How to give effective sales Training

When the prospect gives you the expected “Everything is fine ", you must try to get the conversation going without putting them on the defensive. Therefore, have two or three issues ready to offer, one at a time that you think they should have. For example, in my business, creating more sales, shortening the sales cycle and cross-selling are three common issues among the prospects I pursue. So when I get the -- "Everything is fine." -- I might say, "Well what about sales cycles. Is this an issue?" If s/he says, "No", I then might say, "And cross-selling, is cross-selling meeting your expectations?"

I will do this for a maximum of three No's, and then I give up, politely leave and recycle this prospect for a future retry in three or four months. If however, one of these exposes and/or entices gets a "Yes", then I'll go into my selling mode.

The idea here is to see if this prospect has a need or want, that she realizes she has. If she doesn't, you're beating your head against a wall and setting yourself up for rejection. You'll think you're just not good at selling. Whereas, the prospect just isn't interested. Basically, the reward for her to change is less than the effort plus the risk to change. Think about that for a second. The key to selling is finding people that have an issue or want, and would like to do something about it. Give up on the idea that "I have to convince him or her." You need to find those that want help.

Getting new customers is a common problem, not only among new recruits, but also among seasoned salespeople with established territories. We all need new customers, so what can we do? Cold calling, in one form or another, is our default tactic. It's what we do when we don't want to try, change, or venture into other tactics.

So since cold calling will not go away, let me help you with some tips, not to encourage you to cold call - because there are better ways -- but to make you more productive and less demotivated, if you and/or your bosses insist on cold calling.

Don't say everyone. This attitude makes cold calling overwhelming, and you'll get lots of rejections. You must establish a list of criteria, and here's where your boss and other successful salespeople can help you.

Ask them, "What are the characteristics of our/your 3 best customers?" Get them to think deeply about the specifics -- the people, the environment, the circumstances of each customer. List these characteristics and notice similarities among these customers.

Then, asked them, "What are the characteristics of 3 prospects that never buy?" Again, try to get them to be specific and add these to your list.

These characteristics will give you an idea of the type of prospects that really need what you have and those that don't. Caution: Don't get sucked into, "should need what you have to offer". Although many "should need" it, you will be successful when you find those that want it.

Expect an "Everything is fine" because that's the easiest way to get rid of you. However, what you've done with this approach, and these questions, is to be polite and focused on the prospect. This helps to establish a modicum of credibility. Needs and wants, coupled with the salesperson's credibility, are what make sales happen.