Sales Training
Paul Golden talks to some of Ireland’s top sales trainers and explores the key areas that purchasers of sales training should consider.
Some participants may have their doubts about its value, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that relevant, concise and well-delivered sales training equips sales staff with techniques that are reliable and repeatable.
Sales people are often skeptical about the value of training, believing that it has little or no relevance outside the classroom. Traditionally, sales training tended to be included with product knowledge training and happened as part of a new employee’s induction period within a company, but there is no place for such a haphazard approach in the modern business environment.
Like any other kind of training, the key to success is convincing the trainees that they are learning something useful. Niall Devitt, senior sales training consultant at Real World Sales Training describes it as giving the salesperson a real sense of ownership of the methods being used.
“For this to happen, the skills being taught have to have a clear, practical use with real prospects in real situations. The training (and trainer) needs to deal with the realities of selling in an intelligent way, ensuring that any issues are dealt with in an inclusive manner. Training success will invariably come down to how much learning is taken out of the classroom and used as part of what a seller does each day.”
One method of reinforcing ideas and concepts expressed during sales training is role playing, which can be used to analyse problems from different perspectives, apply various selling solutions in case scenarios and also develop teamwork.
Advocates of role-playing say it is not just “practising out loud” or imitating material in front of others, but rather the systematic building of good habits in a low-stress environment, followed by individual critique and correction of errors through rehearsal. For example, by having two people act out a selling scenario sales trainees can practice their techniques in a risk-free environment, before they get in front of the buyer. The trainer and other trainees can watch the role-play, learn as they watch and critique it afterwards.
Most basic principals are transferable across industries, as certain rules will always apply, according to Niall Devitt. “However, when we talk about more advanced sales techniques, the most effective training method by far is a customised solution. This method of creating training specifically for a business model is by far the most effective at getting tangible results because it identifies any shortage of skills and tackles those areas exclusively. Everything about the training is geared towards the individual company and the sales people have a real sense that this is being done to help and assist them.”
Frank Salisbury, managing director of Business & Training Solutions says the basis of a successful sales training programme is getting to know the client. “You need to determine the exact process a company uses to sell its particular product or service. It is like coaching a sports team – every group has a basic fitness schedule but the actual programme is based on the specifics of the team.”
Not surprisingly, when asked whether the same principles apply to all types of industries and businesses he repeated the observation that every company has its own unique way of selling. “The idea is to find out what are they trying to do and what they will have to change. There is usually someone in the organisation who is doing a great job and the idea is to tap into what makes that person good.”
Salisbury is pretty concise in his assessment of how sales skills should be developed. “Selling is a physical skill and you cannot learn it from a video or a book. While the knowledge can be delivered in a multitude of ways, you can only learn skills by doing – and many sales people don’t like doing that.”
It is his view that anyone can be trained to sell, so it is the task of the trainer to find out whether it is what they really want to do. The most successful programmes run by Business & Training Solutions always begin with the ‘reselling’ of selling as a profession and the best success rates are achieved when the client company takes a long term, professional view of the sales process.
Successful sales training lies in the application of technique in real life simulated environments standalone theory has limited impact. That is the view of AnneMarie Carroll of Chambers Ireland, which delivers a variety of courses though its Chamber Business School. “These courses are delivered on an open basis. While various sales principles operate across all industries, the open platform delivery generates synergetic cross-fertilisation of ideas.”
Companies who invest in training are looking to give their people as much assistance as they can while looking for an edge over their competition. Sometimes training is sought after a period of poor sales but more often it tends to be companies who are doing extremely well and are looking to move their business to the next level.
Niall Devitt says his work has ranged from dealing with large sales teams who have used him to compliment existing training and trainers right down to start-ups looking for ways to seek out new customers and build up their business.
“The role of trainer has changed and the nature of training methods has evolved,” he added. “A trainer now needs to be a coach, a consultant and a facilitator. There is an expectation that you are an expert on all aspects of selling from sales processes to advising with regards to marketing. A trainer has to be able to facilitate an internal company brain storming and sales discussion and advise with regards to best practice.”
“Training methods are changing all the time the days of a trainer standing in front of a PowerPoint presentation rattling off what to do and what not to do are thankfully on the way out. I like the term sales training consultant, but you could include entertainer, as above all else learning needs to be fun.”
When asked whether there have been any major changes to the way this training is delivered over recent years, AnnMarie Carroll’s answer was reassuringly low-tech. “We have found delivery of sales training to be far more participant involved with real life simulation and hands-on adaptation of techniques. This is where the real transfer of learning occurs.”
Course participants are continually seeking the magic formula that turns a ‘lead generator’ into a ‘closer’ and someone who can convert a once-off sale into a valuable relationship. As the last point suggests, Carroll is of the opinion that the full benefits only become evident after time.
“Success in sales training can be deceptive. Many companies take it to be only the immediate increase in volume – however; it is far more in depth. The impact of such training is continuous as participants apply techniques and gain confidence.”
So how do you measure the success of your sales training programmes? According to Niall Devitt, short-term success can be measured in how much of the learning is taken out of the classroom and used as part of what the salesperson does each day. Long-term success can be measured in the percentage of companies that return and seek out additional training and courses.
“Obviously it is great when a sales manager reports that sales have increased, but our focus as trainers is always on ensuring that we get the initial buy-in from the sales people and that each course is completely inclusive,” he said. “In effect it is a lot like selling; ensure that you do the day to day stuff well and the big accolades will take care of themselves.”
The managing director of Business & Training Solutions admits that it can be difficult for companies to go back to basics in search of better practices. “Business is based on short term goals and it can be hard to change behaviour, so the role of the sales manager is absolutely vital – without the sales manager’s buy-in the process will not work because they are the only people who can influence what happens on the sales floor every day.”
Frank Salisbury’s answer to the question of how sales training providers measure the success of their programmes and courses is equally concise – are they more successful after than before? – but he acknowledges that results take time to achieve. “The difficulty is to cut out all the other influences – it can be hard to establish what exactly caused the improvement in performance. However, we have never had a client prepared to pay us based solely on results!”
