How to Pre-train Your Sales Force

One of my clients, recently came up with a fantastic way of training his sales force in our methodology.

When he hires a new salesperson he issues them a copy of our newest series, The Science of Successful In-Home Selling, but does so without giving them the workbook that normally accompanies it. He then tells them that they have to listen to the entire series prior to their training taking place (this period is approximately one week). He also makes sure to get a copy of their credit card, the reason for this being that if they decide to skip out with the copy of the album he will charge their card for the full retail price of the copy.

Then, he issues them a test which he has devised by removing some of the key concepts and ideas from the workbook. This occurs on day one of their training and ensures that the new trainee has taken the necessary time to listen to the material.

The learning curve of his first training class of the year improved dramatically because the new trainee had a fundamental understanding of the selling process prior to coming into training.

For more information on how you can accomplish this in your organization feel free to e-mail me at brian@briannsmith.com.

Audios and Videos and Books, Oh My!

Okay, so that’s a take off on Dorothy’s line from the Wizard of Oz. But this isn’t Oz, this is the 21st Century and audios and videos and books (especially e-books and audio books) are becoming a much bigger force then radio, television, cable and satellite radio and TV and the traditional bookstore trade book.

Sure, there are still millions of people who can’t/won’t give up the traditional ink on paper printed book. But, as the Baby Boomer generation is aging, the media the Baby Boomers grew up with are also aging. Technology has grown at an unprecedented rate since personal computers became a household word. The Internet has only been widely known and acknowledged for about 15 years. There are now over 1.5 billion brains around the world who are connected to and use the Internet in their daily work and personal lives. The Internet is the fastest growing and biggest networking opportunity that has ever been created. It grows exponentially by the day.

Broadcast radio, television and the cable and satellite services are finding competition with the Internet constantly eroding their market shares. The number of radio stations going off the air is growing each year. Smaller TV stations are following suit. The cable companies are in the Internet provider telecommunications businesses. The wired telephone companies are losing subscribers by the thousands to the wireless networks. And, of course, newspapers by the scores are turning off their presses and shutting the doors.

So, what does this mean for the home improvement industry? Very simple. While you still have some viable radio, TV, cable and newspaper advertising media, you should use them. However, as the population ages and the “new order” takes their place as the primary consumers of home improvements, you need to explore new approaches to reaching these upcoming generations. The use of podcasts and vidcasts, blogging and e-books and other forms of audio, video and reading materials for both wide broadcast and targeted narrowcasting on the Internet require your attention. People are learning, information gathering and being entertained in new ways. Having a Web site is not enough anymore.

At Dave Yoho Associates, we are using more and more of these new media and methodologies and seeing, not only growing acceptance by the public, but also measurable effectiveness.

To discuss how you can expand your outreach by applying these new methodologies and media for your business, contact Ed Helvey at DYA and explore how you might use these changes to grow your business.

Enthusiastically,
Ed Helvey
Audio, Video and Publishing Consultant/Producer

Review from the Summit: Why Most Sales Training Ultimately Fails

Day 1 of the Summit continued as Brian Smith discussed the most common reasons that lead to the failure of sales training within most organizations. These included:

• Training the wrong person
• Typical training is not the right type of training
• No in-place field training or supervision
• No lead controls in-place

Examine your own sales training and if you are not getting the results that you should be, it is likely a result of one or more of these factors being askew.

Make sure to listen to the free preview of The Successful Science of In-Home Selling, which gives up-to-date methodological steps for dealing with these issues.

The next summary from the Summit will feature Hobson Hogan's presentation on "The Opportunity to Acquire Other Businesses".