Perfecting
Sales with Training
Expert
in the basics
By
Jeffrey Hansler, CSP
As
a sales development company, we often supply training as one
of our services. In speaking with owners and managers
about training for their sales personnel, the response is
often, "We have experienced personnel. They've
been selling for years. They don't need any
training." My reply to that is fiddlesticks.
Each
year Orel Hershiser shows up for training camp just like the
rookies do. His knowledge base is greater, his skills
more honed, but never would he call in and say he wasn't
coming. Why? Because he understands that to keep
the edge that makes him great, he benefits from perfecting
basic skills, improving overall performance, and receiving
coaching on his personal style.
Selling
skills are maintained in the same manner. To keep the
edge requires work on the basics: Work that can't be
accomplished during actual selling. To keep that sharp
edge in selling requires a salesperson to improve overall
performance and receive expert coaching on personal style.
The
top professionals in selling take time to place themselves
in learning environments. I have not met an active
professional in sales, or any other field, that is not
seeking improvement. This is why those individuals
make money comparable to the top professional athletes.
Training
should be tailored for each skill level. Basic sales
training will have more structure in its training approach,
so that a full range of knowledge and skills can be
introduced to the group. An experienced sales force
should receive a combination of basic review, interactive
workshop, case study, and focused work on any of several
critical areas in sales (often depending on the market
circumstances at the time).
The
hidden agenda occurring in the minds of managers and owners
not providing training for their sales staff is usually
cost. They don't want to spend the money. For
those individuals that are worried about costs, imagine how
much money professional baseball teams would save if they
didn't have training camps.
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Jeffrey
Hansler is a professional speaker, author, and consultant.
He is a frequent speaker at association events and is the
author of Sell Little Red Hen! Sell! He can be reached at jhansler@oxfordco.com.
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2004 Jeffrey Hansler All rights reserved |
