Training types…

I thought I would share this thought leadership I came across some time back.  It applies beyond sales, don’t you think?  

Citing the Selling Brew Playbook: 

What is missing from your sales training program? 

We ask because in our experience nearly every B2B firm neglects at least one of the four basic types of sales training… 

…It might be due, in part, to the personality and experience of the person in charge. For example, some very extroverted sales managers see themselves as the “coach” of the team. In their minds, sales training is synonymous with a pre-game pep talk. So they tend to focus on motivational training. 

Other sales managers see themselves more as teachers. They might spend most of their time on the basics, essentially getting the team functionally literate in the sales profession. 

But we suspect that the real reason why organizations don’t use all the different types of sales training is that managers simply aren’t aware that the different types exist. Sales team leaders usually attempt to replicate the type of training that they had in the early stages of their own careers. As a result, managers with an incomplete training background pass along that incomplete training to their team members, and the cycle continues endlessly. 

But you can break that cycle by learning more about the different types of sales training and making sure that they are all part of your team development strategy… 

Basic Sales Skills: Anyone who is new to the sales profession is going to need to spend some time mastering the fundamentals. For example, new hires should understand how to listen actively, ask qualifying questions, prevent and/or handle objections, give an effective presentation, follow up with prospects, send an email, talk on the phone, negotiate, give a demonstration of your products, and use your CRM software… 

Vendor Differentiation: This type of training focuses on why customers should buy from you instead of from someone else… Companies need to cover vendor differentiation in the onboarding process and revisit the topic often, especially any time they change their sales strategy, roll out new products or services, or when the market has changed significantly because of a new competitor or other change. 

Demand Creation: …This type of training helps your sales team understand how to influence and facilitate organizational change. This is a complicated and difficult task, so your sales training should probably revisit this topic fairly regularly,… 

Personal Motivation: These are the pep-talk speeches that get sales reps fired up to go out and sell… In the same way that you want sales prospects to make an emotional connection to your product, you need to engage your sales team’s hearts as well as their minds. So go ahead and have a feel-good session that makes every cheer — just don’t forget to do the other kinds of training as well. 

As for the fourth type about motivation, I wonder what other companies are doing in today’s virtual setting in this area.  I worry companies think it’s no longer important.  What about you?  Do you like a “pep talk” from time-to-time?  Zig and I do: 

People often say that motivation doesn’t last.  Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily. 

Zig Ziglar 

Of the four types, differentiation is the training I put the most importance on.  Prospects usually ask, “Why should I do business with you?”  I know blog readers do too.  I hope my differentiation is solid. 

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.