فصل 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

SALES-TRAINING TIPS

It is not enough to just read a book or listen to an audio program; you have to practice, drill, and rehearse. From astronauts to athletes they all practice, drill, and rehearse—over and over again until each move, response, and reaction has been worked out.

A Navy Seal submerses himself in his training so that he not only knows exactly what to do in any situation, but also to give himself supreme confidence so that when a situation presents itself he can move aggressively into victory rather than having to back off.

If you find yourself backing off anywhere in the sales game, it is because you are not submersing yourself enough in training and education and then practicing-drilling-rehearsing.

When I got serious about sales, I watched videos of sales instructions before I left my home, listened to audio programs on the drive to work, and then recorded myself in closing situations each day. I immersed myself in situations and handlings.

I would tell you to spend as much money and time on your training each month as you do on your wardrobe. Let me tell you, what you say and how you act will have more to do with a sale than what you wear.

I could wear anything to work and sell my products when my game is tight. If you played professional baseball, would you go to the batting cage every day? Of course you would.

While it is agreed that training can improve production results, most people don’t know the right way to train. And before you consider the cost, what you need to think about is the time you will set aside to train, because that is a bigger issue. If I get you on the right training schedule that truly builds sales muscle, training that results in increased sales, the money issue will be resolved.

Did you know that most salespeople don’t even read one sales book in their entire career? Did you also know that even fewer people spend any quality time practicing selling?

And even those who do don’t know how to train effectively to get results immediately. What I am talking about here is giving you a training regimen that will turn you into a super salesperson.

Before you consider the cost of sales-training books, seminars, videos, audio programs, workshops, and travel and lodging, you should calculate the immediate costs of mishandling opportunities that result from not training.

Regardless of how long you have been in sales, if you are rusty, you are rusty. A dull saw might cut the tree down, but it will take much longer than is necessary.

To keep the sales saw sharp, you have to spend time sharpening it. Sales training has failed companies and individuals because it has been incorrectly implemented, not measurable, outdated, not relevant, and wasn’t readily available to solve sales problems when salespeople needed it the most.

After working with individuals and companies for more than twenty-five years, I have found that for any training program to be effective, there are certain criteria that must be adhered to:

Train daily! The material salespeople should read, listen to, or watch should be focused on selling situations, not just motivational ones.

Sales training should be approached with the goal to increase production immediately. Think about how Derek Jeter would use a batting cage prior to game time. Sales training is done daily in order to sharpen your skills for that day and make more sales! Training needs to be approached as a valuable and vital ingredient to increased production, and THE WAY to increased sales and revenue.

Sales training must be delivered in very short segments and should be interactive. What is short?

Two to five minutes and shorter. Most training fails today just because the segments are too long and they lose the attention of the trainee.

Our on-demand interactive training sites utilize multimedia interactive engagement in order to provide sales professionals with very concise, short segments that are focused on exact sales situations.

Training must be measurable and rewarded. Training that is not easily measurable, like any process or best practice, will fail. If it doesn’t increase production immediately, then it is either not being used or not being used enough. The correct way to set this up is to provide you with daily reminders when training is not being used.

Effective sales-training programs should focus 80 percent of the training content, time, and energy on the TOP people in an organization, not the new ones. If the content is truly relevant and cutting edge, rather than just a repeat of the basics over and over again, it should get the attention of top performers.

Sales training should be made part of your day and should be accessible continually throughout the day.

All staff meetings should include training, with salespeople following that up with a minimum of two to four segments each day on their own, and then the sales team should be supported with sales solutions during the day.

We added this last component via our virtual technology whereby salespeople can interactively consult me in real time, and I am actually able to coach them through a transaction and demonstrate ways to close more deals.

This combination of training throughout the day is similar to how you would correctly hydrate the body with the fluids in an IV drip.

For sales training to be effective, you need a commitment to it; it must be made the first thing each day, be a continued activity daily, be available when you need it, and increase your sales production. If you think it is expensive to train sales teams, think about the expense of missing sales.

MY TRAINING REGIMEN FOR YOU

Daily: Listen to sales-training programs while driving. Cover topics such as handling objections, generating ideas for calling clients, following up, closing tips, and the like. Avoid hype and motivational material and focus on SALES-oriented strategies specifically.

Daily: Watch two to four video segments that cover some part of the sales process.

Role-play situations that you experience trouble with or find yourself withdrawing from.

Use me as your personal coach during the day with our Quick Fix Solutions. Due to technological advances, I can assist you in real-time to make more sales. Check out www.CardoneUniversity.com.

This is vital because after losing a sale, it is quite typical for you to make up wrong reasons for missing the sale and then get stuck with a wrong solution. With Quick Fix, you can prepare for a sale, get assistance during the sale, and also correct yourself after each encounter.