The Farce Called Sales Training
The Farce Called Sales Training
Most sales training is not only misguided, but also mislabeled.
When I ask sales managers what goes on at their big sales conferences, the topic of sales skill development rarely comes up. In between addresses from company executives and talks about company and industry news, the only sales training provided for the salespeople isn't really sales training at all.
Delivered by product managers, this "sales training" is all about products. The mantra: "Learn more about our products and you'll sell more of them." Big mistake. Product knowledge will not cure all sales sins.
TOO MUCH LOGIC IS ILLOGICAL.
It's no secret that people buy using emotion, and then defend their purchase decision with logic. Product knowledge supplies the logic. Too much logic, fueled by an obsession with learning the product line inside and out, will derail selling efforts.
Emphasis on product knowledge causes salespeople to strip emotion out of the sales dialogue. Salespeople become so comfortable reciting speeds and feeds, usage jargon, and application patterns that they stop listening to the customer and miss the big picture. They ignore buying motivation, the decision process, and the buyer's emotions associated with achieving their desired results.
When product training masquerades as sales training, salespeople become sterile regurgitators of irrelevant factoids.
FEATURES PACIFY FEARS.
I suspect that this irrational, endless pursuit of product knowledge stems from the contagion of fear, the fear of not being able to answer any question that could possibly be asked.
"What if somebody "important" asks me a question and I don't know the answer?"
"If I can't answer, will they think I'm not smart?"
"Will this mean I'm inferior?"
"Does this mean I might 'lose'?"
Sadly, too much of our self-esteem seems linked to how smart we perceive we are. Memorizing product features can make us feel smart.
WHAT DRIVES CUSTOMERS AWAY?
My wife and I were recently shopping for a new vehicle. She and I had a pretty clear idea of what we wanted the vehicle to do, which suggested which features would be relevant for us. The salesperson never bothered to ask us how we were going to use the vehicle, so we just gave him the list of key features we thought we needed. None of them were under the hood.
When he took us outside to see the first candidate, he invited my wife to sit behind the wheel, then popped the hood and proceeded to show me the locations of all the fluid fill points around the engine. I interrupted him and asked, "Why are you showing me this?" He thought my question meant that he should explain more about what's under the hood. I had to tell him three times to close the hood, so I could get on with what mattered to me. I have no doubt he was doing exactly what he was taught in his "sales training class," yet his misguided product knowledge was irritating me and jeopardizing the sale for the dealership. Sometimes we buy in spite of how poorly the salesperson is trained.
LEARN THE TRUTH BEFORE YOU SELL.
For the record, I believe that product knowledge is a good thing, and that more is better than less. I just want to put an end to the lie that says, "Learn all about the product, and people will buy something from you." Instead, we should be teaching salespeople, "Learn all about the buyer, and they will buy anything from you."
I contend that I can spot a good salesperson by the questions they ask. These pro's will guide me through five layers of questions to understand my buying motivations, previous experiences, compelling events, and other aspects that fuel the emotions surrounding my decision. Only then do they need to pull out usage questions based on product knowledge.
FOCUS HERE.
The real reason that product training can never substitute for sales training is that the focus is on the product, and not the buyer. True sales training is about helping salespeople understand the buyer, identify a suitable solution, and gain commitment. The product is merely a means toward that end. Include that kind of sales training at your next sales conference if you want all those product-related power-points to pay off.
The Farce Called Sales Training - To learn more about this author, visit Paul Johnson's Website.
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© 2007 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.
Most sales training is not only misguided, but also mislabeled.
When I ask sales managers what goes on at their big sales conferences, the topic of sales skill development rarely comes up. In between addresses from company executives and talks about company and industry news, the only sales training provided for the salespeople isn't really sales training at all.
Delivered by product managers, this "sales training" is all about products. The mantra: "Learn more about our products and you'll sell more of them." Big mistake. Product knowledge will not cure all sales sins.
TOO MUCH LOGIC IS ILLOGICAL.
It's no secret that people buy using emotion, and then defend their purchase decision with logic. Product knowledge supplies the logic. Too much logic, fueled by an obsession with learning the product line inside and out, will derail selling efforts.
Emphasis on product knowledge causes salespeople to strip emotion out of the sales dialogue. Salespeople become so comfortable reciting speeds and feeds, usage jargon, and application patterns that they stop listening to the customer and miss the big picture. They ignore buying motivation, the decision process, and the buyer's emotions associated with achieving their desired results.
When product training masquerades as sales training, salespeople become sterile regurgitators of irrelevant factoids.
FEATURES PACIFY FEARS.
I suspect that this irrational, endless pursuit of product knowledge stems from the contagion of fear, the fear of not being able to answer any question that could possibly be asked.
"What if somebody "important" asks me a question and I don't know the answer?"
"If I can't answer, will they think I'm not smart?"
"Will this mean I'm inferior?"
"Does this mean I might 'lose'?"
Sadly, too much of our self-esteem seems linked to how smart we perceive we are. Memorizing product features can make us feel smart.
WHAT DRIVES CUSTOMERS AWAY?
My wife and I were recently shopping for a new vehicle. She and I had a pretty clear idea of what we wanted the vehicle to do, which suggested which features would be relevant for us. The salesperson never bothered to ask us how we were going to use the vehicle, so we just gave him the list of key features we thought we needed. None of them were under the hood.
When he took us outside to see the first candidate, he invited my wife to sit behind the wheel, then popped the hood and proceeded to show me the locations of all the fluid fill points around the engine. I interrupted him and asked, "Why are you showing me this?" He thought my question meant that he should explain more about what's under the hood. I had to tell him three times to close the hood, so I could get on with what mattered to me. I have no doubt he was doing exactly what he was taught in his "sales training class," yet his misguided product knowledge was irritating me and jeopardizing the sale for the dealership. Sometimes we buy in spite of how poorly the salesperson is trained.
LEARN THE TRUTH BEFORE YOU SELL.
For the record, I believe that product knowledge is a good thing, and that more is better than less. I just want to put an end to the lie that says, "Learn all about the product, and people will buy something from you." Instead, we should be teaching salespeople, "Learn all about the buyer, and they will buy anything from you."
I contend that I can spot a good salesperson by the questions they ask. These pro's will guide me through five layers of questions to understand my buying motivations, previous experiences, compelling events, and other aspects that fuel the emotions surrounding my decision. Only then do they need to pull out usage questions based on product knowledge.
FOCUS HERE.
The real reason that product training can never substitute for sales training is that the focus is on the product, and not the buyer. True sales training is about helping salespeople understand the buyer, identify a suitable solution, and gain commitment. The product is merely a means toward that end. Include that kind of sales training at your next sales conference if you want all those product-related power-points to pay off.
The Farce Called Sales Training - To learn more about this author, visit Paul Johnson'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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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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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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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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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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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander'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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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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