Sales Training Article: A La Carte Training

By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling® – The Sales Training Company

When dining out my preference is ordering from a menu and being served rather than filling a plate from a buffet. That may seem to be an odd way to start a sales blog, but I find many companies that go to the trouble and expense of training their salespeople make it an a la carte affair.

When salespeople return from training the standard management question nets out to: What “keepers” are you going to use? This seems analogous to providing a seller with a textbook and black marker and asking him or her to redact any the unimportant words or phrases. Do the exercise with 20 sellers and no two will be the same. This is a major factor in doing “drive by” sales training that doesn’t stick.

In my mind, a more logical approach would be for a small group of selected people to attend a sales workshop to determine if the content and skills are a good fit for their organization. Prior to any internal training, the agenda and content should be tweaked so that ultimately every topic or module that is covered has been deemed relevant and necessary.

Whether training military personnel, production line workers, fireman, law enforcement staff, etc., there is tremendous benefit to be realized when everyone in an organization has a standard set of terms, a common skill set and a defined way to perform tasks.

The major beneficiaries are sales managers because a common structure and skill set provides a framework to measure the production and skill levels of each seller and determine how to develop and enhance their competencies. Companies that make sales training part of their culture can reap benefits for the long term.

Take a look at the sales training workshops available to you.