I have a lot of empathy for Sales Training Directors. They are chartered with a big task they must execute on and their reputation is on the line. The worst part is they are hounded by these aggressive, slimey, pushy, arrogant, sales training vendors that stalk them on a daily basis. Of course, I’m not included in that pack- I don’t even own a grey trenchcoat:)

Since Inside Sales is on the radar, every training company wants to offer curriculum for this audience. However, not many know enough about this unique demographic. The major training vendors out there are saying, oh yeah we have a telesales track. And they pull it out of the bag like it’s a new Rolex watch they are selling or a Kate Spade knock-off. You can’t do it and get away with it. Especially when you are surrounded by inside sales champions who can be the toughest audience.

So, I’ve desiged a 20-question checklist that sales training directors can ask when they are sourcing a vendor:

1. Does this vendor have a strong understanding of inside sales? From a department and infrastructure perspective and understands how to sell from various models — inbound, outbound, direct, and indirect?
2. Does this vendor deliver telephone sales skills that demonstrate a required set of action-oriented behaviors — far more than merely “etiquette on the phone?”
3. Does this vendor offer a wide variety of curriculum skills that span throughout the entire sales cycle and not just questioning or closing skills?
4. Does this vendor offer both on-line (email) and phone curriculum since inside sales is focused on both?
5. Does this vendor offer shorter training modules so your teams are not taken off the phones for long periods of time and can retain more information when it is delivered in smaller byte-sized pieces?
6. Does this vendor incorporate call recordings into the training?
7. Does this vendor design training for maximum skills retention and coaching to accelerate selling effectiveness - immediately?
8. Does this vendor design training programs for inside sales managers who came from being an individual contributor and now must drive revenue with their team?
9. Does this vendor have a credible track record of being on the front-line of inside sales for 15-20 years?
10. Does this training vendor have a client list which includes inside sales training as their primary offering and not field sales or customer service?
11. Does this vendor have a client list that demonstrates ROI success in the high-tech sector?
12. Does this vendor demonstrate the personalized, consultative, flexible and knowledgeable approach?
13. Does this vendor understand how to provide highly interactive, energetic topics for sales audiences which usually have a 10-second attention span?
14. Does this vendor have a strong global presence and understand how to differentiate between skills and culture differences?
15. Does this vendor require minimal supervision and can they hit the ground running with timely and relevant training?
16. Does this vendor have a strong understanding of the various sales training methodologies and provide a complementary tactical solution?
17. Does this vendor offer a new hire training track and realizes the pressures of faster ramp-up time today?
18. Does this vendor customize curriculum for you and not provide you with off-the-shelf dated material?
19. Does this vendor understand the unique nuances and skill requirements in developing inside sales talent?
20. Does this vendor “walk their talk” in terms of developing their own business?

“Hi Susan, it’s Josiane with TeleSmart.”

“Thanks for following up Josiane, talk with you on Friday.”

This has been a 2 years sales cycle and each conversation gets closer to making something happen. This meeting is the fifth meeting in the last few months. Am I hanging out with the wrong person here?

Whenever I want blog content inspiration, I check out Patricia Digh’s 37 days blog. She references a great clip on YouTube taken on the Paris metro by Naturally 7 group. She is always so eloquent and asks what do we do when beauty springs up in unexpectant places? Such a great question to ask on this beautiful sunny Monday morning.

I’m reminded of a time when I conducted training in the middle of winter for this large company based in a small town in Indiana. They didn’t even have a Starbucks or Kinko’s so my tolerance ran low. I was obviously out of my element for many more reasons as I had to quickly adjust my language, appearance, habits, etc. Taking it down about 10 years as I watched those around me and became convinced I had just walked into a time warp.

The training went okay and luckily sales skills are concepts everyone can relate to and understand. However, there was one older woman, we’ll call her Madge,  in the group who was a lot slower than the rest. She asked irrelevant questions, didn’t seem to listen too much and clearly was stuck in her old comfort habits. Madge was very nice but could not keep up with the rest of the group- let alone demonstrate revenue-generating potential.

That day when the training ended, we were hit with a huge snowstorm and everyone was warned to quickly return home because the forecast showed it getting worst. We ran to the parking lot to get our cars and my giant rented SUV which looked like a massive tractor was sitting in the lot completely covered in snow. Okay, I’m an urban California girl who maybe sees snow once every few years when someone has the patience to watch me do the bunny slopes in Tahoe. I don’t even know what gear to switch into when I’m in a car surrounded by snow. I panicked but had to keep my “I’m in control because I’m the trainer and communications expert” persona going. 

Suddenly, there’s Madge dressed in her full snow suit and boots holding a large snow shovel. She briskly walked through the parking lot flagging cars down, shoveling snow off car windows and redirecting traffic out of the parking lot. Their safety was her priority and she made sure to take care of everyone in the lot before getting in her car.

Although Madge may have shown weakness in a classroom training session, she became the super hero of the parking lot that day. That was beauty that sprung up for me in an unexpected way.

Once we decide to dump something, we often realize we’ve held on to it for way too long. Time to clean up and dump the leads you’ve been holding on to for far too long. These are the ones filled with empty promises and the ones which haven’t been clearly qualified or have any urgency in closing. Move on, stop fooling yourself and dump ‘em.

The good news is this clears up your space for new opportunities to enter.

There are tons of Webinars out there on email marketing or email etiquette but not much is geared toward salespeople. Finally, thre’s a 2-part series designed for salespeople with an appropriate title, Emails that Close Deals.

Designing this topic has been fun. It’s always good working with my Genius buddies and very cool partnering with Sam Parker, co-founder and publisher of MaxPitch Media and JustSell. These guys are super smart, hip and know how to publish excellent content for salespeople. They clearly take over where Selling Power falls behind.

Sam and I will talk, dialogue, agree, disagree, advise and ultimately give our expert thoughts on the 12 essentials of taking email control. We have things to give away such as my Dynamic Duo-Vmail and Email tips and JustSell’s Writing a Better Email; The Definitive Guide for Those Who Sell.

There are lots of advantages to having your own business. One is choosing the types of clients and projects with which you want to work. Since I’m pretty picky, I like to be the chooser. For the past 3 years, I’ve been intrigued with a San Franicisco-based company called ServiceSource. These are smart guys who took an underutilized business segment such as service renewals and designed a profitable company focused on outsourcing this function.

The maintenance renewals groups have always been an after-thought for many Inside Sales organizations. Even the talent it attracts is typically less ambitious, less sales-centric and more loyal. That’s just my perception. 

ServiceSource has paid attention to this sales segment and built an entire business model maximizing revenues on maintenance renewals. They are profitable, just received funding, and Mike Smerklo is at the helm.

So a few weeks ago, I sent out my eBlast on Qualities of an Inside Sales Winner and tracked my page views. I noticed Mike was checking us out and sent out my Thanks for Paying Attention Email. This email included a brief introduction and requested a 6-minute appointment. Mike responded immediately by forwarding my email to his administrative assistant asking her to schedule time on his calendar for a meeting with me.

Yikes. Now what do I do? I started by contacting some buddies I knew that worked at ServiceSource and asking them questions about the company and more questions about Mike’s personality. What is he like? Is he a data guy? A visionary? A no-nonsense guy? Does he know Inside Sales? Does he take risks or is he traditional? The feedback I received was consistent-it inspired me to charge forward and gave me insight on how to position my company.

I started designing my 4-6 slides, all the while expecting my appt. to be canceled, rescheduled or postponed. It’s just reality when you talk with a President of a 500-person global company, you are bound to get your appt. rescheduled. 

Finally, the day of our phone meeting arrived and his assistant confirmed we were still on. Now What? What do I want from this meeting? Do I want to get pushed back down and referred to his team? Do I want to make an impact? 

This is one of the most significant things we must think about when we finally get a few minutes with someone at this level. This goes beyond just having a call objective. It’s about creating your reality in just the few minutes you have with someone who can really make something happen. I know, we spend so much time with people who can’t make something happen that it’s odd when we finally find someone who actually can create a dramatic shift in what we do.

Be prepared to wish for something big, do your homework, listen to that sixth sense of timing and charge forward.