How to Select The Best Training & Coaching Program for Your Sales Team
Not that you want your sales team to model his ethics, but in the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort hands a pen to his associate and sales trainee, Brad:
Jordan: “Sell me this pen.” (hands pen to Brad)
Brad (with pen): “Why’nt do me a favor, write your name on that napkin for me…”
Jordan: “I don’t have a pen…”
Brad: “Exactly. Supply and demand.”
So is “supply and demand” the best answer to Belfort’s riddle?
No.
In a moment, I’ll share with you what works in the real world.
First, let me ask you something… How well is your sales team living up to their full potential?
If you answered anything less than 100%, you may have at some point considered bringing in an outside sales training program to help boost their performance.
Let me share with you a few points to consider in that highly impactful decision.
6 Reasons To NOT Invest In Sales Training For Your Team
It may not be appropriate for your company to bring in a sales trainer. Let’s find out….
In the checklist below, if your team scores a perfect five, stop there. If four or more, it’s something you might want to consider. Three or below, it could be a very worthwhile investment for your company.
- Do you have a well-defined prospecting plan that your people execute consistently?
- Once in front of a prospect, do your people have a systematic approach for qualifying the opportunity, and predict its probability of turning into real business?
- Is their ratio of offers to closed deals 80% or better?
- Do they have very few “think-it-overs”? In other words, do they get decisions from prospects with very few undecideds that linger for 90 days or more?
- Following a meeting with prospects, can they tell you exactly what happened — why the prospect will buy, their budget, decision-making process, and what the next step will be?
- Do they avoid back-outs, charge-backs, or buyers calling with buyers’ remorse to cancel?
The 3 Key Benefits of Investing in Sales Training
Now that you’ve determined whether your team has the need, let’s look at a few of the potential benefits an excellent sales training can bring.
Increased Sales
Improving your top line with even one new sale per quarter per sales pro could easily yield an excellent return on your investment in the program. And like a flywheel, once the training takes hold in your company culture, it continues to increase your momentum.
New Strategies
We’re all limited in our ability to see the whole forest when surrounded by trees. Having a “fresh eyes” perspective that a good trainer brings can be a huge benefit to your company. Couple that with innovative approaches that can give you an edge over competitors and you’ve got a powerful reason to bring in new training.
Speed of Improvement
Let’s face it — You’re already busy beyond belief. If you had the time, you probably would have already made the changes you know are needed to bring about the sales improvement your company needs. Smart leaders know how to leverage others for results and one of the best investments you can make is to speed up the ability of your sales team to generate results.
Team Satisfaction
Hiring great or even good talent is tough enough these days. Keeping them is essential. The kind of sales professional you want to keep onboard is always looking for new ways to improve. They are at their best and happiest when provided with ample opportunities to learn and grow.
The Top 5 Characteristics to Look For
You’ve decided to invest in a sales training program for your team. What should you look for?
Here are the top five characteristics any sales training program for new-built home sales professionals MUST have in order to even qualify — and preferably excel in most or all of them:
Experience In The Field — Particularly in today’s homebuilding industry, it’s essential for any training program to understand and speak to the myriad challenges and nuances of selling new homes, consistently and predictably.
Passion For Sales — Enthusiasm is infectious. People buy on emotion and justify with reason, and your sales team is no different when it comes to “buying” any form of training.
Strong Communication Skills — Any worthwhile sales training program must not only demonstrate a proven ability to sell, it must also provide top level education for trainees. And without excellent communication ability, even the most proficient sales pro can fall flat as an effective trainer.
Student-Centric Mentality — Direct contact with trainees and an ability to see things through their eyes intensifies the effects of the training. This is no place for a one-size-fits-all program. Highly effective training starts with the student’s needs, challenges and native abilities first and foremost.
Ability To Facilitate Results-Focused Activities And Lessons — There’s a crucial but often-missed difference between training objectives met, and sales results actually accomplished in the field. You can award all the gold stars for achievement in training, but actual sales improvement is where the rubber meets the road.
Hire A Team With Proven Ability In New Home Sales
Naturally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t extend a hand and offer to help your sales team break through a whole new level. At Sales Solve Everything, we specialize in customized sales training programs for small to midsize home builders.
To find out how we can help grow your sales and profits, give us a call at 888-738-4029. Or visit SalesSolveEverything.com. We look forward to meeting you!
Oh, and what’s the answer to Belfort’s riddle?
Well, it’s complicated…
But let me give you the basics: You start NOT with pitching features and benefits…
You start with a question to uncover your prospect’s needs and desires and finally how they tie into having that pen.
For more on this, book a call and let’s chat! 🙂