Creating Training Programs for Sales People
Designing and creating training programs for sales people can be one of the most difficult (yet important) activities that business owners or C-Level executives ever have to partake in.
This post will examine some of the most common mistakes executives make when creating sales training programs, along with some “DO’s” and “DONT’s” you should keep in mind to ensure the success of your future sales team.
DON’T Get Overwhelmed. It’s easy to start feeling like there is so much to do with not enough time. Realize that the creation of this sales program does not have to be finished in a day or a week.
DON’T Reinvent The Wheel. There are thousands of companies that have already created training programs for sales people with phenomenal success. Why start from scratch when you can easily leverage the work already completed by sales masters?
DO Read! Why not pick up some Zig Ziglar? Or take another look at the legendary “How To Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie? There is a gigantic wealth of knowledge at your fingertips, especially in this digital age. Harness the resources available to you.
DO Consult. As you’re designing your training program for sales people, take a lesson from the most successful sales organizations in the world, and create consultative sellers. What does it mean to be consultative? In a nutshell, it means asking meaningful, relevant questions, and listening more than you talk.
There’s a reason we have 2 ears and only 1 mouth.
DO Tweak. Just as it’s not possible to create a sales training program for your company overnight, it’s not going to be possible to absolutely nail it on the first time, either. We live in a world of hyper-fast change. Your business is changing at light speed as is that of your customers. This hyper change is inherently going to present itself in your company’s sales training.
DO Embrace Change. Realize that if you neglect to change, or if it has been a long time since your company has changed, you’re probably falling behind. Because the competition is changing so quickly, if you’re doing the same things that you were doing ten years ago, you can’t possibly expect the same results. Know that success comes to those who are most willing to embrace change.
These are some of the many lessons I’ve learned over the past 20 years I’ve been selling professionally. We will be releasing our complete “Sales Optimizer System” which will be tremendously valuable for anybody tasked with creating training programs for sales people.
If you’d like a free copy of the system to preview before its official release, or if you’d like help coming up with your company’s sales training program, contact Art Jacoby here and let us know what’s on your mind.
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October 19th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
[...] Not only will a good sales consultant reinvigorate you and your sales force, but they will give you actionable, proven ways to increase your sales NOW! Not to mention help with training new sales people. [...]
December 1st, 2009 at 6:19 pm
[...] Creating Training Programs for Salespeople [...]
April 7th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Several aspects of sales training really need to be executing with the business owner, CEO, or executive management involved.
While the sales staff need to understand the value proposition of the company’s product or service, it is equally important that everyone else in the company have that same understanding. The website, collateral, and even the receptionist all need to be ’singing from the same hymnbook’ so to speak. There is no better way to do this than involve executive management.
One of the most important tools a salesman can have is a set of criteria to qualify prospects against. A good qualification matrix will prevent the sales guy from ‘elephant hunting’ and instead keep him focused on opportunities that are achievable. THese criteria need to be developed in cooperation with management.
Finally, most CEOs really don’t know how to measure a salesman’s success except for counting closed deals. This is no way to run a company. The CEO needs to understand the leading indicators of sales activity and measure the sales staff’s activity my those indicators. Unfortunately, most CEOs don’t even know what those indicators are.
August 6th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
[...] Tips On Creating Training Programs For Sales People [...]