Successful salespeople know sales training isn’t just something done in a classroom or a webinar.
If your goal is to be at the top — that is your goal, right?! — then you know the importance of continually finding ways to improve your sales performance.
Below are 7 sales training ideas you can start doing right now.
1. End each day evaluating your performance and identify one item upon which you can improve.
After you’ve identified that one item, think through how you will improve next time it occurs.
2. Find another salesperson with whom you can identify and who has the same aspirations of being a top performer.
Take 30 minutes each week and exchange one sales idea with this person either on the phone or in person. Share with them the results you got from it. Allow the other person to share with you one idea and what they learned from it. Use this time to help the other person just as they are helping you.
3. Spend 15 minutes each day (2.5 hours per week) reading sales books, excellent sales blogs and sales websites.
Take notes and seek ideas you can use. When you record ideas, do so using two columns. One column is for those ideas you can put into use right now and the other column is for those ideas that will require more time.
4. Measure your performance on a weekly/monthly basis.
Determine what the key measurements are you need to monitor and allow yourself to spend 10 minutes per week evaluating the goals. Congratulate yourself on the success you had and use the results to identify areas that need more of your focus.
5. Each month identify one part of your sales job you want to specifically focus extra attention.
Spend the following month digging deep into that process, with the goal being to know how to do it better than anyone else. Focusing your effort against one specific area at a time will help you uncover things the average salesperson will never see.
6. Ask your customers what they see other salespeople do.
Keep in mind what they share with you is what they see as important. You will still need to filter their opinions, but you’ll glean valuable information. Customers will most likely share with you customer service or account management ideas. Rarely will customers share with you closing ideas or effective negotiating techniques.
7. Never allow yourself to believe there is not more to learn to improve your selling skills.
These seven sales training ideas — followed consistently — have amazing potential to revolutionize your sales career.
Still not convinced? Try them for 6 months and if you see no improvement, stop. My guess, though, is you are going to discover growth you never could have imagined.
Here’s to Great Selling!
Copyright 2011, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
