How to Train Salespeople

Train your sales staff to sell, not just to look like a salesman.

Zig Ziglar once said, "The easier you are on yourself, the harder life will be on you, and the harder you are on yourself, the easier life will be on you." Teaching salesmen to live by this statement is easier than it may appear. While there is a part of salesmanship that is innate, there are many habits that you can reinforce through coaching that can transform an average salesman into an extraordinary one. Your training methodology and frequency will directly affect your results.

Things You'll Need

• Sales training best-sellers
• DVD of "Tommy Boy"
• Interactive Whiteboard
• Projector

Instructions

1. Conduct frequent but short training sessions. Some companies make sales training a quarterly or yearly event. It takes much less time to develop bad sales habits.

2. Utilize technology. Purchase a multimedia projector and an interactive whiteboard. Many salesmen are visual learners and using technology to watch sales presentations clarifies training for them.

3. Make training light and fun but purposeful. Use a movie clip from "Tommy Boy" to demonstrate both good and bad technique. The film follows the evolution of Chris Farley's character from an irreverent, inept salesman to a dominant, if slightly inappropriate one. Read excerpts from best-selling sales books.

4. Highlight at least one thing from every training session that you will evaluate as your staff puts it into practice. There is no value in an idea unless it is used.

5. Role-play using the product and best sales practices in the training meeting. The trainee needs to know his product inside and out, but he needs to know how to sell it even more.

6. Play games. Have the audience hold up ratings cards numbered one to 10 after a mock sales presentation. Role-play funny customers and have a salesman try to overcome their objections.

7. Train peer-to-peer. Pair the best salesmen with the worst to demonstrate best practices.

8. Clarify the team nature of your business. Salesmen tend toward independence and competitiveness to the exclusion of the team. While this can sometimes help sales, it can also be bad for morale and sharing information or tips.

9. Share success stories from your own experience and as your staff succeeds. Discuss how a salesperson overcame a challenging objection or a harsh customer.

10. Evaluate during the day. If possible, monitor the sales process as it happens and make notes. Provide feedback immediately after the customer leaves and tell the salesperson what changes to make with the next customer.

11. Address the concept of fear as a motivator. Once a salesman incorporates boldness and begins to vanquish fear from his personality during a sales presentation, he will overcome objections differently.

12. Discuss goals and motivation. Once the trainee sees tangible benefits from improving sales technique, he will be more likely to use them.

Tips & Warnings

• Watch the staff as you train to be sure trainees are engaged. Make notes of what kept their attention and what did not.

• Post goals and statistics for individuals and teams where they will see them.

• Film your best salespeople in role-play sessions for use later.

• Don't beat a dead horse. If you have tried the same technique with the same person multiple times, try something else.

• Don't be afraid to terminate staff who will not be trained.

References

• New York Enterprise Report: Sales Training Ideas to Start Now
• Training Marketer: Low-cost, Peer-to-peer Sales Training Ideas
• Sales Training Connection: Selling Sales Managers on Coaching
• Bodine Games: Fun Training Ideas
• The Sales Hunter: Sales Training Tip #359: Ideas Mean Nothing...Until...
• Walden University: Effective Sales Training Techniques

Resources

• Funny or Die: How Sales Stories Demonstrate Powerful Consequences
• Sales Practice: Sales Training
• Internet Movie Database: Tommy Boy
• Sales Training Advice: Sales Training Ideas: Attitude Versus Aptitude By Brian Tracy