If the purpose of sales training is to share information, then using a classroom setting or on-line learning is the right forum. However, seeing, reading, and taking notes is passive learning and will not achieve sales competence. Add to this the generic nature of most courses, makes it difficult for a salesperson to relate the course to their selling environment. This often results in rejection of the content and old sales habits continue.

Small changes can make a difference.

Whether using an internal company resource such as learning and development or an external provider, sales training needs to be tailored so there is greater acceptance, and an openness to adopt the new behaviours. A competency-based structure with specific assessment criteria is essential and a variety of learning methods used to meet individual needs. With clearly articulated assessment criteria for each session, a salesperson will know what to expect in advance. This can help to reduce or eliminate the mental search for ‘what comes next?’

Once the structured classroom learning is completed, and a salesperson is rated competent according to the criteria, the real learning begins. To qualify – it does not mean a salesperson is an expert in sales. Learning how to ride a push bike when we were young, took time, on-going practice, patience and confidence to ride the bike competently in a range of situations. Developing sales competence requires the same level of commitment and determination.

Include field sales coaching

The next phase is crucial and depends on the structure of the sales function whether predominately business development or account management or a combination of both. The day is planned by the salesperson and accompanied by a sales coach who also needs to be a competent salesperson. The reason is they will need to be able to demonstrate specific sales skills in relation to the sales call objective/s and the skills to be developed. Prior to the sales call, sales interview protocols are discussed to ensure the right environment is created for the client. Throughout the day the sales coach’s role can be passive, so they do not get involvement in the sales process. When the sales coach demonstrates a skill in accordance with the objective/s, it becomes a powerful learning experience for the salesperson. This is because they have witnessed how the skill is applied and the outcome in a live sales situation. The experience is totally different from a role play and most often will motivate the salesperson to want to try it for themselves. The opportunity is the next sales call.

Behaviours that defeat effective sales coaching

1. Ego. This is when sales coaching is about the sales coach. They get involved in parts of the sales process to show the client their knowledge or expertise. The client in most instances will begin to relate to the sales coach and not the salesperson. This muddies the learning environment.

2. Taking over when it appears the sale is lost. It is tempting to save the sale, but sales coaching is about transferring skills and saving the sale is counterproductive. The emotional pain of losing the sale and the lesson/s learnt will be etched in their memory and the mistake will not be duplicated – ever. To quote Benjamin Franklin, ‘Those things that hurt, instruct.’

The missing piece in sales training is a skilled sales coach working in a structured manner with the salesperson. Field sales coaching has the potential to provide a strategic advantage for the organisation resulting in increased sales and profitability.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kurt_Newman/417035

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Sales training is an important component of employee training for many businesses. Companies often hire trainers to work with their sales staff to get them motivated, inspired, and ready to get their sales message out to potential customers.

Who Needs Sales Training?

Everyone needs some type of sales training. It’s not just for large corporation or those involved with direct sales. It’s for everyone!

Sole proprietors and individuals who work for themselves also need to know how to sell.

Not only that, most people must use some sort of sales techniques to get the things they want in life. For example, most people have a job interview at some point in their lives – even this is a form of selling as you are promoting your skills and personality.

Can a Life Coach Help You Sell?

Life coaches offer a wide variety of services and help with most aspects of life. They tend to be generalists and they touch on many areas of life, including:

• Goal creation and achievement
• Stress management
• Life balance between work and leisure
• Finances and budgeting
• Personal growth
• Behavior modification
• Health and lifestyle changes
• Relationships and intimacy
• Parenting and family
• Career development
• Creativity pursuits for writers, artists, musicians

Can you add sales training to that list?

It depends on your definition of sales training. If it is strictly limited to techniques about how to sell and promote products, life coach are probably not the best choice for this type of training. However, if the concept is broadly defined, then life coaches are a great choice to help you with your ability to sell. Life is selling, and coaches know life!

Succeeding in Life is all About Sales

Here are three examples of how a life coach is really a sales coach in disguise:

1. To get anywhere in life, you must first make a sale. You must sell yourself on the idea and the goal. No matter what you want to achieve, it will usually take work, and sometime money, to reach the goal. To make the effort, time, and money worthwhile, you must sell yourself on the benefit of the goal – just like a salesperson must sell a potential customer on the benefit of a product or service.
2. Let’s say you are just entering a new career or thinking about switching gears and jumping to a new career. You will need to interview for jobs. The interview process is like any other sales job, except you are selling yourself – your skills, your personality, your experience, and your work ethic. A life coach can help you identify and clarify your goals, help you organize your skill set so you can easily promote what you have to offer, and help you work on ways to clearly and concisely relay this information to the interviewer.
3. Let’s say that one part of your life is a mess – your finances, your health, you organizational skills – some area of your life that actually negatively influences other areas. However, you truly don’t see how this one area makes a difference in other areas. A good life coach must help you sell yourself on the idea that all areas are interconnected and one disruptive area many keep you from achieving goals.

So… can a life coach offer sales training?

No one should hire a life coach to get specialized sales and marketing training – they are just not trained to do that. However, since life can be thought of as one continual sales job and everyone needs to be a sales-trained individual to make the most out of life, life coaches must also be sales coaches

From jobs to relationships to creative endeavors to enjoying the life you dream of – you must sell to yourself and to others. If coaches are worth the money they charge, then they are also sales coaches.

To answer the question in the title: Yes – life coaches offer sales training, whether they know it or not!

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jeffrey_T._Sooey/955849

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Okay, you ask, what do basketball stars have in common with my sales force? The answer is simple. Both need coaching. Yes, an important element in the performance of a basketball superstar is good coaching. Guess what, likewise an all-important element in the performance of a sales superstar is good coaching.

The reason for needing a coach is fundamental. When one is caught up in the heat of the game it is impossible to see all that is going on around. The coach has a different stake in winning and sees a larger picture. The coach can see things that are hidden from the view of the player as he moves up and down the court. The coach can tell when it is beneficial to pass the ball so that a score can be made. So, you get it, you see the analogy.

What are the obstacles that prevent a coach and a basketball superstar from benefiting from the relationship they have with each other? Well, one of the biggest obstacles is ego. Who’s you ask? The answer is both. The ego of the coach and the ego of the superstar stand in the way of making the relationship beneficial. In fact, there are many instances where a perfectly good superstar is traded and the team suffers loss because of the conflict of egos between the player and the coach. How many thousands of companies have traded sales superstars for the same reason?

Five practical activities for building good relationships between coaches and salespeople are as follows:

1. Affirm and acknowledge the need for coaching often
2. Reassure the salesperson that coaching is not a criticism of skills but rather is a method for making the very skilful even better
3. Affirm and acknolwedge the skill level that is already developed in the sales person.
4. Carry on continual dialogue concerning the reason for coaching
5. Save teasing and joking for other areas of the work place. Never belittle or embarrass the salesperson. Be sensitive to the ego of the salesperson.

It is a natural human tendency to get complacent. Familiarity with the job and the repetition of tasks and approaches over and over, tend to bring a person to a place of being mediocre or run of the mill. This is where affirming the need for coaching is critical. When a sales staff is accustomed to the coaching aspect of ongoing training and preparation, there is room made for real growth and the sales person can remain vital. The sales person must have internalized the idea, that no one gets to the point of knowing, past which, there is no additional learning. It has been said, “the enemy of learning is knowing.”

Being sensitive to the salespersons ego is paramount to a successful coaching relationship. This is why sales managers are not necessarily good candidates for sales coaches. The sales manager is in the position of authority and ultimately is responsible for discipline action all the way through termination of the salesperson. This is seen as a conflict of interest by the salesperson and stands in the way of allowing the sales manager to truly fulfill the role of coach. The coach must reassure the salesperson often that he/she believes in his/her worth as a sales professional. This opens the door to conversation that can focus on improving the selling skills, delivery and methods of the salesperson. The salesperson is much more open to accept coaching input if he/she realizes that they are valued by the coach. The best way to build this rapport is to concentrate on catching the salesperson doing something that is praiseworthy. Everyone likes to know that they are appreciated and recognized for their efforts. This step is an important part of coaching. This affirms their value as a salesperson and equips them with the ability to take correction from the coach.

Speak often about the need for ongoing coaching; Dialogue about the ways that coaching is improving production. Once the sales superstar can identify the benefit of coaching in his/her commission checks and added recognition, coaching will be an accepted part of their selling regimen. Coaching is especially profitable when the sales cycle is extended. The coach can help with strategizing in all aspects of communication with the prospective client. Remind the sales people that focus is an important factor and a good coach helps focus efforts with a closing sale in mind.

There is an age-old cliché that states, “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” This is never truer than in the case of working with sales superstars. Embarrassment and teasing is a poor motivator. Sometimes it is easier to use this method than the tried and true method of having difficult discussions in a forthright manner. This is the job of the sales manager and the coach. The coach’s honest communication should be given in a non-threatening way with the purpose of changing unproductive behavior. It should be given in private so that the sales person is not put on the spot. The sales manager can save the tough dialogue for the disciplinary encounters that can be handled no other way. This is always after the individual has refused to be coached.

Winning teams are teams that have great superstars and great coaches. When they work together for a common goal they become unstoppable.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Joe_Machuta/436659

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Working with many salespeople from top producers to those struggling to exist it’s clear there are five areas of sales that hold the greatest potential for improvement. Top producers work to fine tune their effectiveness in these areas. And others struggle to gain competence. These five areas include:

1. Prospecting
2. Overcoming objections
3. Closing the sale
4. Time management
5. Consistency and momentum

The first part of your struggle comes from knowing what to do. Yes, many salespeople think they know what they need to do because of the sales training they’ve had. However, that sales training isn’t as effective as it could be because it’s event based making it impossible for you to absorb and apply the information you need, your prospects haven’t had the same training consequently they don’t play by the rules, and it isn’t specific to you and your exact challenges. Another mistake is doing exactly what everyone else in your industry is doing. Bottom line, if what you’re doing isn’t producing the results you want it’s time to figure out what to do to get those results.

The next gap is knowing how to do what you know you need to do. If you’ve ever watched professional sports you may have noticed that the difference between how the super stars do things and how the others do things isn’t easily observable. The same is true for the sales professional.

The only way to increase sales is to take action. Although most salespeople are great at taking action they aren’t great at taking the right action. Right actions are the actions that consistently produce the results you want in the way you want.

There are more opportunities around you each day than you could ever fully take advantage of. The first step is opening your eyes to those opportunities. The next step is opening the door to taking advantage of those opportunities that are in alignment with your sales objectives.

Finally, if you want to overcome your sales struggles you must allow no excuses from this point forward. Everyone has things that are getting in their way, and if you let them they will keep you from getting what you want. In spite of that fact, you don’t have to allow them to keep you from getting what you want. You do have to develop plans for working around those obstacles, and then immediately implement your plans.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1023114