Sales training companies, selling skills, sales training courses

SALES TRAINING COMPANIES, SELLING SKILLS, SALES TRAINING COURSES

Sales training companies, selling skills, sales training courses, no matter how you dress it up, there are better ways to increase your sales.

It suddenly occurred to me whilst writing this that I had learned things whilst on some of the sales training courses I had been on over the years. It was during the coffee and lunch breaks whilst exchanging ideas with other sales people, not from the garbage churned out by the sales training companies. Half an hour spent with a successful salesman or two is a far better investment than any sales training course.

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Just sticking a few sales people in a room and getting them to share their experiences will always produce a number of little gems that others can use. I have always maintained that I could teach any sales person everything they needed to know about selling in half an hour. Success, however, was down to them and whether they had it in them to succeed. Knowledge is useless without the wisdom to use it.

Ask any successful sales person what they need to help them increase sales and they will tell you more qualified leads and sales enquiries. Knowing where to find their next client and knowing who they are is the alchemy of sales.

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WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL SALESMAN OR WOMAN?

I have recruited and trained more successful sales people than most. The emphasis was always on the selection process because I knew I didn't have a magic wand that could change someone's personality, alter their characteristics or give them the qualities they needed to succeed.

I worked in the life assurance industry; commission only, no basic salary, no company car and if you didn't sell, you didn't earn. Not an industry for the weak or feint of heart and whilst other sales managers were trying to persuade people to join, I saw it as my job to try and put them off.

My compacted version of an interview would go like this:

"This is a business where the best can earn a fortune and destroy all but the strongest and most fail. It is all about rejection and failure whilst trying to find someone who is going to buy from you. It's like boxing, you are going to bleed for the first two years, you are going to take a mental beating, you will get knocked down every day and it is only your ability to keep getting up, learn how to avoid the blows and come back for the next round that will help you succeed. There's no salary, if you don't sell you don't earn, that means your mortgage won't get paid, your children won't eat and if you fail, the psychological trauma will be immense. Do you think you have what it takes to succeed?"

Most crumpled during the interview which was excellent because it was best for them and me. Those that didn't were then put to the test by throwing them into the deep end and cold calling to make appointments, but before they left their current job by getting them to work of an evening at weekends. Those that didn't collapse under the pressure were then offered a position and most went on to succeed.

All the sales training in world would not have helped those that failed before or after I took them on. My success as a sales manager was having a constant flow of candidates, knowing what I was looking for in a salesman or woman and caring if they succeeded; which was why I put so many off before they started.

I was looking for the following qualities in someone to determine if they were going to succeed. None of which could be taught in a training room.

Courage (not fearless - someone who doesn't know fear is a fool)
Determination (the ability to keep going)
Persistence (the ability to get up)
Ambition (have dreams - bigger house, car etc.)
Greed (success should never be enough)
Confidence (Not arrogance - arrogance is just an act to protect a lack of confidence)
Commonsense (not academic intelligence)
Entrepreneurial skills (the ability to think)
Competitive (must need to win)
Self motivated (the only person who can motivate you is you)
Positive mental attitude (correct mental attitude)

If the rewards are great enough and you find someone with these qualities, you have a winner on your hands. No training company in the world can teach any of the above, they can only be discovered from within even with the best sales training skills.