It has been said before that one of the great ways of learning about anything is to teach it.
Well, having taught over one million people, I feel somewhat comfortable commenting on at least one facet of teaching: sales training. Now, I’m not going to win any popularity awards from this article but I think it’s important for salespeople and companies to re-think what kind of training will help and which types actually hurt.
The reason I’m so concerned about this is more on a personal note. When I come to Kuala Lumpur or Toronto or any of the cities we work in, I am often confronted
with an abrupt statement from a well-intentioned Managing Director or Training Manager. They often stop me mid-sentence and say, “Oh, we’ve heard all this before. We’ve sent all our people to these seminars, they bought all the tapes and they were all excited for a few days but NOTHING happened. Within a few weeks, they were back to normal.”
So many salespeople attend sales training seminars, pay good money to attend and rarely change their sales results over the long term. Why is that? Of course, if the student doesn’t do what the teacher recommends it’s hardly the teacher’s fault! But, so many times, the instruction is so useless that even if one were to follow it completely it would only lead to frustration.
Rah-Rah Seminars Are OUT!
Sure you’ll hear many jokes, inspiring stories and neat-sounding tricks but is it the best use of your time? I don’t think so! Exposing yourself to bad training can be very detrimental to your sales career.
There are a number of commonsense reasons for seriously evaluating the sales training you are considering taking.
For one thing, how long is the training? Several research studies from leading universities in America indicate, (and any sales manager will quickly agree), that if
behavior is to change it will not happen in a “one-shot deal.” The age of “Come to my seminar and I’ll make you fabulously rich like me” is gone. It just doesn’t work!
People are unfairly persuaded (conned) into believing that miracles will happen by attending a certain program, listening to a cassette tape or reading a popular book.
The opposite is usually true. How many piano players do you know, became really good playing by simply listening to a virtuoso? No, they practiced, and practiced and did
so over a long period of time.
Sitting and listening is one of the poorest methods for people to learn, especially when the learning is not done over a long period of time and is not supported by coaching or mentoring.
Another commonsense reason to evaluate the veracity of any so called sales training has to do with the time lost learning the information, using it and far too often unlearning it what I call “psycho-babble” or any techniques or methods which are ineffective.
Here are some examples of what I consider “dangerous” training for salespeople.
Manipulation Methods
So many sales trainers today offer a brand of selling that is very manipulative. They teach how to “CLOSE EVERY SALE”. I’d like to meet any salesperson who actually does that, including the guy who wrote the book or teaches the seminar!
Manipulation training is dangerous because it often works. Sure, you can manipulate people. Here’s a more serious question however, “What are the chances of getting referrals from a customer whom I had to manipulate to buy?”
Another problem with this type of training is that it perpetuates the ancient sales idea that people need to be “sold”. Selling is NOT something you do “to” people, it’s something you do “with and for” people. They buy based on needs, wants, ability to purchase or dominant buying motives not on your ability to “POWER CLOSE”.
If you are interested in building a sales career based on one off selling then attend as many of these “Pump You Up” rallies as you want. If you are interested in getting others to send people to you every day, then avoid any hint of manipulation.
Useless Closing Tricks
This is perhaps one of my biggest pet peeves with those people who train salespeople. I’m constantly amazed at the level of junk that comes out which is supposed to help people sell.
I was addressing a conference in Canada, when just before my introduction; a “Motivational” guru got up and taught the “Pen Close”.
What I saw shocked me. He said that if you want to close more sales, what you have to do is drop the pen in the direction of the prospect as you hand over the contract. What will happen is that they will pick up the pen and alas, because they are holding the pen, will buy.
Come on!
Salespeople have been told to simply “visualize” the customer buying and they will buy. The “energy” you send out will cause them to sign on the dotted line. Really? Salespeople are taught complicated schemes, which are next to impossible to remember in the real world.
They are told to simply watch the prospects’ eyes. If you ask, “Kanages, would you like to buy this product?” you must watch were she looks because that means something
important. If you ask another prospect, “Do you want to buy, Suppiah?” and he looks down, then that means something else. If you ask “Devia, shall we place the order now?”
and she looks up that mean something again. After the sales presentation you ask for the order, “Roshan, shall we go ahead now?” and Roshan looks from side to side with
his eyes that means still something else.
Here you are trying to “POWER CLOSE” this sale and having to watch were their eyes are looking. Instead of concentrating on building relationship, your focus is on watching their eyes so you can manipulate them.
Canned Sales Pitches
Salespeople do themselves, their clients and their companies a disservice by learning all these lengthy language techniques. Have you ever listened to someone with a “canned sales pitch”?
I often throw up an objection just to watch them scramble for where they were in the script. I’m so nasty!!!
I’m not saying that all language techniques are not valid. What I am warning against is learning a pile of material which is manipulative and out-dated. “Canned” pitches worked well in the past. Today, prospects are increasingly more sophisticated.
Unrealistic “Motivational” Hype
Another danger I see is the problem of people attending a lot of this is that there is at least the potential for abuse. If you listen to some speaker tell you that you can earn a million dollars next year, then you might also believe that all you have to do is load up your credit card to the limit with his books, tapes and seminars. Let’s face it, what’s a few hundred Ringitt compared to a million? Some of these speakers create a false hope for people for their own advantage.
If you earned $44,000 last year, the chances of you earning $2,000,000 this year are slim. I’d never say it’s impossible but what ever happened to “being realistic?” or commonsense?
I’m all for developing one’s potential. I know most people are not accomplishing even a fraction of what they are capable of. Some of these seminars promote a simple “anyone can do it” solution to every sales problem. I’ve been around too long, seen too many people who have mortgaged houses, declared bankruptcy and crashed by falling into this dangerous non-sense.
Bizarre Category
I was in a seminar once and the well-known speaker actually said that if you ask a closing question and the prospect touches her chin, you’ve got a sale! It was that simple. No point doing anything else, her mind is made up, ask for the check, and close your briefcase and leave. Oh, if it was only so easy!
One of the newest additions to the Bizarre category is this singing training. We are told to close sales; we must sing songs in the car on our way to the meeting. This apparently teaches your “whole-brain.” This is the “leading-edge” information for greater success? If you ever heard me sing, you would instantly know that I’m never gonna get rich singing songs on my way to a sales call, no matter how “positive” the ditty was.
It is suggested that you will increase your sales by carrying a piece of “crystal” in your briefcase. I’ve been to some seminars where people are told they can succeed if they would only listen to their “inner knower.” Where’s mine? I haven’t located him yet?
I saw the sales process described from everything from complicated models, which are too difficult to understand, let alone use, to simple little drawings of people that explains your mind, your whole personality and every problem in the entire universe.
One seminar I attended taught, very persuasively I might add, that you can increase sales by looking at the skull and bone structure of the prospect. If their head was shaped a certain way then they decided slowly. If they had fat fingers then they decided quickly. We were told that someone with round cheeks was lazy and procrastinated. Did you know that persons’ feet will tell you how to sell them? It sure can, according to a very
popular “best-selling” seminar leader. The only problem I can see with this is asking prospects to take off their shoes and stockings so I can examine their toes to better sell them.
Another winner in the bizarre category is the New Age philosophy of “aura-readings.” You are supposed to read the energy field around a person to pick up “vibrations.” I’ve
sold many people in my day but I ain’t never seen no aura around them. Even if I could, I’d be pretty upset paying money, making time to attend a “sales” seminar which such hidden agendas as this. Wouldn’t you? One could legitimately ask if this is a
seminar or some “Hockus Pockus” magic show? You might have better luck with a fortune teller, tarot cards or reading your morning horoscope. If you are into this stuff, that’s your business, just don’t peddle it as sales training!
Hypnosis may be of some (debatable) personal value, but it enters Bizarreland once it shows you how to “Influence” prospects. I’m not doubting the power of all this, but I don’t think it leads to a healthy sales career let alone a healthy self-image. If you’ve got to sing songs, visualize, read auras, pick up vibrations, and hypnotize people to sell them, you’re in the wrong business. Don’t call yourself a salesperson; perhaps some reference to “snake-oil” might be somewhat more appropriate?
I might infuriate many people in the Sales Training industry. What can I say? I’m not impressed with “Best-selling Author” claims. I would not attend a seminar just because “First Visit to Malaysia” was on a glossy brochure. I wouldn’t attend a seminar just because of price, reputation or even the popularity of the speaker. Here is the test I recommend before attending any training:
CHECKLIST FOR SALES TRAINING
No Yes
Is it a one-shot deal or is there follow-up?
Is there multi-faceted approach to this training as
opposed to sitting listening to the "guru."
Can I have access to the "guru" to clarify the information?
implement the material and further develop?
Is there a mentoring or coaching aspect to this training?
Is the "guru" here today, gone tomorrow?
Do I agree with the "tone" of the training?
- Manipulation or Trust-Building
- Cold Calling or Referral Selling
- Closing Tricks or Listening
- Rejection or Attraction
- 1 on 1 selling or Multiple Source Selling
Can you get your money back if you are not satisfied?
Will it teach me innovative strategies or simply
re-hash old ideas:
- Sphere of influence selling
- Attraction marketing
- Prospects coming to you
- New ideas
- Referral selling
- Personal marketing
Is the "guru" a columnist for this publication?
(I just couldn't resist!)
Gerry Robert is a bestselling author and speaker. Over 1 Million people have attended his live seminars. You can get a FREE Report entitled: “6 Steps for Anyone to Find 200+ Hot Prospects and Get Others to Pay for Everything – Including Sending out 10,000 Brochures. Visit his website: http://www.salesmall.com or email: gerry@salesmall.com requesting “6 Steps.”
