Sales Training
Sales Training Traditional sales techniques (e.g., the hard sell) are increasingly being abandoned for more consultative approaches that build trust, solve customers’ problems, provide product and service options, and admit limitations.136 This approach is intended to build customer loyalty and improve long-term customer relations.
The key to adopting new sales approaches is sales training. Training varies widely, from traditional sales techniques to the newer consultative approaches. Some organizations are overhauling entire retail and wholesale operations through comprehensive sales training programs. For example, at Motorola, train- ing goes hand in hand with all sales activity. Motorola involves sales managers as part of a “knowledge community” that is used to support their salespeople. These managers are coached on how to question, monitor, and review the efforts of salespeople to ensure that their training is being utilized. Salespeople must post account plans that are reviewed and revised by sales managers or sales trainers. The idea behind their sales training integration plan is to involve trainers at every step of the process, to measure results as soon after training as possible, and to ultimately eliminate the differentiation between training and coaching on the job.
