subject: 4 Sales Training Techniques to Give You a Competitive Edge [print this page] 4 Sales Training Techniques to Give You a Competitive Edge
With millions of companies out there, how do you make yours stand out? You need to have a competitive edge. Sure, you can have flashy promotions and expensive advertisements to draw customers, but it is going to be your employees that make or break a sale. Speaker David Tooman said, "Sales without customer service is like stuffing money into a pocket full of hole."
Managers need to make sure that sales reps have extensive knowledge of product, but not only that, they need to be personable, friendly and there for their customer's needs. Higher-level management should provide sales training and constant coaching so that reps can land more clients. When it comes to sales training, there are four sales tips that managers should take into consideration in order to be successful:
1. Base Training
Base training usually comes in the form of a workshop, webinar or e-learning course. The sessions should be short, and they should occur over a period of time. It is important to recognize that training reinforcement is necessary because, as a study by Sales Performance International found, participants in sales training seminars forget half of what is taught within 5 weeks.
2. Practice
Practice sessions do not need to be painful or even uncomfortable. Facilitating practice or role-play sessions is critical for people to develop positive and consistent selling habits.
3. Coaching
Coaching does not mean telling an employee what to do when they have a problem. Instead, managers need to help sales reps through their issue. It is about asking questions and letting reps come to the decision or solution on their own
4. Feed the Mind
The key to feeding the salesperson's mind is to facilitate learning using simple things like books and articles. A critical component of doing this is to build in accountability.
To learn more about how to effectively train your employees to enhance sales performance, click here to download our FREE white paper and power point on sales training.
