Author Archive for Sales Training Drivers

NEW! Upcoming Free Webinar

Check out this Month’s Free Webinar hosted by ASTD Sales Training Drivers!

Give your career a boost by viewing this upcoming program presented by an experienced sales trainer, sales consultant, or learning & development professional – by checking out next month’s upcoming live webcast!

ASTD Sales Training Drivers provides access to both classic and emerging best practices in a convenient, cost-effective way. These webcasts not only allow you to sharpen your thinking, but also create a great way to share that thinking with others.

More support for provocative selling

HBR’s article on provocative selling made a big splash earlier this year — multiple executives we know picked up on it and shared it widely with their colleagues.  This article provides a quick overview.

Sales Enablement

How do You Enable the Sales Team?

Millions of Internet pages are dedicated to the subject of sales coaching and sales training. Have you conducted an Internet search for it lately?

With all that content available, it’s amazing that sales team have any trouble hitting their performance goals.  Have you ever thought about it from a salesperson’s shoes? Think about it: there are many different resources available for salespeople in how to close, how to manage time, how to ask questions, how to manage a territory, and how to stay motivated.

Sales Training Management Dilemmas

Sales Training Management Dilemmas

Do you really know your sales organization?

Most people don’t realize that the sales culture created in the organization is actually built upon bits and pieces of the sales profession. By that I mean, each person that has had a critical decision to make has uniquely crafted the sales organization…

How Can You Improve Sales?

The top 5 Issues Facing VPs of Sales

Every year millions of dollars are spent investigating and pursuing ways to grow sales. Any business owner knows that sales are the life blood of the company. If there are no sales there is no company, it is that simple!

A past study of 2,663 sales organizations by Think Training, Nightingale Conant, and Trainique uncovered five areas that shed light on what separates the best from the rest.

Issue one – A poorly defined sales process. 82% of all CEO’s said their sales organization had a process that was poorly defined or a process that wasn’t being followed. A sales process is like a road map. If you pay attention it helps you determine if you are in heading in the right or wrong direction. A well defined sales process does the same thing. It should be consultative in nature, have defined steps that allow both parties to develop a better understanding of each other and a set of questions that help you qualify or disqualify.

Issue two – Lack of essential skills. 42% of CEO’s said their salespeople lacked the essential basic skills needed to do their job properly-ouch. During the 70’s and 80’s it was common for large corporations to hire new sales recruits and put them through a 12- 18 month intensive sales development program. Those days are gone, leaving a huge skills gap! Odds are if you are younger then 40 you never received the type of training you really needed.

Issue three – Failing to focus on the right kinds of activity. 90% of CEO’s said their salespeople focused on low payoff activities or called on the wrong people. It is a common mistake to confuse being busy with being productive. Top performers know what they are doing, why they are doing it and whom they are doing it with.

Issue four – Allowing “self talk” to sabotage your efforts. 86% of CEO’s said their salespeople had negative thinking or self talk that was damaging their sales efforts. There are hundreds of examples but the most obvious has to do with discounts. Over and over again I hear salespeople say they have to be the lowest price to win the business. Every study I have ever read says that there are 4 – 6 other issues ahead of price but we have been “programmed” to think price is the issue. It is critical to understand how you have been programmed and how some of thoughts are working against you!

Issue five – Sales management not developing their people enough. 67% of CEO’s said that their sales managers were not spending enough time coaching and developing their salespeople. The job of a sales manager is to coach their people just like in professional sports! Unfortunately if we don’t have a sales process, salespeople with undeveloped skills or the wrong people coaching becomes impossible.

For salespeople taking responsibility for our own professional development is the key! Have a process, hone your skills, focus on the right kinds of activity, be aware of your thoughts, get some coaching, join a sales mastermind group, or join an association dedicated to your success.

Good sales professionals realize their strengths and weaknesses and create a plan that addresses their abilities. Great sales professionals repeat this process over and over.