Does Sales Training Work?
That is a fair question, but to answer it accurately, you need to know who is going to be receiving the training. Selling is an activity which combines knowledge and a range of skills which aren’t easy to teach. You either have a natural disposition towards them or you don’t.
An important part of sales work is relating to other people. This comes easily to some individuals and much harder to others. To convert an introvert who prefers his own company into an outgoing personality who hates to be alone is more than can be expected from any training course.
How To Throw Out Your Cold Calling Scripts
Recently you may have received a cold call from someone using an old-style linear sales script. You probably recognized it as a cold call because the person sounded a bit robotic and kept talking without allowing the conversation to “breathe.”
If you’ve been selling for a while, chances are you’ve been asked to use sales scripts yourself. Consequently, you’ve probably used them because they were the only way you knew to start a cold calling conversation.
Here are some questions you need to ask yourself:
10 Tips For Great Powerpoint Presentations
Ah, Powerpoint. How did we ever manage without it? It’s become such a fundamental part of business life that the thought of getting up in front of an audience and not using it seems practically heretical.
Yet such is the ubiquity of PPT that more often than not it is either overused (i.e. used when it isn’t really necessary), underused (i.e. users are not taking advantage of its more interesting functions) or, most commonly, misused (i.e. used in such a bad way that it detracts from the message the presenter is trying to convey).
Using A “sales Pitch” Kills Cold Calls
The moment you use the old-school cold calling approach – the traditional pitch about who you are and what you have to offer – you trigger the negative “salesperson” stereotype. And that usually means instant rejection from your prospect.
The problem is with how you’re selling, not what you’re selling. When you start cold calling by talking about what you have to offer, you’re “pitching” yourself instead of focusing on the other person. Your voice and demeanor is full of expectation. And this creates sales pressure, which triggers resistance.
