According to Forbes magazine, 55% of salespeople lack basic sales skills, so your company’s new hire sales training plan and support system need to deliver big to ensure success!
You can Google any number of sales-training search terms and find a wide array of resources available, but you’ll notice most of them have the same information you already know.
- Keep the training simple
- Educate on the product
- Give generic and easy to learn scripts
- Have practice sessions
- Have a follow-up process
- Track results, etc.
Though these technical training elements are indeed valuable, chances are, you already have them.
Yet you still see the need for improved sales quotas, product/client matching skills, better rep/client relationship skills, higher rep retention and satisfaction, and a more effective training process overall.
Well, you’re in the right place! Today I’m sharing 5 powerful tips for setting your new (or current) sales team members up for success –beyond the technical basics!
Tip #1 Beware of Information Overload
Starting at any new venture can be scary and overwhelming. Add on having to learn a new business, it’s systems, processes, and the pressure to close sales –and even the most unruffled of individuals can feel a bit peeked.
Following what I like to call the K.I.S.S. –Keep It Stupid Simple– protocol is ideal for making sure your information is well organized, easy to understand, and quick to implement.
- Have an onboarding and training schedule that’s realistic and feels valid for their roles in your company –they don’t need to know everything just yet.
- Have documentation and information for everything they may need in an organized manual, file, etc. so they can refresh their memories as needed without asking the same questions over and over again.
- Encourage them to take notes and ask questions relevant to the training –they may be a great addition to the company file.
- Break up long training blocks for decompression and information integration. Even a quick 5-minute walk around the building can (1) strengthen learning, (2) improve memory and retrieval, and (3) enhance learner motivation and morale.
If you feel you’d like some pro help with this, you might consider taking an online sales training class to make sure your process is up to par.
Tip #2 Cultivate a Company Culture of Growth.
Beyond your onboarding and initial training, what systems do you have in place to continue providing additional training, integration, support, and excellence in your sales team?
As a leader, what are your honest thoughts about what you would’ve appreciated when you began with your company (or another you worked for in the past)?
- Are the same information gaps and trouble spots still there?
- Do you have high employee turnover? Why?
- Does your team feel overly competitive and cut-throat instead of collaborative and mission-driven?
- Can you pair your new hires with an experienced rep you trust will set them on the right path?
Make sure you’re starting off strong and staying that way to ensure high-quality performance and long-term employee satisfaction.
Tip #3 Inspire them –but don’t BLIND them– with Money.
Commissions, bonuses, and sales incentives are definitely enough to make anyone’s motivation perk up, but if you place all your focus on the financial gain with your new hires, you’re likely to end up with cold, pushy, money-focused reps.
This may help your bottom line initially but can spell disaster for client relationships and long-term satisfaction.
Prospects aren’t stupid. No one likes to feel like a dollar sign or a means to someone else’s benefit alone. Make sure your training emphasis is in the right place –Educating and inspiring your reps through your mission, products, and services…
… and creating mutually beneficial client relationships with savvy product/prospect matching as a win-win for all involved.
Tip #4 Help Them Fall In Love with Your Company, Products, and Services.
It’s not enough to simply hire and train a sales specialist with a rundown of technical training and scripts. You want to win them over as heart-inspired members of your mission.
Sure, it sounds a little “woo-woo”, but when your rep can believe in your products and services, they’ll have significantly higher success in establishing value and trust with prospects and conveying your offerings in a compelling, natural way.
As you’re educating your team on the products and services, make the learning personal, meaningful, and dynamic. When you can win over your reps, they become advocates that speak of your offerings with passion, authority, and gravity your prospects can instantly feel lean into.
Tip #5 Identify Their Unique Communication Style and Help Them Master it.
Stop trying to force dynamic personalities into cookie-cutter processes and canned sales scripts.
Your team member’s greatest sales asset is… themselves!
Every team member has unique strengths as well as areas in need of development. Your job as an effective leader is to identify them and help them enhance their strengths and navigate their areas that need improvement.
One of the quickest and most effective ways of doing this is with my free Communication Assessment Style Quiz.
Is your rep a Heartfelt Advocate who hates following scripts, saying they feel cold and sleazy –but when left to speak authentically, speaks with such emotion and fullness clients can’t help but feel the same?
Or maybe an Innovative Organizer who is a genius at making fast and clever decisions during sales calls to meet the prospect’s needs in real-time?
If they become easily bored and disengaged with repetitive tasks, they may be an Observing Designer who would quickly reignite if they had a bit of creative freedom in their processes.
There are 5 Communication Styles and when sales reps understand and master their own, they:
- Feel confident, magnetic, and genuine in their client calls –so much so that it’s common for my clients to see a 40-50% increase in productivity and growth!
- Sell powerfully and consistently, matching the right client with the right product and service with ease.
- Enjoy a more effective, collaborative, and friendly work environment with each person feeling valued for their unique role.
- Are faster at spotting clients who aren’t a good fit, saving you time and money on poor lead cultivation.
Not too shabby for a free quiz, eh? Find your Communication Style HERE and help your new (and current) sales team members go beyond the basics and into super-charged sales success!
Well, that wraps up the 5 tips! Which one felt most useful for you and your team?
Also, be sure to follow the blog to catch the next post where we dive deeper into why leadership training often fails –and what to do about it!
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