Multiple sources suggest that the number one need in business is finding good salespeople. This shouldn’t be a difficult task. I mean, if you want an engineer, hire someone with an engineering degree. If you want a marketing person, hire someone with a marketing degree. So, if you want a salesperson, just hire someone with a sales degree…Oh wait, they don’t have those. So, who trains the salespeople then? Usually it is the company or business owner and it is heavily based on product features and benefits. The training is short, informal, and usually on-the-job. This results in a very predictable selling behavior that is time consuming, cumbersome, and inefficient for the salesperson. To illustrate the ‘dance’ that ensues when buyer and seller come together, I charted the predictable behaviors that take place when I encounter a salesperson:
Maybe you can relate to the above selling experience. It was painful for me when this was explained for the first time because I was the salesperson in the above table. Why would I allow this time and time again if it was more advantageous to the prospect than for me? Because I didn’t have nor was I trained on a system for selling, so when I started dancing with the prospect, their system was the default system of engagement. I still made sales; it just took a lot of time, effort, free-consulting, and energy before I got the deal.
There is a better way to sell and the first step is to recognize that you are a sales professional. Get your degree in sales! You don’t have to be enrolled in a university to get one; rather, engage a sales training program that is as rigorous as a college course (1-2 day seminars won’t transform you into a high-performance salesperson overnight). Lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, etc. go through rigorous training so they can provide value to their clients. They study their trade, they practice, and they engage in continual personal development and improvement…so should the sales professional. It is especially true for salespeople since many are paid based upon the sales they make–sales training investments in yourself or in your company’s sales team will pay big dividends every time. So, it’s time for you to get your sales degree.
by Karl Schaphorst, President
Sandler Training
402-403-4334
www.karlschaphorst.sandler.com
Sandler Training is a global training organization with over three decades of experience and proven results. Sandler provides sales and management training and consulting services for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as well as corporate training for Fortune 1000 companies. For more information, please contact Karl Schaphorst at (402) 403-4334 or by email at kschaphorst@sandler.com. You can also follow his blog at karlschaphorst.sandler.com