I am constantly amazed by
the number of business owners I meet that are complaining that sales are down
or that the sales team is not as effective as they should be.
My first question to
them is ‘when was the last time your sales consultants went on a sales training
course (this applies to small businesses and coaches as well)?
Ninety percent of the
time the answer ‘years ago or never’
Shockingly, a recent
poll of mine on LinkedIn showed that over 50% can’t remember when they were
last trained or even worse, had never been on a sales training course.
If you look at any top
sports achiever, they are constantly being trained and coached to be the best
they can be.
They seldom look at the
competition and only want to improve their ‘personal best’
Why is it any different in sales and why are so many
businesses training their people to be the best?
I have achieved the
highest level in sales and was recognized among the top half percent of
salespeople worldwide which led me to a career speaking at conferences on sales
and marketing.
I remember when I
started in sales in the 1980’s…..
We were put on a three-week
sales training program with role plays (terrifying) that prepared us for when
we would be out in the field selling.
After that we were
constantly put on training course on the psychology of selling, personality
styles, sales leadership systems and so many more.
I then started
investing my own money on sales courses and bought every program by Zig Ziglar,
Tony Robbins, Allan Pease, Paul J Meyer and many more.
I also made it a goal to
meet and interview all of them and some have become great friends. Zig Ziglar
left a lasting impression on me.
I even paid to go on a three-day
training course in Arizona with Tom Hopkins who was the worlds top sales
trainer at the time.
The first morning I met
two super salespeople who had flown in in their private aircraft.
Both earned over a
million dollars a year in sales.
When I asked them why
they were there they said that it was the 13th year in a row that
they had attended.
Every year they heard
the same things and realized what they had forgotten or not doing. When they
returned their sales skyrocketed for three months and then started to fall as
they took shortcuts and that was why they returned each year.
The first day was so
basic that I sat there feeling a bit bored.
That evening we were
given homework to do, and I ignored this because I thought I knew it all.
The next morning, we
were given a test and I failed. Tom stood up front and asked all the failures
to go to the back of the room and get a refund and leave. No-one moved.
The second evening when
we were given homework, everyone was up all-night studying.
The next morning, he
pulled 20 people onto the stage and got them to recite the 26 ways to close a
sale, everyone was brilliant.
The result, I was at
the top of my game when I left the course and always broke my sales targets.
At the course I also
formed relationships that are still strong today
Back then all the big
companies put their people through rigorous sales training courses.
I remember my cousin
who was working in sales for IBM was sent home one day to change his socks
because they were the wrong color.
I also learned about
and now teach sales teams the CASH formula to success.
C – Comprehension.
Ø Knowledge
of your company
Ø Knowledge
of your product or service
Ø Knowledge
of your competition
Ø Knowledge
of personal marketing
Ø Understanding
your value proposition
A – Attitude
Ø Behavior
at work
Ø Attitude
with team
Ø Attitude
with clients
S – Skills
Ø Sales
skills
Ø Psychological
skills
Ø Technological
skills
Ø Systems
skills
Ø Marketing
skills
H – Habits
Ø Habits
at work
Ø Habits
at home
Ø Habits
with clients
Would you like to
increase sales by 33%...It is fairly simple if you follow the following formula…
To increase sales
by 33.3%, this is what you need to do each year:
Ø Increase the number of clients by 10%
Ø Increase the ‘average spend’ by 10%
Ø Increase the number of times people purchase by 10%
Your Turnover will
increase by 33.1%
Would you like to
increase sales by 100%, this is what you need to do:
Ø Increase the number of clients by 30%
Ø Increase the ‘average spend’ by 20%
Ø Increase the number of times people purchase by 30%
Your Turnover will
increase by 100%
This is the amazing power of compounding activity.
With sales training you
always go back to basics to remind yourself what you should be doing, such as
Ø
Personality
Styling
Ø
Body
Language
Ø
Neuro
Linguistic Styling
Ø
Cross Selling
and Up Selling
Ø
Eight power
strategies to prepare for every sales call
Ø
The
magic of telephones and how to get results (word psychology)
Ø
21
proven prospecting methods
Ø
Developing
rapport
Ø
Priority
questioning
Ø
Selling
pleasure, not pain
Ø
Closing
and overcoming objections
Ø
Understanding
the sales process
Ø
Solution
based selling
Then it is all about
moving forward with more strategies such as:
Ø
Understanding
your target audience and where to find them
Ø
Knowing
how to do Boolean searches and use advanced Google search strategies
Ø
Understanding
the power of LinkedIn and how to connect with your target audience
Ø
Knowing
the 5 different types of posts on LinkedIn and the two that have the algorithms
promoting them for you
Ø
Knowing
when to post and turn posts into real leads
Ø
Understanding
the marketing power of blogs, podcasts, and social selling
Ø
Discovering
free tools that can double your productivity
Ø
Understanding
the power of video and the three secrets to viral videos
Ø
Using
video email to get 99% responses from clients
Ø
Using
software to turn articles into videos and podcasts
And of course, to be
the best you have to be confident and motivated, so:
Ø
Understand
the strategy of setting and achieving realistic goals
Ø
Dreaming
big (my sales team on average wrote 10 time more business than our closest
competitors)
Ø
The
resilience to stay positive even when things are not going well.
Ø
If any of this
resonates with you, please email me on frank@frankfurness.com or call me on +447711672888 and let’s chat about your
opportunities.
Frank
Furness CSP CFP is a professional
speaker, trainer & coach specializing in sales and marketing. He has
educated, entertained, and inspired audiences in 69 countries.
His Online Sales Courses have sold
globally and Franks Social Media Tips weekly
publication subscribed to by thousands.
Please email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+
44 (0) 7711672888 and connect to his social sites at https://linktr.ee/frankfurness
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