Sales Training:

 

Sales Training Workshops

Welcome to the Sales Training Center's comprehensive resource site for effective, performance-based sales training and sales development programs. Over the past thirty years, sales professionals and sales managers across the world have benefited from our highly interactive sales training workshops. We provide pubic open enrollment and private workshops at the location of your choice. We conduct in excess of 200 monthly sales training workshops throughout the world.

For free, no obligation information on how we can help you please contact us today.

Students of a Sales Training Center workshop will learn to:

  • Communicate more effectively with customers
  • Develop the ability to build positive chemistry and rapport

  • Deal with multi-levels sales structures—users, authorizers, and purchasing agents

  • Use post-sales call measurement to assess their own performance and identify key customer issues by thinking and responding like a business consultant

  • Recognize basic styles of buyer behavior and determine how to adapt to each style to create positive "chemistry"

  • Analyze what sales people say, reducing the potential for misunderstanding

  • Effectively manage and control anger, conflict and difficult situations

  • Develop active listening skills to focus on what customers are saying

  • Be able to facilitate, guide, and close discussions in one-on-one and group settings

  • Build and give appropriate credit for other peoples ideas and avoid putting others on the defensive

  • Make a positive impact on the quality of teamwork and productivity within the work unit by effectively giving and receiving feedback

  • Sell long-term relationships rather than price

  • Incorporate interviewing skills into the sales process in lieu of pitching products

  • Apply the appropriate sales techniques based on the buyer and behavior type

For free, no obligation information on how we can help you please contact us today.

 

Sales Training Workshop: Selling to the Post-Internet Customer With Smarter Questions


The role of the salesperson has changed. Those who haven't figured this out by now will probably become part of the 20-25% of salespeople predicted to lose their jobs in the next five years. Sales has changed because the way people buy has changed. This has been caused, of course, by the internet. The result is that some traditional sales functions have become secondary or unnecessary altogether while other skills and techniques are required to get the sale. For example, the salesperson is no longer the primary information source for the customer. As a salesperson, you need to be aware that a customer can have far more information about your product than you have. They can access not just the manufacturers or distributor's website, but also the reviews, forums and/or blogs where everyone from industry experts to users of the products have their say.


More Informed is Not Better Informed The role for today's salesperson is not to be an information source, but an information sorter. Customers have access to so much information - of varying quality - that they become overwhelmed by it. In trying to 'do the right thing' by themselves and thoroughly research their potential purchase they actually diminish their decision-making confidence. In short, they know they want one, but can't decide which one so they postpone the purchase. The salesperson's task is to restore this decision-making confidence by helping them sort through the conflicting information and facilitating their buying decision.


It's All In the Questions The basis of all sales success in the current era is the ability to ask quality questions at the right time. This is a long way from the old 'selling is telling' model. The questions are used to understand what is required for a customer to move confidently toward a "yes".


So, here are four questions you should consider adding to your sales repertoire.


1. "Based on your research, what's your opinion of what's available?" Traditional sales models have you approaching the customer with the assumption that they knew nothing about your product. Now (particularly if you sell products of a high dollar value) you can assume that they have spent quite some time researching your product before deciding to see you. "Based on your research..." This acknowledges that they will have already done research, and gathered information...probably quite a lot of it. "...what's your opinion..?"
Asking someone their opinion is irresistible to most people, so it is more likely that you will get an answer that gives you some insight into their thinking.


2. "Just so I don't waste your time, is there anything else I need to understand? One of the most important things a customer must understand before they are likely to give you a complete and honest answer to your question is what is in it for them to answer your question completely and honestly? By the way, the fact that they are less than complete and honest with their questions is not a criticism of them. It is natural self-protective behavior for us to withhold information until the required level of trust has been established. The first part of this question answers this requirement. It's saving their time. The second part of the question is deliberately open because the obstacle to the eventual sale will probably have nothing to do with the product, you or your offer. It will have something to do with their 'system'. People exist in very complex systems with many stakeholders, influencers and complicating factors. Some of these you could never imagine, so unless you ask you'll won't find out about the impending divorce/interstate transfer/overseas job offer/court case until it's too late.


3. What would have to happen for you to feel confident enough to make a decision on this? It's proven that beyond a certain point, more information actually diminishes our decision-making confidence. Most decision-makers enter into a conversation with a salesperson confident in their ability to make a decision. They then are overwhelmed with more information from the salesperson - trying to establish his or her authority. Ironically, the effect of this is that the customer withdraws to do more research to try to assimilate the new information. This question acknowledges that the customer needs help in building their decision-making confidence. You do this by helping them to sort and priorities the information to identify the best choice for them.


4. What do you think will be the biggest installation/implementation hurdles? While people may see themselves as poor decision-makers, most believe they are good problem solvers. By directing their attention beyond the sale to the implementation you are (1) showing that you are not just interested in the sale, but in the product's successful use and (2) focusing their attention on solving the implementation problems. This uses the principle of the 'assumed close'. Once the problems have been solved, making the purchase seems logical.


 

Source: Kevin Ryan link

 

For free, no obligation information on how we can help you please contact us today.