Professional Development Training in Sales

The development of competent sales personnel translates into better company performance, growth, and revenue.

But what are the components of a competent sales person? In this post, we will explore some of the ones we have identified over the years, and discuss how professional development training boosts each of them.

Product knowledge

According to sales thought leader Josiane Feigon, only 13% of customers believe a sales person can understand their needs. The super salespeople are able to overcome this statistic because they know their product, as well as their competitors’ inside and out. They are able to match their offerings to customer needs better than other sales people.

Product knowledge should be a part of sales training curriculum. It is often missed, and sales people are left adrift for too long while they learn on the job. Sales managers can solve this by bringing up product features at every sales meeting.

Aptitude

The idea that anyone can become a top salesperson is ridiculous. Fifty percent of sales success comes directly from natural aptitude. This is the reason why so many companies have partnered with us at Asher Strategies and have taken advantage of the Craft Personality Questionnaire (CPQ), an aptitude assessment used to wean out potential job candidates who do not possess natural abilities to sell.

Aptitude testing helps improve professional development training by focusing the efforts on those who can sell, rather than those who will never make it.

Selling Skills

Continuous training gives 50% higher net sales per employee, according to ASTD. The top-ten selling techniques companies should emphasize include:

• Focus on a few top prospects
• Use coaches to fully understand customer requirements
• Thoroughly research prospects and their organizations prior to first contact
• Build rapport
• Ask questions and listen
• Provide appropriate marketing messages to prospects
• Act as business consultant and solution provider
• Recognize when buyers are ready to buy and know when to close the sale
• Build long-term relationships with prospects and customers by providing superb customer-care/account-management services
• Ask for referrals and use a process to follow up

Professional development training should cover all the above points.

Motivation

Super salespeople have a contagious attitude and are enthusiastic about their business. Their confidence level is high. They persevere and do not give up easily on qualified prospects. These individuals are self-motivated, are in the right sales position, and are continually selling.

Excellent professional development training will boost your employee motivation levels, delivering the benefits of your products and services to more customers.

Sales process

Companies that utilize branding, marketing, sales, and customer relationship best practices grow more than their competitors. One way to cement best practices throughout a sales force is through the use of sales processes which delineate and facilitate the major steps of the customer journey.

Continued sales process training will provide your employees an upper hand in the battle to close the sale, as they don’t have to constantly reinvent the wheel.

Stop wasting time!

Professional development training is a significant expense and a time consuming affair for any business owner or executive. Make sure you maximize your results by following the tips above. If you need further help, please contact us today for a conversation on how our services might boost your training efforts.