“If sales training actually worked…..”

It is time to face facts; training unskilled sales people will not work. As more media sources enter our lives, it has become increasingly more difficult to market to core demographics. With hundreds of channels, the addition of satellite radio, pervasive multi media, and millions of web based media sources, marketing firms have turned to advocating more tactics that are untraceable. Sales training is just one of the popular tactics. The flaw in sales training is that it starts with a false premise; sales people fail because they lack the proper training. This can be disproved by simply analyzing your sales staff as it relates to a few variables:

1. Compensation- Is your sales staff compensated to produce, or do they receive compensation for showing up to work?

In other words, do you pay a salary that is big enough to pay their mortgage? Too many companies offer sales people a comfortable salary that is counter-productive to achieving sales goals. If their salary is big enough to cover their monthly bills, commission become a “bonus”.

2. Natural skill set- Do your people posses a natural sales based skill set, or are they in sales because it can be a very lucrative profession?

Sales is the most lucrative profession in the world and as such it attracts people to the profession that do not belong there. Just because someone wants to be in sales, does not mean that they have an aptitude for sales. I would love to be an astronaut but math is not my strongest subject, therefore I do not work for NASA! Proper screening is much more effective than training.

3. Good sales people do not need bland training; they need leads!

If you want to spend money helping your sales staff, buy leads! Good sales people do not need antiquated sales tactics from a broad based marketing company that have no market based principals anyway. Good sales people are capable of closing a certain percentage of people they talk to so to help them, get them more people to talk to!

4. It’s not you, it’s me!

If you have a skilled sales staff and they are struggling to close deals, the problem is not with them, it’s the system in which they are operating. Failing to create a sales structure that allows talent to thrive is the biggest cause of ailing companies. You must create a dynamic that is conducive to sales.

We all have a fiduciary responsibility to our companies and to our bottom line. Don’t waste money on training that will not work and has no accountability. Instead, build a system that allows your sales team to thrive by putting them in front of more prospects that have a need for your product or service. At Defiant Sales, we build exactly this kind of system. Our results are traceable and sustainable. That makes us accountable!