The Future of Sales Training. How You Can Play.

We get asked all the time, “Where is sales training headed?” No crystal ball here, but I do see some trends that every sales manager and company president should be interested in.

As you formulate your selling strategies for the future, and sales training becomes part of that, you should look at how to deliver training so it has maximum value.

Here are some trends:

1 A lot more process work. A lot less technique work. Not saying you shouldn’t have the basic sales skills (which so few really have), but I’m seeing it become a “process world.” Get the sales process right–and make sure it’s right for the prospect–and results will flow. Most sales companies have no coherent, useful, meaningful sales process. Get one–or hire someone to help you design one.

2 More frequent training touches. The idea of having your sales team together once a year for training is absurd. The market changes daily–and the sales team that is on top of those changes–and sharing best practices, is the one that is leading.

3 Better diagnostics before you train. If you’re going to hire a professional training company, make sure they / you diagnose what the REAL ISSUES are. This requires conversations with management, with sales team members and with others who observe market problems. If the training company wants to charge you for this, pay it. It may be $10,000 – $50,000. But it’s worth it so you make sure you get return on your investment. (HINT: Diagnose the real problems, be they fear, doubt, disbelief in product, self image. You can’t change behavior unless you’re working on the real problem. Few do.)

4 More soulful approach. We call it “soulful” but you may refer to it differently. This has to do with training the heart and mind, and letting the words follow. Gone in the future will be the “company script” where the company trains it’s sales force to “say this.” We have a concept we call HIGH INTENT, which is rewiring the sales mind to think differently about the sales process–and be there to help the customer identify and solve problems. If you operate from a place of HIGH INTENT, you control the process. Tomorrow’s sales training will be about changing the thinking of the sales professional–not just changing what they say.

5 Remote Learning. Get used to it. If you have a remote sales force that comes together infrequently, then look at podcasting, teleconferencing, or video blogging to train your people. People want training. The Generation Y’ers need it and value it. But they won’t be happy sitting in a training room for 14 hours at home office. You can’t use the excuse anymore that your sales people are “all spread out.”

6 Clarity of Value. Most sales teams are pathetic at expressing the value of their company. I had a call yesterday from a bank– a well known bank. They were introducing a Payroll Product. Her pitch? “We wanted to let you know our product is cheaper than Paychex–by as much as 30%.” Someone in that bank’s corporate office would stick a pine cone up their nose if they knew that was the sales person’s pitch. That is a result of a miserable training job of helping the seller see the true value to their offer. Result. I don’t buy. And she destroys a little of the brand that they’ve spent millions building.

7 Management Coaching. In all of our training, the managers get coaching as well. This is the future. The manager must believe in, and know how to reinforce the training. The manager should always be one or two weeks ahead of his/her staff when it comes to the content to be trained. If you’re a manager and don’t believe in the training your team is getting, then say so. Because if you aren’t reinforcing it–or think you’re above it–then you’re wasting money.

There is a higher need today to train your sales team than ever. The internet, globalization, and a confused, time-constrained buyer are just a few reasons that your sales team, in order to be high performing, must be well trained.

Their remoteness should never be a reason not to develop them.