Sales Management training

Sales Training, the good the bad and the ugly
Sales can be one of the most profitable and most difficult jobs one can ever have. We have all heard the jokes and ugly stories about the used car salesman that had little or no scruples. But are all sales people without scruples? And how does one train to be a successful salesperson without falling into the nasty used car salesman category?Most large firms, businesses and establishment that are sales oriented offer their own training program. For example, Toyota has a three month intensive training program they put all their prospective sales people through that entail everything from prospecting, to cold calls, handling objections and most importantly, closing the deal. There are also independent consultants that offer training programs on becoming a successful sales person. Following is a comprehensive list of what that training may entail.The Seven “Fs” to Successful Sales ProspectingThe steps to successful training are basic and are outlined as follows;FINDING prospects is the number one F on the list. We need not only to find the prospects, but also set a time and place in which to do so. You will need to have a place free of distraction in which to do your prospecting. Setting a time is also very important. The majority of sales people try to fit in prospecting between other activities of the day when in fact the day should be planned around prospecting. Finding leads and possible clients is vital to being a successful sales person. If you do not schedule a specific time in which to do your daily prospecting it is likely to be left undone. Habit and consistency are vital to success. Set a time each day and stick to it. It is best not to call before 9 AM or after 8 PM and also avoid the dinner hour. Yes, more people are home, but they will be less willing to listen if their dinner is interrupted. FORGET all past failures. You must start each day and each phone call fresh and ready for success. If you focus only on your failures that will be all you will achieve. In sales it is basically a numbers came and the more phone calls or prospects you reach the better your chance for success. For every 100 phone calls you may get 9 people to listen, three that will want more information and one that will actually buy. You can not let the numbers scare you or detour you from your quest. Each call is a possible sale and positive thinking and a positive attitude will ring through the phone.No one likes to make cold calls, but they are a very important part of most sales oriented businesses.. One must FIGHT the urge to put it off. It is easy to become distracted and to let your prospecting go. The most successful sales people are those that do not allow themselves to be distracted from the task at hand.FOCUS is incredibly important. If you have ever witnessed a successful person in any field, you will have noticed how focused they appear. They are on a mission and will not stray from it. Once you have the place and have forgotten the past failures, focus will allow you to succeed where others have failed.FOLLOW through; create a game plan and stick to it. Most people go through the day without any plan at all and all it to just go along till something happens. To be a success, you must make things happen. This means to create a plan and to follow through with it. Making alist of things to do may sound simple and corny, nut it works, putting your intended actions into words on paper make them real and much harder to ignore. Have FAITH in yourself and your commitments and faithful to following the plan. You can set a simple goal of making ten new contacts a day. Ten phone calls are easy and anyone could make ten calls with out a lot of effort or time. If this plan is followed faithfully everyday by the end of one year imagine how many new clients you would have touched? Sales are a numbers came and the more you do the more you will get.. The final F is perhaps the most important: FINISH. Always set goals and do not quit till you have accomplished them. Do not settle for less than the best from yourself and your success will follow.The use of training scripts are a useful tool and role playing with a partner will make it easier for you to handle real situations with the public better. Practice your meet and greet everyday till you are comfortable with your part. Create list of possible objections and then create a list on how to eliminate them. Practice your closing and master it well.Some sales training pushes how not to take no for answer where the best bet is to sometime realize that a no for now is better than pushing the client away for good. Be patient without being a pushover, strong with out strong arming. By being the best sales person you can be, your clients will not only come back, but they will also tell all their friends.