Enabling Salespeople for the future by re-focusing training investments

1- Make the training more effective by making it harder

2- Include leaders in practice sessions

Research published in the Frontiers in Psychology journal shows that when employees view their leaders as empowering and capable, they work more proactively. This research highlights the importance of leaders to initiate desirable traits and proactively jump into activity and role-play sessions.

3- Run read hard simulation/role playing exercises

Salespeople tend to detest role-plays, claiming that they don’t replicate real-life interactions with clients. In fact, studies have attested that it is much harder for salespeople to sell in a pretense than in a real scenario alone with clients. This is why softball scenarios in which the “prospect” asks only a handful of easy questions are a waste of time. Furthermore, it is important to make practice harder than a real sales call so salespeople are prepared for any conversation, and have reps practice in front of their peers. Don’t help them when they get stuck; wait for them to recover. Don’t let them break out of their roles by feeding them answers. Ask follow-up questions until they find solutions themselves.

4- Practice the entire sales cycle, not just the first meeting or call 

All sales training programs include practicing the initial sales calls and initial meeting; but, few link their training program to the entire sales process and address the other part of the sales steps.

5- Ensure continuity for the program

Since, 80% of the information from training sessions is merely retained for 90 days, reinforcement sessions should be conducted regularly; Thus a uniform practicing across the sales team should be more consistent. In programs where continuous reinforcement sessions were administered, 60 to 65% of the reps shifted their sales approach from presenting and talking to questioning and listening.

6- Leverage on Technology to utilize your trainings

In order for reps to develop new behavioral skills, they must practice a behavior multiple times before it becomes comfortable and effective. And it has to be related to a relevant task. If salespeople are motivated by a deal, they’ll be more incentivized to learn. In other words, in order for training to be effective, you’ll need to deliver the content at a time of need.Technology can help make this happen, allowing reps to continuously learn from mobile content that is customized to their needs. When combined with traditional training, this approach helps reps turn product, market, and selling factoids into coherent narratives and behavioral models.

How We Could Help
As a Sales management consulting firm, we aid companies in driving their sales force effectiveness especially in slowdown economy. We do so by integrating Science into Selling, whether by addressing your sales organization challenges, governance or utilizing on your sales data or develop your sales people through a well crafted continuous A-Z development program.

So, I ask every CEO, GM Sales Leader, and HR Business partners who are tired of the old ways, to have the guts and invest in a new cutting edge methodology and take the first step towards Sales Enablement.