Sales Training: Back To Basics - By Sheila Mulrennan

You’re walking in a mall when suddenly someone comes up to you and gives you a flyer while saying something about a product or service. You keep walking and he keeps walking with you? What do you do? What do you think about the sales person? What did you think about the product? This is a common daily scenario; what’s not common is when the sales person actually attracts the customers to get to know more about what he is offering. That is the reason why sales training is existent and popular nowadays. Sales training primarily helps a person lure customers to listen to him and probably gain the customer’s confidence by availing his products and services.

What is sales training?

Sales training helps sales people become more effective in what they are doing. They are trained not to become the best sales person but to become professionals of the product they are representing and later on becoming a consultant of the customers. They learn how to sell by clearing out confusions of consumers; they give out solutions and never try to deceive a person to buy something. Sales training teaches sales people communication skills, people skills, and professional skills.

What are the basics?

There is more to selling than just product knowledge. The following are some of the basic steps in sales training:
• Understand the sales process. During a sales conversation, it is important to get the attention of the customer so you can spark his interest and try to build it up to produce desire and face up to the challenge for that desire to turn into action. Each step is as hard as the other.
• Aside from your product, you are also selling yourself. A good sales person can present himself well, in such a way that he is interesting and able to adjust to all types of consumers.
• Take the time to ask questions. You will give the impression that you want their valued opinions. Also, you can get to know the customer more, this way; you’ll know better how to convince them. You will know better how to sell the product.
• During sales training, you will learn the art of active listening. In any conversation, it is never enough to just give a chance for the other person to talk, you have to be able to understand and empathize at times.
• When selling a product, do not just give the features, present the benefits as well. Customers usually never think about the benefits while talking to a sales person, they only hear features. It is important to link the two and emphasize the benefits it can give them.

At the end of sales training, participants are expected to become more aware of the sales process, the importance of each and every aspect. Participants are expected to be more attuned to people together with the right skills. They also must learn how to become professionals in their own right. Sales training hones sales people to be professional in what they do, the things they say, and the way they present themselves.


About the Author:

Sheila Mulrennan is a business author and journalist who regularly contributes articles on Management, Personal Development and Sales Training to leading business publications. Visit http://www.professionaldevelopment.ie for more information.