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Add You - Sales Training - What's Your Goal - Exposure or Behavioral Change?
A franchise is a continuing relationship between a franchisor and a franchisee in which the franchisor's knowledge, image, success, manufacturing, and marketing techniques are supplied to the franchisee for a consideration. This consideration usually consists of a high "up-front" fee, and a significant royalty percentage, which generally require a fairly long time to recover.About 10% of the 20 million U.S. businesses operate under some kind of franchise agreement. About 3,000 companies sell franchises to on the order of 25,000 new buyers each year, or about one every 20 minutes.Franchises account for over a third of all retail sales. Franchi
This level of management commitment causes the salespeople to recognize that the new approach is not "the flavor of the month", and it will NOT go away if they ignore it. As a result, the new approach eventually becomes part of the company's sales culture.
Do you see the difference in the level of commitment described by the two scenarios? Do you see why the second scenario is much m
It was two days before our shoot. I was in the office with the client going over the story boards and filling him in on all the details for his latest television campaign. At that time, with my agency being in its infancy stage, we were taking in any client we could, which is why I was seated across from the “Redneck Crazy Man” as I liked to refer to him. He owned a string of low end rental car shops and his only redeeming quality was that he was a quick pay.For this particular shoot, my script involved an NBA star and a good looking young boy I had cast through a local talent agency. The boy had been in a few commercials and he knew how to take
Unfortunately, most companies drastically underestimate the amount of time and effort that must be invested to accomplish behavioral change. Sitting in a class for a couple of hours or days is a good way to expose salespeople to new skills and techniques. However, new skills and techniques often feel strange and uncomfortable. Many salespeople worry that attempting to use the new skills and techniques with real, live prospects or customers will cost them sales and hard-won credibility. So, they abandon the new skills and techniques and continue to rely on "old" behaviors that are comfortable for them.
Here is a real-life example of a sales training program failure:
Executive management at a company I worked for invested more than $600,000 to teach the entire sales team (100+ salespeople) a new sales approach. However, at every turn they looked for ways to reduce training costs and time out of the field. As a result, the sales manager training session was cut from a full day to half a day, and the sales team training was cut from three days to a day and a half. Plus, post-training conference calls (intended to reinforce key concepts) were rescheduled multiple times and eventually cancelled.
What was the return on the company's $600,000 investment? Only 10% to 20% of the salespeople ever applied the new sales approach in the field. The training project was considered a failure.
If you want your sales training investments to produce changes in your salespeople's behavior, your company's entire management team, from top executives to individual sales managers, needs to make a different level of commitment to sales training. The skills and techniques that are taught during training sessions must be repeated and reinforced on a regular and consistent basis. Plus, you should provide your salespeople with a non-threatening environment where they can practice new skills and techniques until they become second nature.
To further demonstrate the level of management commitment that is required to accomplish behavioral change, consider the following two scenarios.
Scenario #1
A top executive mentions the importance of a new sales approach in a company meeting or conference call. They mention it again occasionally (once a month or once a quarter). The sales manager also mentions the new approach in a few sales meetings before or after the training session(s). However, the focus soon returns to "business as usual".
Scenario #2
A top executive explains the importance of a new sales approach in a company meeting or conference call. From that point on, they repeat the message in any conversation they have with any member of the sales or sales management team. The new sales approach becomes part of the executive's daily dialogue, and they mention it multiple times a day.
Sales managers invest the time required to become proficient in using the new sales approach. They also explain to their salespeople that each salesperson will be held accountable for using the new approach effectively in the field. They help their salespeople become comfortable using the new approach by conducting repeated role plays in individual and group meetings. They also inspect for use of the new approach in a consistent and predictable fashion.
This level of management commitment causes the salespeople to recognize that the new approach is not "the flavor of the month", and it will NOT go away if they ignore it. As a result, the new approach eventually becomes part of the company's sales culture.
Do you see the difference in the level of commitment described by the two scenarios? Do you see why the second scenario is much mo
Have you ever had someone try to persuade you with those old, outdated, offensive tactics? You know the ones I am talking about. Before you are even close to purchasing a product I am sure that you have been asked: “Do you want it in green or black?” I am sure you have also heard: “If I could show you how to become financially independent, you’d be interested wouldn’t you?” This backs you into a corner and you don’t even want to answer the question. You wonder, does this person really think I’m that dumb? You don’t buy from these people. You don’t even like these people. You never go back to their store. Do these tactics still work? Sure they do.
Here is a real-life example of a sales training program failure:
Executive management at a company I worked for invested more than $600,000 to teach the entire sales team (100+ salespeople) a new sales approach. However, at every turn they looked for ways to reduce training costs and time out of the field. As a result, the sales manager training session was cut from a full day to half a day, and the sales team training was cut from three days to a day and a half. Plus, post-training conference calls (intended to reinforce key concepts) were rescheduled multiple times and eventually cancelled.
What was the return on the company's $600,000 investment? Only 10% to 20% of the salespeople ever applied the new sales approach in the field. The training project was considered a failure.
If you want your sales training investments to produce changes in your salespeople's behavior, your company's entire management team, from top executives to individual sales managers, needs to make a different level of commitment to sales training. The skills and techniques that are taught during training sessions must be repeated and reinforced on a regular and consistent basis. Plus, you should provide your salespeople with a non-threatening environment where they can practice new skills and techniques until they become second nature.
To further demonstrate the level of management commitment that is required to accomplish behavioral change, consider the following two scenarios.
Scenario #1
A top executive mentions the importance of a new sales approach in a company meeting or conference call. They mention it again occasionally (once a month or once a quarter). The sales manager also mentions the new approach in a few sales meetings before or after the training session(s). However, the focus soon returns to "business as usual".
Scenario #2
A top executive explains the importance of a new sales approach in a company meeting or conference call. From that point on, they repeat the message in any conversation they have with any member of the sales or sales management team. The new sales approach becomes part of the executive's daily dialogue, and they mention it multiple times a day.
Sales managers invest the time required to become proficient in using the new sales approach. They also explain to their salespeople that each salesperson will be held accountable for using the new approach effectively in the field. They help their salespeople become comfortable using the new approach by conducting repeated role plays in individual and group meetings. They also inspect for use of the new approach in a consistent and predictable fashion.
This level of management commitment causes the salespeople to recognize that the new approach is not "the flavor of the month", and it will NOT go away if they ignore it. As a result, the new approach eventually becomes part of the company's sales culture.
Do you see the difference in the level of commitment described by the two scenarios? Do you see why the second scenario is much m
If you look at the history of employees, you’ll see that they change companies every few years or so. They simply don’t work at the same company for years and years anymore. Many times, they are often forced to find a new job due to downsizing or a company layoff. In fact, with so much economic uncertainty, there is a strong possibility that anyone can be laid off at any time. Whether the layoff ranges from a couple of months to a couple of years, you have to be prepared. You have to learn how to deal with it and how to explain it to future employees. In this article, we’ll tell you exactly how you can deal with this unfortunate but common issue.Layof
If you want your sales training investments to produce changes in your salespeople's behavior, your company's entire management team, from top executives to individual sales managers, needs to make a different level of commitment to sales training. The skills and techniques that are taught during training sessions must be repeated and reinforced on a regular and consistent basis. Plus, you should provide your salespeople with a non-threatening environment where they can practice new skills and techniques until they become second nature.
To further demonstrate the level of management commitment that is required to accomplish behavioral change, consider the following two scenarios.
Scenario #1
A top executive mentions the importance of a new sales approach in a company meeting or conference call. They mention it again occasionally (once a month or once a quarter). The sales manager also mentions the new approach in a few sales meetings before or after the training session(s). However, the focus soon returns to "business as usual".
Scenario #2
A top executive explains the importance of a new sales approach in a company meeting or conference call. From that point on, they repeat the message in any conversation they have with any member of the sales or sales management team. The new sales approach becomes part of the executive's daily dialogue, and they mention it multiple times a day.
Sales managers invest the time required to become proficient in using the new sales approach. They also explain to their salespeople that each salesperson will be held accountable for using the new approach effectively in the field. They help their salespeople become comfortable using the new approach by conducting repeated role plays in individual and group meetings. They also inspect for use of the new approach in a consistent and predictable fashion.
This level of management commitment causes the salespeople to recognize that the new approach is not "the flavor of the month", and it will NOT go away if they ignore it. As a result, the new approach eventually becomes part of the company's sales culture.
Do you see the difference in the level of commitment described by the two scenarios? Do you see why the second scenario is much m
Lets say I want to buy a nail from you, will you ask me why? Or, will you take my order and sell me what I think I need? Will you give me a demonstration on why your nails are superior to the competition? Or, will you ask me questions on how I will use the nails?One reason people fail in sales is a strong belief they must sell their product or service to everyone. I met someone who held this strong belief this weekend when he said “everyone is a potential customer”. This wasn’t the first time I’ve heard this. I worked in an industry where this belief was part of its culture. The sales strategy was to focus on presenting features and benefits.mentions the importance of a new sales approach in a company meeting or conference call. They mention it again occasionally (once a month or once a quarter). The sales manager also mentions the new approach in a few sales meetings before or after the training session(s). However, the focus soon returns to "business as usual".
Scenario #2
A top executive explains the importance of a new sales approach in a company meeting or conference call. From that point on, they repeat the message in any conversation they have with any member of the sales or sales management team. The new sales approach becomes part of the executive's daily dialogue, and they mention it multiple times a day.
Sales managers invest the time required to become proficient in using the new sales approach. They also explain to their salespeople that each salesperson will be held accountable for using the new approach effectively in the field. They help their salespeople become comfortable using the new approach by conducting repeated role plays in individual and group meetings. They also inspect for use of the new approach in a consistent and predictable fashion.
This level of management commitment causes the salespeople to recognize that the new approach is not "the flavor of the month", and it will NOT go away if they ignore it. As a result, the new approach eventually becomes part of the company's sales culture.
Do you see the difference in the level of commitment described by the two scenarios? Do you see why the second scenario is much m
The globalization of economies has lead to intense branding campaigns. Companies that have started out in just one state are now competing for worldwide share of the market. Because of this, small starts up companies are finding it harder and harder to compete with established brands while bigger companies swallows up most of the market in their scope. Bottom line is, start up mistakes is a lot more costly today than it was before. One wrong move and a new company just might find itself crushed by competition.Perhaps this is the main reason why people are finding franchise opportunities a better alternative to starting a brand new business. With
This level of management commitment causes the salespeople to recognize that the new approach is not "the flavor of the month", and it will NOT go away if they ignore it. As a result, the new approach eventually becomes part of the company's sales culture.
Do you see the difference in the level of commitment described by the two scenarios? Do you see why the second scenario is much more likely to produce lasting behavioral change?
In summary, if you want to change your salespeople's behavior, your company's entire management team needs to demonstrate a different level of commitment to sales training. Here are the recommended steps for this process:
- Any significant new sales approach becomes part of top executives' daily dialogue.
- Sales managers learn how to execute the new approach.
- Salespeople are trained in the new approach.
- Sales managers hold salespeople accountable for using the new approach.
- Sales managers increase their salespeople's comfort with the new approach by conducting repeated role plays in a non-threatening environment.
- Sales managers consistently and repeatedly inspect salesperson activity to confirm they are using the new approach.
Copyright 2005 -- Alan Rigg
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