this will prevent the slow erosion that many times occurs in veteran salespeople.
3. Seek out others by building a network of sales peers — those you know and ones you read about.
Sales managers who attempt to do all the training themselves are not nearly as successful as those who allow their salespeople to tap into other resources.
4. Maintain a personal journal of each day’s successes.
At the end of each day, every salesperson should take two minutes to write down the positive things that occurred that day and, more importantly, why they think they occurred.
Keeping a journal of this type allows the salesperson to have a personal sales training book of their successes. Don’t worry about what didn’t go right, only record the things that went well.
5. Inspect what you expect.
We all need to have somebody watching over us. It doesn’t matter how good we might think we are, there will always be areas we can improve.
It is the role of the sales manager to inspect what they expect. When something is not being done correctly, then action at the appropriate time needs to be taken. Nothing will cement bad behavior faster than seeing bad behavior and not commenting on it.
Now the same must also be said about the positive. Feedback is good, as I tell sales managers frequently. Do not allow the windshield or the cube wall the salesperson looks at all day to become the source of their feedback.
Salespeople are quick to see what I call “conspiracy theories.” This happens when the salesperson who is left alone too much begins to come up with all kinds of reasons as to why something won’t work.
Sales training is not something for only new salespeople.
It’s a never ending process for every member of the sales organization.
Copyright 2012, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
