 " DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF SALES TRAINING "
Many sales managers will have little regard for the value of on-going sales training for their salespeople. Many will not provide training because they're not sure whether the salespeople will still be working there tomorrow. Some will use training as a reward. This attitude is short sighted. A well trained sales staff is highly productive and will justify the investment in training.
A well trained salesperson is knowledgeable about their products, service and company.
If you don't think this is important, consider the fact most dealers consider this to be an area of on-going weakness in the majority of their sales staff. This saps their time and resources as they must answer basic questions from their salespeople. Often they are providing information they consider necessary for the salespeople to perform to minimum performance standards.
A well trained salesperson understands his or her marketplace.
They know their competitors and their strengths and weaknesses. They understand how to best position themselves against other competitive vehicles. This assures they are in the strongest position to land a sale in a competitive situation. A salesperson who is unable to properly position the strengths of their product against the weaknesses of their competitors is unlikely to get the sale.
A well-trained salesperson has the skills to properly qualify a prospect and probe for the real needs and concerns of a prospect.
Consider the fact that most objections are the result of poor sales skills and the fact that many prospects are not properly qualified in the first place. A properly qualified prospect offers fewer objections and barriers to the sale.
A well-trained salesperson has the skills to listen to the needs and concerns of the prospect.
Consider the fact many salespeople will ask questions, probe for information and simply ignore what they have learned as they make a canned presentation.
Salespeople must have the skills to design effective and value added solutions which specifically address the needs and concerns of the prospect.
Consider the fact many salespeople typically will present the same sales presentation for a product they wish to sell, rather than to assist the buyer to purchase what they need.
A well-trained salesperson has the skills to prepare and deliver their knowledge in a professional and productive manner.
A salesperson is considered a professional communicator. They should be familiar with the tools and techniques which allow them to develop superior communication skills. Consider the fact poorly prepared and presented sales presentations will often result in a loss of sales despite the quality of the vehicle and the dealership.
Sales training must be considered an investment in the company.
Properly done and implemented, it will increase sales performance. Sales training must be consistent and on-going. An inconsistent training calendar is insufficient. A regular training cycle should be planned and implemented. Normal training is forgotten within thirty days. It must be reinforced, if it is to be effective through on-going training and coaching.
Sales managers should evaluate the weaknesses demonstrated by their sales staff and develop programs that address these problem areas.
If training addresses these problem areas one by one, the performance of the entire sales force is increased over a specified period of time.
There are a range of training options available to all companies.
Contracting a sales training company is not always an option due to budgetary concerns. We provide a series of training programs for sales managers. Each program addresses a specific problem such as closing or handling objections. Each is designed to provide a sales manager with the information, materials and activities for one to hours worth of training. This allows a sales manager to provide training for a weekly or monthly sales meeting. The advantage of these programs is they eliminate eight to nine hours of preparation time, a sales manager typically requires to prepare this training. This often is the primarily reason why sales managers don't provide the training. They don't have the time to prepare the training session. Prepared programs provide a low cost alternative and are affordable for every company. Obviously, there are many other alternative programs available.
Many companies provide public sales training seminars.
Salespeople should use the same seminars so a consistent training is provided. Sending different individuals to different programs can create conflict in sales styles and individual results.
Training reinforcement can be provided by sales newsletters, magazines and ezines.
Don't simply subscribe for your salespeople. Require that reports be made at sales meeting by individual salespeople on favorite articles. This brings accountability and assures that your investment in information is used.
There are options available to provide professional training to your sales force. There are no legitimate excuses for a dealership not to provide the level of training that assures your salespeople have the skills to adequately perform their job.
Salesperson, Inc. is a sales and management training company specializing in the development of education and training tools. To find out more about Mike Whitty and Salesperson, Inc., visit www.mikewhitty.com and www.slpinc.net.
Reprinted with permission from: Mike Whitty and Salesperson, Inc. (800) 453-2787.
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