Good morning, Brad and a Hardison, a host of artisans tips, glad that you can join me this morning.
I’m not going to keep you long because I know you’re trying to get prepared for today, but we just wanted to touch on where we left off yesterday, and that is the future of sales training programs.
You know as well as I do with a new technology form always moving forward.
People are always going to say, the old training just doesn’t work anymore.
Now, whether you buy into it or not, sales training, programs of the future will change.
Remember change is progress, so in yesterday’s installment I explored some of the major reasons that traditional approaches to training salespeople have failed to deliver any type of return on investment and how sales trainers have evolved over the past three decades.
In addition, I looked at four distinct types of learner.
If we combine them, we can provide an effective ongoing development approach to sales professionals, but now we rely heavily on the management to help us out, even though you may have your own in-house trainer.
People on the lower level still have a manager that they report to.
If that management or management team has not plugged into what you’re trying to do, we’re still gon na have some problems keep in mind.
All of this is based on my 20 years plus of experience in training national organizations.
Local organization, whether they be major account key account up and down the street in home retail sales.
All this resource, along with some independent studies of where I see the future, going its what I’m talking about now.
I have defined a set of core principles for the idea learning program for sales organizations, but we have to understand where we’ve been so, we can appreciate what’s coming down the road.
These principles specifically are addressing the major barriers that are keeping successful sales consultants and successful trainers from moving forward, because we don’t see the results or, more importantly, when that board of directors.
When that small business dealer owner gets together with these team members, they looking at that budget dollar that they’re spending on training and the training sources that go with it.
And they say they can’t see the return, instead of them actually looking at the whole thing, starting from the hiring process, that’s what they miss out.
That goes to the bottom line.
The time it takes to interview source, bring the right person and interview.
The proper way is there an assessment that we do an onboard effectively and now we need to make sure the management, along with that trainer vendor from the outside or in-house we’re working as a team, because it’s up to that manager, especially those first 30, 60.
90.
120 days – and we know where we’re at with that, so with that the things I just wanted to touch on today and then we’ll continue on, as we finish off the week of some of these things that will be coming down the pike, whether you like it.
So very first one sales process, alignment, and what do I mean by that? Now, all through the understanding of the process of processes, we need to make sure that enables your salespeople to align themselves with the buyers.
So we can close business it’s hard to determine the type of competencies required for selling success if the processes are not consistent and clear to that salesperson.
As a result, most training initiatives omit critical thinking requirements completely why they have the crutch of that manager.
That’s there, and so when that managers gone here’s that salesperson with the decision-maker or the client, and we don’t know how to proceed further, especially if you’re in a major account key account where it’s taking you 30 60 90 days to find decision, maker or makers.
Or it’s a tough situation.
In addition, a sales process map also provides insight until the tools and maybe there’s some templates – that provide the most impact to assist that sales person when they’re by themselves.
Now, if you’re in retail sales, you say well, we how high did that a little bit different.
We have an inside trainer that helps out and we have a floor manager.
That makes sure people are doing the right thing, but I guarantee you that floor manager is not many times managing by walking around they’re, not doing effective one-on-ones, so we’re still not getting what we really need number two: how about the assessment? Here’s your objective! How do are you going to assess it and measure once again, objective is assessment.
How do you measure it? That’s my question to you.
Many sales organizations need to find models for evaluating the knowledge and skills of sales professionals and their managers.
That’s the key thing: without objective assessment and measurements: it’s impossible really to determine where the gaps exist and how training effectively, if you invest in it, is going to impact and increase it for the whole sales organization.
Well, I’m still a little confused.
We go through the orientation and for some of you I don’t know why you still have this shadowing concept, go watch what Brandon does and you’ll learn.
That’s not effective.
How are you going to measure that, or you have a manager who says they’re going to spend time one-on-one with them, but they get taken away to some other duty.
The person is left by themselves.
We don’t know what they’ve done measurement.
We have to know where we’re at so we can know where we can grow to happens every day happening.
Right now will happen today, somewhere around the country.
Let’s be realistic about our training plans.
What can you do? Everyone cannot be a fortune.
500.
100.
You don’t have the resources, but what can you truly do? Realistically? What are your training plans based on your realistic and the team members? You have for training, whether they’re cross training with managers and employees or maybe they’re cross training between departments.
Training plans need to be layered one at a time and you need to have basic concepts to more the complex issues that you have in each department.
We many times don’t think of that, attempting to force too much content in a certain department that really the time frame is unrealistically set up for them to do it yields you yields nothing of that now well.
Well, we role play to go through some of that.
Okay – and I agree we can role play, but if there’s someone there not being a coach to really effectively listen and take a realistic one-on-one by taking those notes and reinforcing I’ll, say it again reinforcing to that sales.
Individual, a path for success, we’re still back at square zero.
Now.
What am I saying these are the things that were firmly trying to justify and do, and if you don’t do it in-house, you bring somebody in from the outside being a vendor and here’s a secret.
They know you can’t.
Did he actually say that yeah they know you can do it.
That’s why they say: they’ll be back in 30 days, 60 days 90 days, better, yet sign a year contract with us and we’ll bring our people in come on.
All of those things that you’re talking about still will not work until we be managers buy into it.
So it’s up to the general manager it’s up to the vice presidents.
They have to set the tone to get the buy-in for any one of these sales training programs to be effective, and then the last thing I just wanted to touch on today is a comprehensive creeking, not something that’s war and peace, because you know as well as I do when it comes to sales.
Their minds are a little bit different.
Even the managers, the curriculum many times – are overwhelming and I’ll focus on this much of the curriculum, because I don’t see the importance of all of this unless it’s taken piece by piece and the syllabus instructs them.
Oh, that means somebody needs to oversee it and make sure that they were enforcement of all this is being done.
So here are some issues.
Traditionally, we’ve been fighting for decades.
That’s why I told you yesterday and that’s why I’m going to end it with the day that the future of sales training programs are going to change whether we like it now we’ll continue with this series on Thursday, because tomorrow will be on it.
12 noon live with our special guests coming out of the automotive industry, miss Rebecca Chernykh from Chernykh consulting.
She is one of the best in the nation when it comes to giving guests a quality experience, while they’re in the business office with the epic I’m manager.
So we’ll be on it 12 noon, with a live guest, Rebecca Sherman and then on Thursday and Friday.
I will show you what’s coming down the pike as far as the future of sales training once again, Brad and Hardison glad you can be with me this morning and every morning as we try to give you some tips on what’s happening in the sales industry, because If you’re a sales consultant out there or want to be congratulations, this is the best industry to be in, but you have to have a good foundation because customers buy from people, but you have to be confident and you have to be in control with that set.
As always in parting go out and make it a champion, .
