Why sales training doesn’t work

Every year, like clockwork, sales and business development teams bring in the consultants for a fresh round of sales training.

Those who have managed sales teams over the years know the unspoken truth about this ritual. It doesn’t work.

Yes, there is the occasional sales rep that embraces the training and even learns to execute the new principles they’ve learned. Almost everyone else sees no gain in their revenue output because they find it difficult to execute the techniques they’ve learned.

Yet the ritual marches on, year by year, mostly because sales managers think it’s good for employee morale, that it shows the company is interested in their professional development.

Why the disconnect? Because professional sales trainers possess a talent more important than the actual selling tactics they teach. They possess presentation skills. While all salespeople have been exposed to sales training, few have been given presentation skills training.

The consequence? When salespeople try to implement the new sales techniques they fall flat. They walk away from these experiences lamenting, “The sales trainer made this look so convincing and effortless. Why is this so difficult for me?”

The techniques learned were convincing and seemingly effortless because the sales trainer has already honed his or her presentation skills. Without good presentation skills the ability to deliver a convincing sales presentation – or even a good exploratory meeting with a new client – is marginal. That’s because most salespeople are never taught:

• How to take command of a room
• Non-verbal communication techniques
• How to quell anxiety
• Proper listening skills and feedback techniques
• How to ask the right questions
• The secrets to delivering the right sound bites
• What makes a message persuasive

The salesperson without presentation skills training is akin to the soldier who goes into battle without weaponry. In both cases they are ill-equipped to accomplish their tasks.

This is critical because the best salespeople don’t sell, they present. And those who know how to present well come across as authentic because their communication is earnest and empathetic.

The best salespeople are authentic because they bring their own style to the process. To mimic sales trainers is to flood the market with people who all sound and act the same. It’s the sales drone that purchasing agents dread.

The message is clear, salespeople, and confirmed by your own experience.

Learn to present. Be authentic. Embrace your innate style.

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