Newly hired sales reps all have certain strengths, otherwise they (theoretically) wouldn't have gotten the job. Correctly assessing new employees' weaknesses is crucial too, however. Instead of onboarding new sales reps in the same fashion, focus on those weaknesses from the start so they can hit the ground running. Republished with permission from Dave Stein.
Read moreWithout the right experience and methods, many sales trainers these days are more flash than substance. Before dropping obscene amounts of money (and wasting your sales reps') time, pay attention to what's behind a sales guru's marketing tactics to make sure he or she isn't just the latest flavor of the month. Republished with permission...
Read moreSales representatives can find themselves in a difficult position when it comes to training. All reps need it, but an ineffective sales training class provides little more than the kind of time-suck reps can hardly afford. Here's what one should avoid when setting up training and how reps can clearly communicate to managers what they...
Read moreWhen it comes to fast-shifting product lines, Google is a powerhouse, with an ever-evolving array of offerings and new features. So how does the search megalith manage to keep its sales associates up to date with what they’re selling?
Read moreRecently I attended an SMMConnect Webinar by Teresa Hiatt, former director of sales education at Ricoh Americas Corporation. The topic: Nature versus Nurture in B2B Sales — whether sales people are just plain born to be sales people or whether sales is a skill that can be learned. The answer to this question has enormous implications...
Read moreSales training needs to be changed fundamentally. One major learning objective of sales training should be that sales people spend the first phone call or two solely on discovery. Include plenty of practice on this phase of the selling process. If your sales training includes this, I can tell you — your sales force isn't applying...
Read moreIt's a perilous and sometimes chaotic world inside the mind of a sales manager. Take a journey from the “negotiation node” to the “training video ganglion” and see just what it takes to master the art of the sale.
Read moreMy wife is a teacher, and every so often when her class is in higher spirits she brings out two stuffed animals. One animal models the offending behavior, and the other tests out different responses. For example, one stuffed animal pushes the other, should the other A) push back? B) call him a name? or C)...
Read moreCould you run a sales training class without talking about selling skills, products, features, or benefits? John J. McCarthy, author of an influential article in Trusts & Estates magazine, says you should. And I couldn't agree more.
Read moreIf you do any research on sales training, most of what you will find is focused on sales approaches and methods and not how people actually, like, learn selling skills. In other words, there are plenty of good — even great — sales methodologies and schools of thought, but a surprising dearth of practical, applicable training...
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