Training Your Sales Staff

All owners, managers, and leaders want their valued employees to have the proper tools and knowledge to succeed at their job.  No department needs this more than the sales staff in your business.  Correctly training your sales team can give them the appropriate tools and knowledge to take them from mediocre to a force to be reckoned with in no time.  There are three main areas that sales team members should be trained.  They should be thoroughly acquainted with the company’s products and services.  They should be extremely familiar with the field that your company most especially close competitors. Finally, the sales team should be well-versed in sales techniques that are in line with the goals and personality of your brand.  Here are some training tips for these three critical areas.

Product and Service Training –

• Have the sales team not only review the products but, if possible, witness the service that is provided so they have first hand knowledge and can speak from experience rather than a guidebook.
• Where possible, have the team use the product or shadow a service member so they can become aware of uses, problems and solutions that may be typical for your products/service.
• Have younger sales people “buddy” or “shadow” older sales team members so they can learn the ropes. They will quickly get used to common questions, answers and then be able to anticipate them in the future.
• Create a sales manual for easy reference when questions arise.

Industry Training –

• Hold regular sales team and staff meetings updating them on new innovations in your field.
• Make industry journals and websites easily available so sales staffers can keep up when they are in the office.
• Encourage staff to learn about competitors both local and national.
• Keep staff up-to-date on industry news with quick bulletins via email or newsletters.
• Encourage training sessions held regionally so sales people can see what the competition is all about.

Sales Skill Training –

• Give all sales members technology that will help them stay organized.  For instance some sort of customer relations management software program is a good idea.
• Invest in sales training classes for newer members of your team.
• Hire not only with sales education and experience in mind, but also weigh the persons personality and how it jives with your product and services.
• Use role playing regularly or other techniques that could help in sales numbers.
• Keep rewards coming!  Let all staff know about the chances for advancement or monetary rewards.

Categorised in: Blog, Sales