The Secret Weapon for Sales Coaching ©
The Secret Weapon for Sales Coaching ©
For over 30 years I have been training field sale people. I work initially with their sales managers, sales coaches, whatever the title. One thing I have learned is that everyone is very well trained in selling skills, but few, if any, are trained in Prospecting skills.
So what happens when sales begin to lag or volume isn’t growing? They conduct sales skills training once again!
A few weeks ago I lead a 4 hour discussion with a group of sales trainers on the East coast.
The focus of the discussion was the fact that most of their client company sales people aren’t using their selling skills training. What these folks do is continue to call on their existing client base. Which, of course, is a great way to maintain their customer base.
However, without adding new customers, the only sales growth they experience is based on the re-orders from their existing customers. Which doesn’t require selling skills.
The folks in the audience had done a study to see how their selling skills’ training was affecting sales growth. They found that the growth was a little over 10% but was due almost entirely to the growth in re-orders from existing customers. Virtually no new sales growth. No need for sales skills at all, the field sales force was actually functioning in a customer service role.
That was why I was asked to speak and lead the discussion.
My focus, as you know, is on that very small, but critical skill of Field Sales Prospecting. And Prospecting on a regular basis all the time.
My continuing motto goes like this.
“If you were to make 6 four minute Prospecting calls per week, that is, 240 Prospecting calls per year, how would that affect your sales life?”
That is why I developed my Prospecting System since it must fit seamlessly into the day of a Field Sales Professional.
This format provides a lot of benefits to the salesperson.
First of all, it makes Prospecting easy, since it is only 4 minutes in duration.
Second, you get a lot of Prospects at the right pace. Some companies use what they call a sales blitz once or twice a year. They get a lot of names, but seldom follow up on them. I have seen this happen dozens of times.
Third, considering the correct pace of getting Prospects again, people buy at different times. We in sales never know when someone will be ready to buy, so we need to have a lot of folks in our system. Some will buy soon, some a little later, some a little later still, some into the future, etc.
Fourth, some Prospects are really bad to work with, make life miserable and can cost more than they are worth. Unless you are a glutton for punishment leave these folks for your competitors. You will have so many Prospects that you can choose who to work with. What a great feeling that is.
So for you sales coaches out there, all this is due simply to Prospecting. The only skill that gets the sales professional into a position to actually use all those selling skills.
So now you know the secret weapon for sales coaching – Prospecting.
Sell Well and Often,
Bill Truax
The Secret Weapon for Sales Coaching - To learn more about this author, visit Bill Truax's Website.
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If you are in any way responsible for sales coaching field sales professionals, then here is probably the single best information you will ever get for growing your corporate sales. One word - Prospecting.
For over 30 years I have been training field sale people. I work initially with their sales managers, sales coaches, whatever the title. One thing I have learned is that everyone is very well trained in selling skills, but few, if any, are trained in Prospecting skills.
So what happens when sales begin to lag or volume isn’t growing? They conduct sales skills training once again!
A few weeks ago I lead a 4 hour discussion with a group of sales trainers on the East coast.
The focus of the discussion was the fact that most of their client company sales people aren’t using their selling skills training. What these folks do is continue to call on their existing client base. Which, of course, is a great way to maintain their customer base.
However, without adding new customers, the only sales growth they experience is based on the re-orders from their existing customers. Which doesn’t require selling skills.
The folks in the audience had done a study to see how their selling skills’ training was affecting sales growth. They found that the growth was a little over 10% but was due almost entirely to the growth in re-orders from existing customers. Virtually no new sales growth. No need for sales skills at all, the field sales force was actually functioning in a customer service role.
That was why I was asked to speak and lead the discussion.
My focus, as you know, is on that very small, but critical skill of Field Sales Prospecting. And Prospecting on a regular basis all the time.
My continuing motto goes like this.
“If you were to make 6 four minute Prospecting calls per week, that is, 240 Prospecting calls per year, how would that affect your sales life?”
That is why I developed my Prospecting System since it must fit seamlessly into the day of a Field Sales Professional.
This format provides a lot of benefits to the salesperson.
First of all, it makes Prospecting easy, since it is only 4 minutes in duration.
Second, you get a lot of Prospects at the right pace. Some companies use what they call a sales blitz once or twice a year. They get a lot of names, but seldom follow up on them. I have seen this happen dozens of times.
Third, considering the correct pace of getting Prospects again, people buy at different times. We in sales never know when someone will be ready to buy, so we need to have a lot of folks in our system. Some will buy soon, some a little later, some a little later still, some into the future, etc.
Fourth, some Prospects are really bad to work with, make life miserable and can cost more than they are worth. Unless you are a glutton for punishment leave these folks for your competitors. You will have so many Prospects that you can choose who to work with. What a great feeling that is.
So for you sales coaches out there, all this is due simply to Prospecting. The only skill that gets the sales professional into a position to actually use all those selling skills.
So now you know the secret weapon for sales coaching – Prospecting.
Sell Well and Often,
Bill Truax
The Secret Weapon for Sales Coaching - To learn more about this author, visit Bill Truax's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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