Sales Training Program

Whatever your stereotypes, let's start by making something clear. Sales is an honorable profession. By providing people with the products and services they want and need, you're helping people manifest their desires in life. There are more than 6 billion people on Earth today, and you can be pretty sure that if there's something you want to sell, there's someone who wants to buy it. Your challenge is to connect with those people and build a relationship with them so they can buy what you have to offer. It's not a question of whether you can or can't sell; of course you can sell! It's a question of how you're going to sell.

Sales Links Creation with Acquisition: YOU Are the Vital Link

Besides helping your customer or client create the future he or she wants, you are helping many others. Whether you sell a product or a service, you are serving others besides that buyer. Think about it. If you sell a product, someone made it. Let’s say you sell clothes. Someone grew or made the material that item was made with, someone designed it, someone made it, and someone wants to sell it. You are selling someone else’s dreams to your customer. You are helping them get their products in another person’s hands.

Let’s say you build buildings. Or, sell houses. Or sell furniture. Or sell antiques. You are helping many people get their hard work and their expression of life to someone else who truly wants it.

Or you sell vitamins or skin care products. Again, someone spent many years and applied their creativity to create these items and get them to someone who can use them.

Let’s say you sell services. You’re a business coach, a financial consultant, or you sell insurance. You have developed your skills to provide your service to others who want it. You have taken courses, read books, associated with others who also have dreams to express in life or information to share.

You are helping all of these people’s ideas, including yours, get to the person who wants and needs them. So without even realizing it, you are giving them a course in sales coaching.

I think sales management training sometimes misses the boat when it focuses on trying to get people to commit before helping sales people really commit themselves to their careers. Sales is a useful and necessary pursuit that helps manufacturers, suppliers and the general public. In sales, you are helping the economy. You are helping the economy remain strong. You are keeping lots of people in business, and again, helping many, many people get their ideas, services and products to the people who want to use them.

So don't ever think that sales is trivial or that you're using people. If you don't care for the product you're selling, get out there and find something you can be passionate about. If you're passionate about it, someone else will be too.

The Hardest Part: Getting Started

One of the toughest problems in making sales is in getting started. No sales training technique ever invented has ever been able to overcome the resistance of a new salesperson to going one-on-one and face-to-face with a potential customer. No sales training technique has been able to quell the fear of rejection, the stage fright, the panic that can descend even on seasoned salespeople when they've taken a few days off and have to get into selling again. Getting started is the roughest part when you're new, but even after you've been in sales awhile, the daily business of getting started can become a procrastination trap. Busy-work can help people waste a lot of time: visiting with others in the office, tidying your desk, running errands can all fool you into thinking you're getting something accomplished, but since most salespeople work on some sort of commission basis, the numbers tell the truth. When you don't get on with the business of selling, the numbers are going to show it.

Getting started in sales, whether as a career or as a daily practice could be likened to jumping into cold water. You can wade in slowly, savoring each excruciating step and considering at every step whether to back out or not. Or you can take the plunge. There's a lot to be said for taking the plunge. The shock is immediate, but goes away faster. Soon, you're swimming around comfortably while other people are still standing knee-deep in water.

At the same time, there's no sense in beating yourself up! Making sales, getting the motivation necessary to get the job done, is not a skill you're born with. To increase sales, you have to make the calls, follow up and move on when you get rejected. It's a matter of persistence, and persistence falters in the face of regret. So skip the regrets—they're time-wasters! Don't feel bad—every day is another chance to do a great job.

Sales is part confidence building and part focusing on what's important. Whether I'm coaching a sales manager or a sales team, I want to get them to work right away, because all the theorizing and even planning in the world can't take the place of getting out there and doing the job, and experiencing some successes. Sales and marketing have two measures of success—the sales you make and the way you feel about your work. Be your own sales coach - this week focus your sales and what we’re talking about on your face-to-face interactions and the phone. (Print this page out and tape it to your desk or computer to help you stay focused on your goals!)

Some sales training material is just bulleted items: the sales training consultant assumes that knowing what to do will be enough to motivate people to do it. Other sales training books assume that you know what to do to increase sales, but just need motivation. Books like that will philosophize but won't necessarily provide you with clear instructions for ways to increase your sales. In my career coaching services for salespeople and sales managers, I like to use motivating ideas in addition to being very specific about giving sales trainees action to take. Here's a good way to get started on tracking ad increasing your sales.

Sales Coaching Tip—Tracking and Increasing Sales

1. Pull out a sheet of paper and keep track of how many sales calls you make this week. Make it a game to push in a couple more calls just before lunch, or when you first get into the office and everyone else is drinking coffee and talking about "Survivor".

2. Make at least 4-5 sales calls a day. Every day. When you start actually counting the number of sales calls you make, you’ll probably be shocked: most people are making fewer calls than they thought they were. Get hard facts to help you establish where you are and to set goals.

3. Call clients you haven’t talked to in a while and check on them. Ask them what they need and how you can help.

Keep it in mind: If you tell your story 4 or 5 times a day, you WILL BE successful.

So, keep track on your sheet of paper of how many calls and how many become sales from the calls. You want to know your sales ratio, because once you know your numbers, you can increase them. At first, you'll be playing a straight numbers game. If you make 1 sale out of 20 calls, it will take you 5 days for 1 sale. It’s not great, but ok. After awhile, with tweaking your sales conversation, with getting used to focusing on listening to your customer, with building motivation and momentum, your sales ratio is going to start to climb. You'll be able to see it working, which is motivating in itself and will help you build your confidence and enjoy more successes. Keep track of where you are, where you are going. When you get to making 1 sale in 3 calls, you will be making 1 sale a day.

Sales Coaching Tip - Increasing Sales: A Numbers Game

Lots of times we don’t make the sales calls because of the fear that they’ll reject you. There are other reasons too that we don’t make calls, and we’ll talk in another article about what to do about that. But one thing you can do to have more confidence before you pick up the phone is to know what you’re going to say. You are better able to cope with whatever comes up when you do this.

“You can’t lose what you never had.” Don't focus on the chance of "losing the sale". There are 6 billion people in the world, so you have an endless pool of potential customers. You didn't lose a sale; you just haven’t found the right person—yet. You will!

Remember as you tell your story that people want to hear it because it’s valuable to them, it helps them.

Sales Coaching Tip - What's Your Story?

To make more sales, you have to make more sales calls. And one thing that many salespeople can't come to terms with is the fact that you have to have something to say, and you have to say it in a way that resonates for you and for your customers. You can try to wing it, but you'll find you feel a lot more confident, a lot more optimistic, if you have a sales story that's engaging, that fits you, and that you know really well. I'm not talking about a "sales pitch"; we're not playing baseball here! I'm talking about a way of talking with your customer than invites that person to talk back, that creates a conversation.

Knowing what you're going to say does more than inspire confidence and increase your motivation: when you know what you're going to say, you can listen better to your customer. Most people have a hard time listening because while someone else is talking, they're spending the whole time thinking about what they're going to say. They can't listen and plan their speech at the same time, so listening goes out the window. Then the customer realizes that he or she isn't being heard, and feels alienated. "Why should I buy from you when you don't even listen to what I want?" It's a good question!

So let's start with the idea that you need to have a great sales story, one that works for you, and one that people can respond to. You're going to know this story so well that you can listen to your customers and then really get down to business.

The reason so may people dread making sales calls is that they don't know what they're going to say. They dread the silences and the questions they can't answer. Being able to approach this dread is the first step in overcoming the resistance many salespeople feel about picking up the phone or talking with a customer in person. Know what you're going to say. Prepare yourself for the questions. Think about what your customers need and meet them prepared to listen to them. When you feel sure of yourself, you remove a major obstacle for your customers. People aren't comfortable buying from someone who seems unsure—it makes them unsure. So be sure.

Creating Your Sales Story

When you begin your sales story, your goal should be to tell your potential customers what you will do for them. What will they get from your product or service? People have lots of questions and fears about buying something for the first time. When we go to the auto mechanic, we want to know that he or she knows cars and that they’re honest and that the car will be fixed. We want to know that they'll fix what needs fixing without working on other stuff and we want to know that we will be charged appropriately.

Sales is all about trusting the individual who is selling to you. If you take the time and energy to create a real relationship with your customers, you'll be showing them that they mean something to you: you're willing to invest yourself in getting to know them. More than anything else, people want to be understood. When you really get to know your customers, you will find it easy to understand them, and you'll be able to talk to them about the things that matter to them.

Start getting to know your potential customers by understanding your current customers. Your current customers have the same needs as your potential ones, so they make great informants about what people need to know about your products, and what they want to hear from you.

You can connect with potential customers through your sales story. It's not a long, drawn-out saga—it's more like a short story that holds interest by setting up a problem and then presenting the solution.

Start crafting your sales story by using what you know about your current customers. Do they have particular needs and interests? Do they fall into a certain age range? Are they women, men or both? What do they want and need? What do they expect?

When you are thinking deeply about your customers, when you are building your sales conversation based on what matters to them, you are showing them a valuable and rare form of consideration. You're showing that you care, and that is vitally important. I'd rather have a salesperson who cares than one who knows all the answers, because the one who cares can always go find out the answers to my question, but the one who knows everything but doesn't care if I go, stay or drop dead isn't going to connect with me. That second salesperson isn't going to make an effort for me, and isn't going to offer me a relationship. The fact is that the heart still wins out over the brains. I’ll let you in on one of the most powerful things I’ve learned from one of my mentors:

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Keep that statement as your mantra as you prepare your sales conversation.

Next, focus on your message. Your message is key.

You know that people are bombarded by information these days. People can get information about nearly everything at a rapid pace these days. They get on the Internet and can find out almost anything at a moment’s notice. All we have to do is click on the mouse and we have access to incredible information all over the globe. It is at our fingertips.

As a result, people acquire a passing knowledge overnight, and can be virtual experts in a relatively short period of time. But the Internet doesn't always provide the best information; so many people may believe they have an expertise that they may not really have. The mindset is that of an expert, and it's important to be aware that lots of people believe more in their acquired online expertise than they do in the experience of someone else.

So, your message has to provide information while supporting your sales expertise. Your message is fundamental to your success. You want to ask yourself: what is the solution my customer is wanting and how can I tell my sales story in a way that they will want to buy from me and buy from me now?

Your message must address these 5 things your potential client wants to know and is thinking:

1. What taking action would mean for me. What is the benefit for me?
2. What makes you the person to listen to. Why you rather than someone else?
3. I need a reason to believe what you have to say.
4. Are you someone I want to do business with? Can we get along or can I feel good about doing business with you?
5. Why should I take action now? What is the urgency?

If you are working alone, addressing these five points for your sales customer will help them decide that you are the person to buy from. If you have a larger business organization, you want everyone in your company to know this - and agree on it - and convey it in everything they say and do. You want everyone saying the same thing. It makes your sales message consistent and more powerful.

Your sales message should convey why someone should do business with you rather than anyone else on the planet.

You must be intentional and direct in today’s hectic marketplace. Don’t hide. Be visible, be overt, be clear, be specific. A well-known author and marketing expert determined from an analysis of thousands of concepts that have to do with sales, that when you are unquestionably clear about the benefits you provide, you nearly triple your odds of success from 13 to 38%.

It's important to stand out in what you offer to your sales customers because they are overwhelmed with choices. Grocery stores provide a great example of the mental work it takes just to get the shopping done. Rows and rows of similar products offer benefits that differ (if at all) just slightly from each other. The customer has to make a decision about price, brand, flavor, color, and type (fresh, dried, frozen canned), for each and every product on the list. Combine that with the task of checking out the store sales, and you have a formidable array of choices to be made—just to buy dinner! When faced with the amount of information people encounter every day, most people just give up. They need a better reason to pay attention. They need someone they can rely on. They want to know how what you have to offer can benefit them.

So start your sales conversation with the benefits your customer will see by buying your product or service. It is definitely the keystone of your sales message. Start by getting clear for yourself what taking action would mean for the customer. What is the benefit for your potential customer?

More Sales Coaching Tips: Make Your Benefits Memorable

Discuss the benefit your product or service provides in such a way that it boldly stands out. It has special features: it does what it does remarkably well. Think about what you're selling—what makes it special? Then tell your customers so they'll remember it.

It's All About—Them

The way you discuss the benefits to your sales customer determines whether they feel cared about. If you say, "I'm going to increase your production capability by 30% this quarter," the sales message is all about you. The same message can be rephrased to: "you can increase your production capability by 30% this quarter by buying this product". Now, it's all about them. If you use "you" statements rather than "I" statements, you are putting your customer first and creating an alliance. It's all about your customer—his or her needs, wishes and goals. When you start crafting your sales conversation, pay attention to who the main character in the story is: it should be your customer.

Get Sensual

Engage as many senses as you can when describing the product to your sales customer. Talk about its look, its smell, its feel. Is it lightweight and easy to handle? Tell them about it! Does it have a pretty case? A strong motor? Make your conversation as multi-sensory as possible to engage your sales customers as completely as possible. The best way to sell chocolate is to offer free samples. If you're describing a process or a service, sit down with your customer and draw it out on paper. Graphs, charts and brochures are nice backups, but the personalized method of diagramming your service with the client builds intimacy and gets you closer.

Get Emotional

Address your sales customer's emotions. Dan Kennedy of dankennedy.com says that there are five main emotional factors that move people to action. They are love, pride, fear, greed and guilt. So, you want to think about how you can explain your benefit in a way that it addresses one of these emotions. You want to help your sales customers experience the "good" emotions and avoid the "bad" ones. Tell them how this service can ease fear, can give them what they want, can help them be a better person.

Since I’m a sales coach, I might say that “working with me can help relieve your stress, because you’ll have someone on your team, helping you with this” – That addresses fear; If you sell insurance, saying something like, “you and your family will be safe and taken care of if anything happens to you” addresses love, pride, fear; if you sell candy, saying, “your kids will love you for giving them such a tasty product” addresses love and guilt by focusing on the love and avoiding guilt.

Now, Get Factual

Present the facts. People buy with emotion and justify with the intellect. Meet their emotional needs, but then give them the facts they need to justify the purchase. That way, they can buy emotionally but have a great, logical explanation about why their choice was a good one.

Don't Try Too Hard

You don't have to do too much. More is not necessarily better. People get overwhelmed, even when you're discussing benefits. If they hear too much, they turn off, either because they can't take it all in or they think that if you're working that hard to sell it to them, you must not be telling the truth. According to one nationally known researcher, if you state 1 or 2 benefits, you have a 44% chance of success, but when you add them on and go to 3 or more benefits, your odds drop to 37%.

Be Specific

Be direct. Tell your sales customers exactly what your product or service can do for them. You want them to make an informed decision, because if they know how great your product is, of course they will want to buy it. Don’t be fuzzy or vague: it comes across as having something to hide. If you have a clear and obvious benefit and people believe you can fulfill that benefit, you will have more than a 300% increase in your chances of success.

In Sales: Be the Go-To Guy or Gal

The second part of your sales story is about why you are the person to listen to. You offer something unique in yourself: is it your background, your expertise, your proven sales performance, your delivery, your method? You don't have to wow people on all points, just pick the best two and let them know why you're the salesperson they should be buying from. They want to know you'll still be there after they've opened their wallets. Offer the added value of maintaining a relationship after they've become a sales customer and you'll keep their business.

Earn Their Trust

Trust is the third part of your sales conversation. Impressing people is one thing: earning their trust is something else. Take trust over the "wow" factor any day. Establish credibility and build trust by delivering what you promise. People need to know they can believe you, and the way to earn their trust is by doing what you say you'll do. Show up on time, follow through with special orders, make sure they know about the deals available to them. Partner with your sales customers to increase their success.

Provide Evidence of Your Sales Success

Your sales story should include reasons for the person to want to do business. The fourth component of an effective sales story is saying it in a way that the person would want to do business with you. This is a good time to establish your credibility, provide your potential customer with references or testimonials. Nothing succeeds like success, and if you have evidence of having sold to people who are happy with you and your product, other people will be more willing to take a chance on you.

Let's go over how you're going to put together and work on your sales story:

Think about your customers: what do they need? What do they want? How can you provide them with what they need and want?
Write it out. Start with an outline, and then write the whole sales conversation, complete with what your customers might say or ask.

Practice your sales conversation alone. You shouldn't memorize it by rote, but make sure you know it well enough that it feels natural and easy to say.

Now, practice your sales conversation with family members and close friends. Practice with your children; tell it to your dog. Role-play it with your spouse or best friends. When Avon comes calling, yank the Avon lady through the door and practice your sales conversation with her.

After each practice, review what was said and think about how you could have said it better, been clearer or given your sales customer better information. Ask people how it could have worked better for them. Fine tune your sales conversation based on your reviews.

Good sales conversations have the following points in common.

They:
1. Get the customer's attention
2. Tell them the benefits that will accrue to them from the product or service.
3. Fill in the details and give them the facts.
4. Build trust by listening and responding with "you" rather than "I" statements.
5. Then they ask the potential client to take action.

Taking Action

If you don't ask, people generally won't offer, so you should plan to build several chances to say "Yes" into your sales conversation. Check in with your customer along the way—you may find that she's ready to say "yes" before you even thought of asking. Ask for her opinion:
“What do you think about what we’re talking about? Are you ready to move forward?” When you check in with your sales customer you're giving that person a chance to voice concerns or objections, and are in effect moving closer to your goal.

Research says that if you want to hear a "yes" to a particular question, it helps to give the other person practice saying yes to other things. It sort of smoothes the way for other yes's. That's why, when you talk to people in sales conversations, you ask them questions that are phrased in such a way that "yes" makes sense and comes easily to the lips. We'll talk more about that later, but it's important enough to mention here.

One sales technique that assumes the yes is to not ask, "Do you or don't you want to buy?" but to ask, "What color would you like to buy? How often would you like to receive this service?" If you use this kind of question too soon, it puts people off because they notice that you've skipped a step, but if you've been talking for awhile, you may be feeling their willingness to go ahead, and asking for the particulars of the order is the next logical step.

An example of a yes or yes question is: “Do you want to work with me 4 times a month? Three times a month? Or twice a month?”

Take the Plunge

Once you have your sales conversation practiced, don't wait to get it perfect: get it good enough, and then start using it. Get it out there, take it around the block. Forget perfection, and get into action.

And don't forget that you're offering people something many people will want. What you are doing is important and valuable and meets people's needs. Remember that your sales conversation can be the high point of someone’s week: it may even be yours!

Peggy O'Neal, Founder of the High Point Selling™ System has spent 29 years of her career selling, and the last 17 years, teaching and coaching sales. She has led workshops in leadership and coaching, communication, and network marketing, for more than 8,000 people in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, and Russia.

The High Point Selling™ System has evolved into an acclaimed sales training program for both novices and experienced sales professionals alike.

To learn more about Peggy O’Neal and the sales training programs she leads, visit High Point Selling™ System or email Peggy O’Neal at peggy@highpointselling.com