involved in the development stage of sales training. Get managers to share their perception of what is needed. Talk about “behavioral outputs,” i.e., the skills and techniques they want to see performed as a result of the training. Keep the behavioral outputs relevant to the selling activity. Inter- view several successful salespeople for their input as well. This helps the manager “buy into” the program and develop a sense of ownership in the program. If you do this, the manager will send his/her salespeople to the seminar with a much more positive and receptive attitude. One of the most difficult parts of this type of interview is when I ask the manager, “What do you consider the ideal sales interview?” I invariably get the same cover-all-bets answer: “The one that gets the order.” That is not a relevant answer, how-
ever. We have all seen magnificent selling that failed to get the order. By the same token, we have also seen a mediocre sales effort where an order accidentally fell from the sky. For ex- ample, the salesperson from, let’s say, Kimberly Clark – who walks into the large supermarket and says to the pur- chasing manager, “You don’t need any Kleenex®
, do you?” And the manager
replies, “By golly, I’m just about out. I need about 12 cases right away.” This is no more than order taking. Let’s further assume that, on another sales call, I did not get the order. During the post-call critique, you would say to me, “Jim, although you didn’t get an order on that call, that’s the way I want to see it done – because I know that, if you consis- tently sell that way, high sales volume will come. Just keep doing it that way. All the proper selling skills were in the interview and they will pay off if used consistently.”
Often a sales manager loses his or her ability to differentiate between impressive delivery and meaningful content. The absence of gut sell- ing skills is often overshadowed by a dynamic, impressive delivery. The salesperson is not saying a thing, but
it sure is said well! For these reasons, it is essential to get sales managers’ input if we want them to buy into and reinforce the program. It is equally important that we get them to identify specific behaviors they want to see practiced during the sales interview.
Step 2: Participation
If at all possible, get the manager to participate in the training seminar. Not only is it a source of recognition for the manager and a great source of motivation, but these managers also have a huge amount of experi- ence that can be invaluable to the salespeople. By being selective in the managers you use, you can enhance the program considerably. Plus, trainees would rather listen to an experienced manager than to a sales trainer any day. He/she is “real life” to them.
Step 3: Role Playing Even if the managers can’t or won’t participate in conducting the training, get them to attend the program so they will at least know what is present- ed and taught. They will then know what to reinforce for you and what specific skills to watch for. When the managers attend the seminar, I use the Ray Higgins meth- od of “bedlam role play” where the participants are broken into groups of three, with one playing the role of salesperson, a second as customer, and a third as evaluator. (A manager never gets the role of salesperson. I do not feel he or she should be put in the position of being evaluated by his or her own salespeople.) After a complete role play is finished, they rotate positions and begin again. I have had as many as 100 triads going at once. During these, the surplus managers and I “rove” among the groups and add our inputs to the critiques and discussions.
Step 4: Reinforcement
Give the sales manager the tools to use in reinforcing the sales training.
Give managers as many measuring devices as possible. If used, they keep the right skills and techniques reinforced on a regular basis. The materials I supply to manag- ers after I have finished a training seminar are: 1) a fact finding sheet called “What Are We Looking For?” designed to help managers define exactly what they want their sales- people to learn and how to use it, 2) a call sales ratio table designed to measure selling ability, and 3) a sales rep evaluation of sales personnel. It is important that managers understand these tools thoroughly and that they use them regularly.
Step 5: Follow-Up This is the last resort! If the sales man- ager doesn’t participate in developing the program, if the manager doesn’t attend the training, and if the manager isn’t interested in using the provided support materials, I go to the next level of management and request that such actions be made mandatory. The next level of management, with no excep- tions, has been more than cooperative. They see the value of follow-up and reinforcement of training. I simply tell them, “If the follow-up and reinforce- ment are not carried out, don’t expect any significant results from the money you have spent.” As proof of this statement, I have done follow-up studies several months after conducting such train- ing seminars. When steps 1-4 were followed, selling skills had become permanent, with sales personnel and sales volume continued at consistently elevated levels. Results have been 100 percent in raising sales volume, more customers were being acquired, and fewer custom- ers were being lost. Of course, there are still some exceptions – let’s face it: Some people are instruction- proof – but these die-hards are in the minority. If you are having trouble getting man- agers to follow up and reinforce training efforts, try these five steps. I have found them 100 percent successful!
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