Blog: The Best Sales Training System in the World

How often do we hear in ads, videos, articles, and referrals from Grant Cardone, Jordan Belfort, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, and other consulting companies about ‘the best sales training system in the world?’

Which ones actually work?

We must adapt

The truth is the world’s best sales training system does not exist. In the dynamic world we live in, business changes fast, and therefore so does the way people buy.

Once, when selling educational books door-to-door in America, in my summer breaks at college, I had to make a change in the way we demonstrate our product halfway through the summer. The main rule, in the beginning, was, ‘after you find the need, show 1 or 2 sections from the sample book, then you move to the close.’

The idea behind that was if you show too much of the product then you may bore the prospect and they may start to lose interest (a rule in sales that is still valid to this day!) This became a habit to us that we strictly abided by and something that worked for many years… until that one day when we had to make a little change.

In my second summer, in one of our team meetings, our sales manager announced that from now on we must show more of the product during the demonstration. They analysed the performance of different salespeople and concluded that people that showed a few more sections of the sample book had more success when it came to closing.

For us, that was weird and unnatural. I had delivered more than 2000 demonstrations following the main rule. But I decided to be coachable and adapt, for potential success.

We discussed internally and decided that our clients had probably become more analytical. We live in a world of alternatives where everything is being delivered faster, easier, and sometimes even cheaper than what we have to offer.

Salespeople have to adapt.

How to select the right sales system to embed in your company

As a sales consultant, people often want to have the best thing, with the best price, and with the biggest ROI. If it was only the content of the system that mattered, then everyone would use the same system knowing they have the best thing out there.

Content is key, but it’s not the only pitstop in the road to success.

The most popular sales training systems give you access to a platform with videos you can watch at your own pace. If you need some personal coaching then you would have to pay a few thousand dollars for each session, which is probably a good option if you are looking to improve yourself. But this may not be the best for your sales team.

There are a few key factors that will determine if the process of embedding a new sales system will be successful or not.

1. How ready are you for change? Every innovation requires adaptability. We all know that when a new system is being implemented, often there is resistance from the team. Einstein’s definition of insanity is, “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
2. Are you aware that there is no system that has been created to fit every company, industry, or market? Before a system is ready to be integrated, it has to be made bespoke to fit your business.
3. How much are the consultants you’re hiring going to engage? Are they just there to fill the time you’ve paid, or are they really trying to understand your situation? Sometimes there are a few signs to give us a hint before we sign the dotted line. What questions are they are asking? Are they just trying to find your current need or are they taking you back in time to where the problem began? Pay attention to how much time they are spending with your team to understand your point of view. Does their tender include feedback from the previous diagnostic sessions?

Conclusion

We live in a world where the markets are constantly changing. It’s important to make decisions based on expectations earlier set, otherwise, you risk making a bad decision that will cost you. I have friends who’ve subscribed to online sales training programs which cost them thousands. On the other hand, there are those with the exact same program who’ve seen results. This works on a personal and on a corporate level. When we make decisions, it is important to align those decisions with our goals and to what is important to us.

Alex Kerezov, Sales Consultant (akerezov@sbrconsulting.com)

For further guidance on sales transformation programmes, please get in touch by emailing info@sbrconsulting.com or call us on +44 (0) 207 653 3740.

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