The Top 5 Things That SHOULD Be Covered in a Sales Training Workshops or Programs That Are Usually Not
Most sales training workshops do a good job of covering the basics of selling, such as prospecting, qualifying, presenting, handling objections, and closing.
There are a few topics where the top sales training programs and workshops are devoting some attention. I try to include them whenever I conduct a workshop, although sometimes I have to leave them for a follow up session or online training.
In no particular order, here are the top 5 topics which I find are important, and most often missed, in B2B sales training workshops.
1. Do You Have an Aptitude for Sales?
This concerns each salesperson him- or herself. Do you really have what it takes to sell? Perhaps you would be better served by taking the APQ first, before investing a lot of time pursuing a career which doesn’t suit you.
Top sales training programs should address natural talent more, because it is cruel to force someone into a job where they have little chance of doing well.
2. How to Fix Negative Perceptions
It is hard to sell someone who thinks poorly of you. Many sales training programs gloss over the fact that sometimes your word of mouth is just not great and you need strategies to overcome the negativity.
It helps to role play situations such as this:
“I acknowledge that we have had some terrible press after the data breach incident. These things happen to even the best companies. If it happened to you, wouldn’t you hire the best experts money can buy to prevent it from happening again? Well, that’s exactly what we did, so you can rest assured that your customers’ data is secure. In fact, here is our written guarantee….”
3. How to Time Block for Optimum Productivity
Time is the most valuable asset you have. You only get so much time in a day, and if you do not time block, you are likely wasting it.
Top sales training programs should devote at least a few minutes to cover how to organize your day or week by grouping activities in blocks of hours. For example, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. is a good time for most B2B prospecting calls to be made, so that time block should be devoted solely to doing that, rather than checking emails or handling customer service issues.
4. How to Sell in an Ethical Manner
You can ruin a business by selling them something they don’t need or using unfair terms. To refrain from doing so, even if it means giving up a commission, is ethical. Too many sales organizations are blinded by greed and don’t do what is right for the customer, opting instead to make a quick buck.
Ethical selling means offering customers what will legitimately solve their business pains, not pushing substandard services or products to meet a quota.
5. How to Develop Your Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Emotional Intelligence refers to the ability to perceive and manage emotions, in both yourself and in other people. It is measurable and modifiable through education and training. The benefits of having a strong EQ is that you do better with relationships, as you are more attuned to the feelings of others while also more self-aware of your own attitudes and how they affect interactions.
As selling is relationship-based, developing your EQ is a great way to improve your skill set.
Which other important topics do you think most sales training workshops miss? What topics are found only in the top sales training programs? Comment below!
