In a world of ongoing pressure, a constant focus on numbers, a stronger drive to get back on track to solid yearly increases, sales managers worldwide are looking for the secrets to meet sales quotas consistently.
I know the secret answer and your competition may know it too.
‘Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day … teach him to fish and he will eat for life’.
It may be a little cliché but the reality is that the more sales training sales reps have, the better equipped they are to meet quotas consistently.
In all the years I have worked with sales teams and sales managers, I have found the top producing teams become so with consistent skill building training that adds value to their day.
If your sales people are rolling their eyes at the prospect of more training, then you need to fix something about the training you are providing.
Because… your competition may be doing it right.
Follow these 5 tips that the training pros know to grow sales.
1. Keep it Relevant
The bottom line is if the training isn’t irrelevant, it is a waste of time for everyone and can also demoralize your team. A good place to start with relevancy is to select topics on your sellers pressing concerns or issues.
Yes, ask them what’s important to them!
Also, use my personal test for relevancy: If you were the seller, is this sales training you would want?
2. Be Concise
Don’t beat a topic to death. Today everyone wants instant gratification.
It surprises most sales managers that you can train a concept in only 30 interactive minutes.
We have been doing this for many years and have even developed a 30-minute formula.
- 5 minutes – Opening exercise
- 15 minutes – Key concept and application exercise
- 5 minutes – Process discussion
- 5 minutes – Sales team creates their personal next steps and actions to implement straight away
3. Include a Variety of Presenters
One person continuously presenting lends towards showcasing their own style and values. Plus it can get tiring for the same person to lead the sales training meeting every time with high motivation and energy.
Another way to keep the sales team excited about sales training is to vary the training styles; in other words getting more people involved. Use your internal team as presenters.
If someone has mastered time management and others know it, there is value in them presenting to the sales team.
Ask your sellers who is good at what amongst themselves and there’s your list of topics and presenters.
4. Raise the Engagement Level of Everyone
Please no more boring training! We all probably experienced lecture style schooling, yet it doesn’t mean anyone likes it.
Plus, the younger generation tends to tune that type sales training out immediately. People learn best through discovery learning – and engaging activities are the way to present discovery learning.
Include hands on examples, exercises and real-life case studies where your team works together in pairs or small groups of 3-5 people.
Limit the facilitator’s talking to maximum 15 minute lecturettes and follow with an interactive application activity. You’ll discover the training sticks when everyone is engaged.
5. On-going for High Sustainability
How often is up to you. Only please don’t train only once a year. I’m amazed at how infrequent some companies provide any skill building training.
If they owned a baseball team would they hire their team and send them out all season without training? Absolutely not!
Yet sales managers hire their team and do just that. If more companies followed the sports teams philosophy of ongoing training, imagine how much more successful they’d be.
Mark you calendar and begin scheduling short, high-impact sales training on a consistent basis.
These 5 tips, a small amount of planning and some creativity will really help to boost your sales team’s morale and sales figures.
Because if you don’t train… your competition is.
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Top performing and top producing sales managers whose sellers meet sales quotas consistently conduct Field Ride Alongs, One-on-One Coaching and Sales Meetings to build skill and will. Clone yourself for some one-on one-coaching or own the latest done-for-you sales training with these special offers only available here.
