What Is Sales Training? Tips to Help You Get the Most Out of Your Program

What Is Sales Training?

It’s one of the best ways for salespeople to improve their skills. It’s a catalyst for acquiring more than knowledge. Salespeople leave the programs armed with new techniques to maximize their selling potential. Training serves as a change management initiative. It can take your abilities to the next level. The end goal of training? Having the capability to put more revenue in your pocket than ever before.

Sales training can take place in a variety of formats. Here are the most common:

-Courses:

A sales training course can be either online or in-person. A course format will allow you to do your training at a time and place that fits your schedule. Modern courses make it very easy to keep track of your progress.

-Workshops: Most workshops get done in-person and not online. Workshops focus on a few key aspects of sales. These can include: prospecting, closing, negotiating, etc.

-Outside consultants:

Companies tend to bring in outside consultants for one of two reasons.

1. They cannot deliver quality in-house training on their own.
2. There are too many salespeople to train.

Consultants are excellent resources because they usually have a great deal of experience. They’ve been in the trenches for decades and are ready to unveil their secrets of success. Not to mention, consultants usually know quite a bit of crucial market information.

-Conferences:

These are for groups of salespeople to learn from industry leaders. Salespeople usually walk away from conferences knowing what’s trending in their markets. Conferences are an excellent resource for training an entire team at the same time.

-Internal team testing:

This is when audits of previous sales cycles usually take place. Audits allow salespeople to see which methods worked and those that failed. Internal team testing usually uses real-world applications.

-Field training:

This is great resource for reps to get feedback. Field training is usually used for talent development. Feedback and analysis after calls will help reps develop their skills in a quick manner. This is crucial for improving the skills of inexperienced salespeople.

10 Sales Training Tips: Get the Most Out of Your Program

No matter what sales training program you’re in, follow these tips. They’ll help ensure that you get the most you can out of your training. Next thing you know, your pockets might get filled with tons of revenue.

1) Have the right mindset.

No matter what training program you take part in, it will be a waste of time if you have a poor attitude. You’ve got to walk into the program believing in yourself. Belief is everything. If you believe you’re a bad salesperson, then that’s what you are. A bad salesperson. But if you believe you’re going to be successful, it will be so much more likely that you WILL be successful. You should also walk into your training program with an openness to learn. This means you can’t be close-minded. You can’t think you already know everything there is to know about sales. Many of the top salespeople in the world attribute their success to one thing. And that is making an effort to learn and grow every single day.

2) Set big goals for yourself.

Your sales training program will be more effective if you walk into it with specific goals in mind. For example, show up with the goal of being a top 10 percent seller. This will motivate you to get serious. You must think big and never settle for less. Your goals should be so big that they scare you. But don’t only have one goal. Try to have a series of specific goals. For example, your goal shouldn’t be this. “I want to be a better salesperson.” Instead, it should be: “I want to improve my negotiation skills. I want to learn how to identify buying motives faster. I want to make $20,000 in commission per month.”

3) Identify what’s holding you back.

Make a list of your weakest skills. Bring that list to your training program every day. This will remind you to improve the areas that you’ve been struggling in the most. If you’re unsure of what you need to improve, ask your sales manager. Say: “What’s the most important skill you think I should improve that would allow me to get my sales numbers up?” Write down what your manager says. Then make an effort to improve that skill during your training sessions.

4) Understand who’s buying your products or service.

To become master seller, you must be able to cater to the needs of your specific prospects. That’s why you must keep your prospects in mind during your training. Otherwise, you might concentrate on areas that don’t affect you or your company. Do your best to understand your average prospect’s decision-making process. Spend some time in their shoes. This will make it easier for you to figure out what it takes to make more sales to that specific group. Your selling process and the prospect’s buying process will get in sync. All thanks to your training. You’ll then be able to win more deals.

5) Ask questions.

Taking part in sales training gives you a rare opportunity to take a step back and learn. Don’t let that opportunity go to waste. Ask questions you’ve always wanted to know the answers to but haven’t had the time to research on your own. In fact, bring a list of questions to training. Make sure the instructor answers every single question before the program concludes.

6) Listen.

It doesn’t get any simpler than this. But it also doesn’t get any more important. If you’re dozing off during your training or goofing off with your peers—it’s a waste of time for you to be in the program. Be attentive. Have a pen and paper out and write down everything important the trainer says. Define what’s “important” as something that can benefit your job and make you a better salesperson. You should still listen. Even if the instructor’s talking about something that doesn’t relate to your position. You might realize that what he or she is saying can still help you succeed.

7) Learn how to sell value.

‘How can I add value for my prospects?’ That’s a question that should be on your mind all the time. And this includes your time in a sales training program. As you should know by now, prospects don’t care about your product’s features. They care about the VALUE that they’ll be getting. Without being able to add value, you’ll be battling your prospects about the pricing. Make sure that your trainer gives you tons of tips on how to understand WHY prospects want your products. That’s the key to knowing how to add value to any sale.

8) Understand the complete sales process.

To be a master salesperson, you must master every step in the entire sales process. It’s the only way to take prospects through the sales funnel with ease. Below is a common model of the sales process. Focus your training on any of the following steps that you’re not currently excelling at.

-Step 1: Prospecting. You must become an expert at researching and identifying potential customers

-Step 2: Touch Points. Your touch-point planning must be flawless. This includes teh follwoing. Emailing. Phone calls. Video conferencing. In-person meetings. If you want to always have engaged prospects, you’ve got to know everything there is to know about touch points.

-Step 3: Closing Conversion Gaps. This is where your sales tools come into play. Not to mention, this is where identifying prospect needs is crucial. Once you close the conversion gap, the prospect can begin the buying process.

-Step 4: Presentations. This is where you outline how what you’re selling can improve your prospects’ lives. You’ll have to communicate how you can take care of their needs.

-Step 5: Verification. Verification points will allow you to qualify your prospects. Verification is open-ended. This means you can use free trials, budget conformations, proof of concept, etc.

-Step 6: Closing. You know all about how important this is. This is where your prospects put their money where their mouths are. You MUST sharpen your negotiation skills if you want to be a great closer.

9) Keep learning.

Your sales training sessions are over. Think you’ve learned everything you need to know? Think again. Learning is a lifelong process. Sure, a sales training program can help you. But it can only do so much. To be a great salesperson, you must be willing to learn on your own. Otherwise, that techniques that made you sales this year might not make sales next year. You’ve got to think of yourself as your own sales trainer. And you must be go the extra mile and train yourself on a routine basis.

10) Consider hiring a coach or consultant.

Don’t panic if a training program near you isn’t getting the job done. It means you or your company should think about bringing in a coach or consultant. Having an outsider come in and observe you will help you grow fast and improve your techniques.

In Conclusion

Use these ten tips to help you get the most out of your sales training program. Don’t waste energy dreading training or viewing it as a waste of time. No one is perfect at being a salesperson. There are aspects of your job that you can improve so you can increase your revenue. All you need is an open mind and the right attitude.