Sales Training Fundamentals
This training does not focus on sales techniques. Rather, it is an in-depth exploration of core principals that successful sales professionals understand and incorporate on a daily basis. Whether you have an in-house training department, or you use outside sales training organizations, this customizable workshop will supplement and enhance your current training.
This workshop will help your team in two ways:
First, it will help the members of your sales team collaborate in ways which they may not have realized is possible, resulting in increased sales . Although sales professionals are part of a team, they often do not take advantage of the greatest resource available to them – tapping into the strengths, insights and struggles that exist within their team.
Many sales people fail, not because they don’t have the aptitude or abilities that it takes to be successful. Rather, they think that they have to face every challenge alone, and cannot share their victories or disappointments with others as a means to improve. They even may think that asking someone else for help is an admission of failure, instead of an opportunity for improvement.
During the workshop, all members of your team face the same challenges together. The adage, “been there, done that” or “same old, same old” does not apply with this type of training. Each person is asked to engage in challenges that they have never done before. They don’t necessarily know what they will do, nor do they know what their team mates will do. As a result, everyone is on a level playing field which is fertile ground for creativity and insights to emerge.
Additionally, all of the initiatives are tied into core, training concepts. This process will further help participants internalize what they will be learning during your sales training because they will experience the idea from a physical, emotional and intellectual perspective. During your training classes, they will be able to reference what happened during this workshop as a further means to reinforce the sales concept they will be learning.
Your day will be divided into two parts if desired. The first part of the day will focus on team challenges that require the combined input, creativity and insights of group members. This will help the team strategize, reveal strengths and vulnerabilities, adapt to changing circumstances and see the benefits resulting from teamwork.
You also have an option to participate in high ropes challenges at one of our affiliated ropes courses. A ropes course challenge may be one of the best ways to enable a sales professional to actually experience what their prospect may be thinking and feeling as they are asked to move out of their comfort zone.
By enabling participants to safely step outside or their comfort zones, with the support of their sales team, individuals can gain an immediate understanding of the limiting thoughts that hold them back from their own success. Each person is asked to identify where their comfort zone lies, and what it would look like to go beyond that.
Back on the job, this experience can be helpful for a person who is feeling apprehensive about going outside of their comfort zone, and remembering that they actually already stepped out of their comfort zone in a significant way and now gained the bragging rights to tell their tale.
The challenges at the ropes course, both low and high become the medium to delve into the following sales training areas:
Understanding your personality style/ Understanding your prospect
During the debrief, everyone will have the opportunity to reflect on how their personality style shows up, how they interact with other’s personality styles, and how other team member’s personality styles express themselves. Bridging this back to the sales environment, participants will be more aware of personality styles within their client relationships. Relevant questions may be: “ How can I use this understanding to create bonding and rapport with my prospect?” “What is my best approach so that they feel most comfortable and leads us to our sales goal?” “What styles am I most attracted/non attracted to?”
Expanding Comfort Zones
The entire ropes course perspective is based on methodologies that help individuals expand their comfort zones. The trade words used are “ice breaking” activities to “deinhibitizers” to “initiatives”; challenges that are consciously designed to organically move a group to greater levels of trust and communication. The sales process too, relies on the sales representative establishing bonding and a rapport in order to build that trusting relationship and move it forward. Through awareness of this process within the group dynamic, by observing one’s own trust and comfort levels changing throughout the day, participants experientially reinforce their understanding of this core client relationship process. A relevant and important question is: “How am I feeling now?” “How might my client be feeling now?” “What needs to happen next in order to facilitate a greater level of comfort and trust?”
Questioning Processes/Seeking to Understand
Successful sales professionals follow the 70/30 rule: Clients do 70% of the talking. At the ropes course, facilitators follow this same approach by modeling open ended questions throughout the day. Most activities as well, are explained in concise ways so the group needs to focus to understand what is being asked of them, and to ask appropriate questions to get the information that they need for success. There are also specific challenges that zoom in on this learning point. Relevant questions may be: “ Am I asking my client open ended questions?” “ Who is doing most of the talking?” “What are some ways to gain more information?”
Effective Listening/Communication
Effective listening and communicating is part of a process that leads toward a goal . All of the initiatives at the ropes course are designed with this dynamic in mind. If there is only listening and communicating about the goal but no action, the goal won’t be reached. And conversely, if there isn’t listening and communicating, the goal also will not be reached. Relevant questions may be,” How effective was our listening and communication in terms of reaching our goal?” “What helps facilitate effective communication?” “What is the role of technology in communicating effectively?” “ At this point in my client relationship, what am I communicating to my client in terms of goals and expectations?” “Am I aware of how mirroring can be helpful in my communication?”
Uncovering Prospect’s Pain/Discomfort
The ability to be empathetic hinges on a person’s ability to experience those thoughts and feelings within themselves. The ropes course program is designed to present opportunities for participants to expand their comfort zones. For many people, that would mean “stretching” to try something that is not comfortable. For a shy person, it may mean challenging themselves to speak up more. For an assertive person, it may mean asking themselves to step back. If a person is feeling fear, it may mean asking them if they are willing to move forward, in spite of their feelings. The high elements of the ropes course, for most people are their opportunity to expand their own boundaries related to fear and trust. Relevant questions may be: “What’s at risk for me if I move forward?” “What further information do I need that would help me move forward?”, “Am I willing to move forward, even though I’m afraid to do so”. Because this experience is so deeply rooted in the body (i.e. –shaking, sweating, etc), the fact that someone is able to “take that leap” gives them a type of “muscle memory” that they can refer back to while they are feeling fear in the job setting (i.e.- sitting in front of Mr./Mrs CEO and asking them for a major contribution). Relevant questions may be: “Am I tuned into my prospect’s thoughts and feelings?” “What fears am I projecting into this situation?” “What are my prospect’s fears and what might I do to help them”.
Vulnerability Based Trust
Vulnerability based trust means that I’m willing to be engaged in a relationship where there is something at risk both for me, and the other person. In the ropes course setting, this really means “imagined risks” since physical and emotional safety is always the first priority. The types of challenges where one person needs to rely on another allow individuals to broaden their own ability to trust. Since trust is a two way street, relevant questions may be: “How comfortable am I when I ask someone to trust me? “ How comfortable am I extending trust to another person?” “What needs to happen next in my client relationship to broaden our trust?” “ To what extent am I willing to share those thoughts and feelings with another that are not so comfortable?” “ How might I share uncomfortable thoughts and feelings with a client?”
Behavior/Attitudes/Techniques
Behavior, attitude and techniques are interwoven and affect a sale’s professional’s success. Attitude will affect their behaviors and techniques. Behavior will affect their attitudes and techniques. And a person’s techniques will affect their attitudes and behaviors. Through awareness of this triangle, and making necessary adjustments will help a person to be most successful in reaching their goals. Throughout the day, we will bring awareness to this success dynamic. The following question can be asked around any of the challenges of the day: “What attitude, behaviors, and techniques will help us optimize our success?” “What is my attitude right now?” “How is it affecting my behavior?”
Discover what you can expect from your program.
Contact us or call 443-255-7018 for more information.