Is Sales Training really important?

Businesses typically spend 80% of their time & $ for sales training on product and industry training and 20%, or less, on developing sales competency or mastery. Basic industry and product knowledge can be picked up in relatively short time. Obviously, deeply knowing the ins and outs of an industry and your company’s products takes time. But, basic knowledge is often very sufficient to get out into the market place and sell. That’s why new and inexperienced sales people can achieve at least some level of success.

Sales mastery- being extremely good at having multiple sales conversations with an account and controlling the sales process- is much harder but produces far more beneficial results for the customer and provider/supplier. The ability to effectively build relationships and work toward a win-win solution by understanding the totality of a business and personal environment in order to solve problems takes continual learning and discipline. Without this total or global or holistic approach to the sales process it is very easy to sell a product or service for the wrong application at the wrong price (or value). Poor ‘salespersonship’ usually produces poor and costly solutions for both parties.

© 2009 Peter E. McDowell

PERFORMA Business Development

Different View/ Better Results

pete@performabusdev.com

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Relationships Matter- Lesson Three is all about respect

So many people today don’t respect others. They put up with them, but they don’t respect them. In building a personal or business relationship with someone, my hierarchy is to first decide that you are going to like the person. Then, work to build trust. Finally, out of trust should come respect.

Relationships Matter- Lesson Two with four elements of trust

…in any relationship that has an expectation of mutual gain (however defined), some level of trust must exist…perhaps not in a criminal activity, but in the world most of us live in. Trust is a key part of the relationship and it follows likeability. If initially one or two people do not like each other, then trust is not possible.

Relationships Matter- Lesson One with Seven Tips

Relationships are what make everything hum and are the foundation for moving the sales process forward. A poor or marginal relationship may result in business if a seller is one of the very few with a product or service that the buyer must have. In the competitive world of many similar choices…

Anonymity and Trustworthiness

What is it these days with so many people in organizations, businesses and government entities that makes it right to casually and unofficially/confidentially give out information? Where has the concept of trustworthiness and privacy gone? Was it ever really there?