Why We Love Sales Training (And You Should, Too!) Blog Feature
Steve Bookbinder

By: Steve Bookbinder on October 24th, 2014

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Why We Love Sales Training (And You Should, Too!)

Sales Training

Sales Training with DMTrainingBelieve it or not there are salespeople (and sales managers) who view sales training as "optional" or as a "luxury".  That kind of thinking is simply short sighted and unrealistic!  Let's look at this issue a little more closely…

Selling is a "performance" art. The core objective of selling is to cause a person to take an action that he/she might not have taken without the salesperson in the picture.  Sales is the collective arts of presentation, persuasion, negotiation and closing.  In each of those areas, success is predicated on how effectively each is performed.  Training is nothing more than refining the quality of what needs to be performed.  That refinement is simply impossible without well directed training in place.

Salespeople are performers.  No one takes serious issue with that statement, but how many people will readily acknowledge that all performers, in any field of endeavor, need to be trained?  Professional football players go to training camp before the start of every season.  In spite of their prior experience and success, management requires every member of the team to train on the fundamentals as well as advanced skills that it will take to be successful in the upcoming campaign.  How many sales managers perceive sales training to be as critical to their respective team's success?

Performers need to train and practice in a controlled and organized environment.  Expecting or asking a salesperson to "train on their own" simply diminishes any chance of success.  On your next trip to the gym, check out the difference between those working out on their own and those who are working out with personal trainers.  Typically, there's an obvious contrast in terms of focus, technique and yes, results.  The same applies to a sales team.  Training together under the direction and guidance of a high quality trainer simply accelerates the growth and development of everyone!

The need for solid sales training never goes away!  "Experienced" salespeople often push back about ongoing sales training.  Many senior salespeople have a "been there done that" attitude that has more to do with ego than common sense.  Lumberjacks, no matter how long they have been in the woods, sharpen their saws every day.  A dull saw is simply not as productive or as effective as a sharp one.  Every salesperson's collective skills need constant sharpening regardless of how long they've been selling.  It's really as simple as that.

Make an honest assessment of your selling skills and get training where you need to improve!  Don't let your pride (or ego) prevent you from getting some good training.  Great salespeople perceive themselves as "students of the game" and are always looking for ways to get better at what they do for a living.  Taking a lazy or dismissive approach to this critical issue is a recipe for disaster.  We all have an obligation to keep growing so that we can produce more for ourselves and our respective organizations.

Is sales training "optional" or a "luxury"?  No, it's simply essential for a great sales organization.  So let's make it happen and reap the benefits!  The cost of not training is simply a risk not worth taking…

Competitive Selling


 

About the Author

Digital Media Training is excited to announce the addition of Buff Parham, a widely recognized thought leader and outstanding coach in the media sales and sales management field. With 35 years of sales experience, Buff has worked at Univision, FOX, Belo, ABC and CBS. He started in the mailroom at CBS, but quickly moved on to selling locally at KABC/Los Angeles and nationally for ABC Spot Sales in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. Buff then continued on to spend almost 12 years with Univision, first as General Sales Manager at KUVN/KSTR in Dallas, and then 5 years in New York as SVP/Sales.

Buff believes that hard work matters and that raising the bar and having greater expectations tend to generate greater results. In his spare time, Buff finds cooking and playing golf to be two of the best therapies for a somewhat hectic existence! 

Buff will be contributing a new blog article to Digital Media Training once per month about various sales and sale management topics. Stay tuned!

Connect with Buff via LinkedIn 

Check out Buff’s Blog www.BuffParham.com

Follow @BuffParham

 

About Steve Bookbinder

Steve Bookbinder is the CEO and sales expert at DMTraining. He has delivered more than 5,000 workshops and speeches to clients all over the world and has trained, coached, and managed more than 50,000 salespeople and managers. Steve continuously refreshes his training content to reflect his latest first-hand observations of salespeople across industries and regions. Through him, participants in his workshops and coaching sessions learn the best practices of today’s most successful sellers and managers across industries. Steve understands that sales is a competitive game. To outperform competitors and our own personal best results, we need to out-prospect, out-qualify, out-present and out-negotiate everyone else, not merely know how to sell. Through his specialty programs in Pipeline Management, Personal Marketing, Great First Meetings, 2nd-level Questioning, Sales Negotiating, and Sales Coaching, Steve trains sales teams to master the skills they need to overcome the challenges they face in today’s world… and keep improving results year over year.

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