Don’t worry, I’m not shelving my dry erase markers and white board just yet but have definitely noticed in my prospecting efforts when introducing my company as an inside sales training company, the silence on the line. As if I were selling luxury cars or asking them to book their next President’s Club in Bali.
How will sales training ride out this recession? In reading Dave Stein’s blog, he mentions most sales training companies are down 20% and have had to lay off their staff and I’m not surprised.
Why isnt’ sales training recession-proof? And how will sales training ride out this economic downturn? Will traditional sales training be a thing of the past. Here are some common concerns prospects have on this topic:
1. It must measure ROI- One reason sales training isn’t on everyone’s hotlist is there isn’t a tangible and measurable ROI attached to it. As sales trainers, we can no longer shake hands and thank the client after camping out in their conference room for the week and call it a day. Prior to delivering the training, we must partner with the client for front-end and back-end reinforcement.
2. Our salespeople don’t have time- I know this is a slippery bunch but what this really means is they don’t have time for something that isn’t relevant and speaks to their needs. If good sales training can provide them with new ideas and tips they can immediately implement, they have the time to listen.
3. Our salespeople have already received training- I’m always pleased when I talk with companies who have already engaged with the sales training giants such as Miller Heiman, Sandler, Solution Selling, TAS because they are ready to really understand good sales training and this can be the best audience. There is no such thing as “too much training” when it gives someone the opportunity to learn, develop and grow.
4. We can’t afford to have everyone fly in for the training- When T&E expenses are being scrutinized, the last thing you want to do is not be visible with your team at least several times per year. Especially during these uncertain times, people need to come together to share ideas, challenges, concerns that must happen face to face.
5. Our training will be delivered through webinars and elearning- On-line training is on the rise but so are desktop distractions. Salespeople have 3-second attention spans and really gaining their buy-in and participation still happens in traditional classroom style setting.
6. As their sales manager, I’m providing them with training in our weekly meetings- I think it is time for sales managers to become more involved as a coach, mentor, strategist, and all around cheerleader. The reality is that most of them are working overtime staring at org charts instead of role-playing the perfect customer scenario with their team.
7. We are in the process of surveying the team on their needs-When is the last time a salesperson begged for sales training? They beg for leads, they beg for bigger territories, smaller quotas and casual Mondays as well as Friday’s but not sales training.
8. We have a vendor we’ve used in the past that we will work with- Did that sales trainer provide you with training specific to what you need now? This is a time when every sales trainer will say YES to whatever the request is. Just because they said YES doesn’t mean it is their specialty.
9. Our team is very seasoned- I have found the most seasoned sales team members are the ones who require the most training. Especially when selling in this sales 2.0 landscape, the way they sold before will forever be different.
10. Budgets are frozen- Traditional budgets are frozen but creative ways to find budgets will always exist. Instead of going to the sales department and asking for sales training budget, going to the sales operations department and asking for sales tools training or going to the sales training department and asking for productivity and ROI training or going to marketing and asking for lead cleansing budget are new ideas.
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