
We have all seen the sales graph with the peaks and troughs, we may factor in seasonality, major events, product launches etc. but do we ever look at how training can affect these figures and can create the “bounce” to kick start and keep us on an upward curve.
There is a great expression “a new broom sweeps clean” if you consider it, it’s a back handed compliment, suggesting that things will soon return to normal with the dirt back in the corners.
It’s not unusual for Companies to think this way about Sales Training.
Which is just so wrong.
The benefit of training is not only for today it’s to ensure our places in tomorrow and the future.
When Roger Federer became the number 1 tennis player in the world he was asked “how did you achieve it, and how do you ensure you stay there”?
His answer was both clear and concise, “to become number 1 you train for it, to stay there you train even more.”
He stayed at the top for a record of 302 weeks with 237 of them being consecutive, today at the grand old age of 35 approaching 36 he finds himself in the semi finals of a grand slam,
How?
He trained for it and he continues to train every day, he uses both internal and external trainers as he believes they can all bring something different to his game.
He also uses external trainers to train and refresh his every day coaching team.
So ask yourself this, how would you like your Sales team to be at the top of the game for 5 years, what impact would that have on your companies bottom line, your own budgets and of course bonus’s?
Do your sales team and sales management receive enough training or do you simply let them go through the same old motions?
Do you invest in your team, or just “take” from them?
Every time at VOS when we conduct sales trainings for our client’s, we know their sales figures will receive a significant upward bounce, the challenge being to keep the figures climbing onward and upwards.
We manage to achieve this by listening and engaging with people, if the team won’t engage with us the training is pointless, so we only train on what’s relevant and beneficial to them.
Imagine if Roger Federer’s coaches tried to get him lifting huge weights or training wearing iron suits and diving boots, it just wouldn't work and of course he would get rid of them, he needs to respect his trainers and then commit to them and their methods, then the results speak for themselves.
The point is this, you can never over train, providing it’s conducted correctly, and remember if a training course or sessions can have a positive bounce on your figures, why not commit too long term training, if you want to see that performance graph grow upwards, invest in your teams and use trainers both internal and external, and remember to train the managers as well as the sales teams.
Just think of Roger Federer
Created by Kevin Wash, VOS Consultants