Peady’s Selling Engagement

Can you picture a top football team that has just finished a poor season putting out this press release?

“In the light of this season’s disastrous performance the club is cutting back on coaching staff, reducing practice time, eliminating our recruitment efforts and shutting down our training facility. We’re confident that these changes will make a significant difference and position us for a great next season”

Obviously this wouldn’t happen; imagine the negative publicity and backlash from the team’s supporters?

Here’s a Question

Why do many businesses cutback or abandon sales training for their frontline people when times are tough? More importantly why do they still expect business to continue or even grow post these cutbacks?

In my experience any business that employs sales people needs to constantly invest in training and coaching – finding ways to grow their people, improve performance and raise the bar. Regardless of the experience of the team. Point of clarification don’t confuse the two – training isn’t coaching and coaching isn’t training. They are both equally important and quite different.

Sales Training

A company’s sales team is the “tip of the spear” representing the public face of the company. The teams’ conduct not only impacts the bottom line but colours market perception.

So training is a sales essential for ongoing success. When a sales person contacts a potential customer, meets with them or prepares and presents a proposal they need the tools to do the job.

• Prospecting and qualifying
• Setting appointments
• Conducting a face to face meeting
• Asking pertinent questions
• Finding and uncovering needs or opportunities
• Closing the business

Once the team is trained they need ongoing in-office and in-field support via coaching to ensure the “spear” remains sharp.

Fact

Pound for pound (or kilo for kilo) a solidly trained and coached sales team will blow away their untrained, uncoached competitors every time!
 

About the author 

Stephen Pead is a media industry veteran of 30 years with significant experience in direct sales, sales management and general management. He is based in Sydney and specialises in helping SME’s market their businesses more effectively and providing training for salespeople and sales managers.

He can be contacted at [email protected]