A well-structured sales training program fosters great customer relationships, high revenue, and good company reputation.
However, things can go wrong if some common sales mistakes are committed during the training.
Let’s take a look at ten common sales training mistakes and ways to avoid them. By addressing these challenges, companies can ensure that their sales teams are all set to achieve success.
1. Lack of clear goals:
One of the biggest sales training mistakes that most organizations commit is that they do not define clear goals and objectives. If your destination is unclear, you tend to face a lot of challenges while navigating the path. Thus, both the learners and trainers lose focus in the training program.
Corrective action:
- Implement SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals
- Define the aim of the training program so that learners know what they need to acquire at the end of training.
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2. Lack of Active Listening:
Talking more and listening less is one of the common pitfalls that salespeople fall into. This will not only make prospects feel unheard but also fail you to understand their exact requirements.
Corrective action:
- Ask open ended questions and use both verbal and non-verbal communication
- Deviate your focus from just selling your product to actually solving the customer’s problem
- Set a 60-40 ratio where the prospect does at least 60% talking
3. More focus on price than value
Putting more focus on the cost of products or services can diminish the overall value in customers’ eyes.
Instead, you should ensure that you employ market differentiation technique to describe how your product stands out from your competitors.
Corrective action:
- Concentrate on outcomes along with features. For eg, you may say, “Our CRM software has quick turnaround time and improves decision making time by 40%.
- Shift the discussion from price to Return on Investment (ROI)
- Don’t rely on discounts to justify your pricing model.
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4. Overpromising
Making promises you cannot keep may seem like a quick win in the start, however it can prove to be detrimental in the long run. This can lead to your prospect feeling dissatisfied and demotivated and may even lead to a loss of your upcoming business.
Corrective action:
- Ensure that your sales team is up to date with the product’s features and limitations so that they commit the right thing.
- Do not over commit to the prospect. Instead of saying “You will get immediate results”, you can say “You will see the results in one to two months”.
- Avoid nodding to everything. If a feature is not available, clearly communicate that this is something you will explore as a part of future opportunities.
- Keep a free trial phase on your product so that the prospects can identify scope of improvements if any.
5. Focus on closing deals
Emphasising just on closing deals than relationship-building and understanding client requirements can prove to be a big blunder for your business.
This can result in unhappy and dissatisfied clients thus leading to missed opportunities.
Corrective action:
- Start thinking from customer’s perspective and prioritise their needs and wants before concluding a deal.
- Avoid measuring success just based on number of deals closed. Evaluate your firm’s success using metrics such as customer acquisition rate, customer satisfaction etc.
- Provide exceptional after sale service so that customer feels involved.
6. Argument with a prospect
Whenever your opinions are not aligned with your prospect’s opinions, arguments tend to occur. Arguing not only distorts your rapport but also undermines credibility.
Corrective action:
- Use facts and statistics to prove your point: Instead of debating with your potential client, share your testimonials and case studies with prospect.
- Focus on solving the problem collaboratively and offer customised solutions as per client’s objectives.
- Ask clarifying questions as much as you can to understand the customer’s concern.
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7. Lack of support from management
Lack of involvement from upper management can cause the learners to feel demotivated. Managers play a very important role in goal setting and designing the training program.
Corrective action:
- Involve managers in the initial stages of development and designing of sales training problem.
- Encourage management to review the training programs and provide their valuable feedback.
8. Lack of follow up to track progress
Salespersons may not feel motivated to update the training program according to the new skills in market if there is no active follow-up. Without regular follow-ups, it also becomes difficult to identify the areas of improvement.
Corrective action:
- Send regular reminders and small quizzes to remind learners to continue.
- Define metrics such as customer satisfaction, closing rate to determine the success rate of training program.
- Encourage peer to peer learning so that people can discuss their doubts and enforce collaborative learning.
9. Ignorance of latest technology
Lack of training on latest tools and technologies involves more manual tasks and causes a competitive disadvantage. This lowers productivity and hinders growth.
Corrective action:
- Concentrate on technologies such as CRM analytics to ensure continuous development
- Allocate an individual to keep a track of latest sales technologies and partner with external parties to arrange workshops on new features and functionalities.
10. Avoid one-size-fits-all approach
Every individual has a different learning style, thus following the same approach for all learning participants can make them disinterested. Customised training programs can help learners to identify their strengths and improve their learning curve.
Corrective action:
- Employ learning management systems (LMS) to create personalised learning modules for every individual.
- Offer various types of learning materials such as video recordings, written presentations so that learners can access them whenever they require.
- Encourage team learning so that every participant can benefit from other’s knowledge.
Conclusion
Effective sales training is essential for every organization and ensures high-performing team.
By addressing the pitfalls highlighted above, organizations can ensure that they are ready to conquer the sales world out there and sustain in today’s competitive environment.
