Sales training workshops are often critical cultural touchpoints, allowing salespeople and sales leaders to come together.

Here are three musts to ensure that your next sales training workshop is as effective as it can be.

How to Run an Effective Sales Workshop

Every year we deliver between 30-40 sales and sales management workshops, and we do everything we can to make sure that our delivery is top-notch and our audience is engaged. We work with clients, prospects, and associations on these workshops so they are all unique. Sometimes the audience is large and includes a mix of employees – both sales and support. Sometimes the participant groups are smaller, and we integrate our messaging with the leadership/CEO message. There is one shortcoming of all sales training workshops, and we will be upfront and transparent about that. By their nature, they are one-time events, and while they can be helpful to get folks focused and revved up, they usually do not make a long-term impact. But we will address that later.

Here are three musts to ensure that your next sales training workshop is as effective as it can be.

Must #1: Sales Training Workshops must be customized and interactive

We do not deliver many off-the-shelf workshops. It is always our goal to make sure that we understand and leverage the goals of the event, any theme, and of course, who is in the audience. We also speak the language to the best of our ability of those in attendance. It helps that we understand financial services and the nuances like the loan approval process and the impact of interest rate increases. This effort to customize our workshops to the company’s sales culture often helps us gain credibility and engagement with our audience, so we work hard to fully understand what our client wants to be the result at the end of the workshop. We always ask them, “What do you want the participants to think or feel when we are done with this workshop?” Then we make it happen.

We often start our workshops with music and music trivia or a Kahoot poll with something relevant and funny. Our workshop providers (Sales Development Experts) have an entertainment factor and build in humorous stories and examples. Yes, as they say, humor sells, and it especially does when you are trying to keep the attention of a group. We run surveys, show movies, and call on participants all the time, and since this is a common thread, everyone gets more comfortable and starts contributing. Learning is accelerated when people participate and engage so this is very mindful that we layer activities into our sales training workshops.

Must #2: Sales Training Workshops must provide quick and easy to use tools and strategies

We have all been to a workshop or two that was heavy on theory and concepts, and while you must touch on some of that, if we only have an hour or two, we try to get very quickly to application tools and strategies. Again, learning is accelerated when participants can apply the learning right then, right there, and so we will often do "drill for skill" where we ask participants to try out a sales technique. We often do a round-robin approach where a sales conversation starts with two and then goes around the room. People learn from each other, so this is a great way for top producers to share their approaches without being put on stage or doing the dreaded roleplay. Everyone participates in a non-threatening way. It is our experience that the best way to make an impact with a sales training workshop is to provide a tool like a Business & Personal Workplan or a Prospect Scorecard, or a Sales Action Plan. These are tools that participants can use right away when they leave the building.

Must #3: Sales Training Workshops should not be 1-time events

This might sound like I am selling, but I am not! As you evaluate a sales workshop provider, ask them what they can provide after the event to sustain the momentum. How can your company put a focus and even tracking to the activity that was covered in the workshop? For example, we do many Prospecting Sales Workshops, and one of our most popular is Getting Introductions. In follow-up, it is ideal for the company to track introductions and help coach their salespeople to make that activity continue. Do whatever you can to get your money’s worth! Sales skills are soft skills, and they take time and repetition to master, so see where you can build in practice and video and demonstration. 

Ask your sales workshop provider if they can give you videos on the topic, which will sustain the life and focus. In effect, work with your provider to make certain that your sales training workshop is NOT a one-time event.

Lastly, these events are often critical cultural touchpoints and offer the opportunity for Sales Leaders to lead, demonstrate and be part of the key focus. We always want to stand side by side with the leader to deliver and support the company or association's message. It’s a win-win for all!

Research shows that money is NOT the primary motivator for success in sales, ESPECIALLY with today's younger generations.

Here are 3 Keys to help sales managers and top producers bust the myth that “enough is enough” to continue to see great sales success.

How to Stay Motivated in Sales

Too often, highly successful salespeople reach a point in their career where they become complacent.  They become complacent for many reasons, but one of the main reasons I've observed is because "they've made it". It doesn't matter what the gender or tenure is. All that matters is that one day the salesperson wakes up, takes a look around, and discovers that all the things they strived for when they got into the business have been accomplished.

• They have the big house
• They have the right car
• They have the club membership
• They are at the top of the food chain in their sales company (top 10%)
• Their net worth is comfortable
• They have freedom of time and freedom to choose
• They take wonderful vacations
• They are looked at as the leader of the sales team
• They are defined by sales management as “irreplaceable”

What the people (Dave Kurlan) at Objective Management Group have stated for years is that highly successful salespeople are motivated by earning more money. Nowadays though, research shows that money is NOT really the primary motivator, ESPECIALLY with today's younger generations.  

With this in mind, I don't want to focus on MONEY as the motivator, but I don't want to totally discount the idea either. Money DOES help people achieve the other extrinsic motivators that are important to them. However, it is the actual goals of the individuals that provide the motivation for earning more money. For example, let's suppose you have a salesperson who says spending time with the kids in extracurricular activities is important. I would suggest that being successful in selling "buys" one the time to have balance in their life and “buys" the ability to make the choice to go to a field hockey game at 3:30 in the afternoon. This freedom of time and choice might require your salesperson to succeed at a higher level. This is just one example. People who are actively dreaming and motivated to reach their goals will continue to work towards financial success to fulfill those goals.

Here are 3 Keys to help sales managers bust the myth that “enough is enough” and continue to get the most out of their top producers. And if you are a top producer yourself, these are three areas you should question and reflect on for yourself.

1. Ask the right question(s). It really isn't about money - how much they want to make, how much they want to have, when they want to retire, etc. The better questions focus on helping your highly successful salespeople determine what they would like to have to shape and define their lives. Ask them to rethink their goals to include some things that would be important to them to have as a legacy regarding who they are and what they accomplished.
2. Create an environment where goal setting is also goal sharing. Too often, sales managers don't feel that it is necessary to know exactly what motivates their salespeople.  (As a sales manager you may argue this, but the OMG data shows that 75% of all sales managers do not feel it is important to know what motivates their salespeople.) However, once you know what is important to your people, then you are more effective as a mentor and a coach.
3. Build the company sales revenue plan from the ground up. Start working with your people and help them identify what their requirements are to have a lifestyle filled with happiness, success, and financial freedom. Document their individual requirements and provide a process to translate those requirements into a selling success formula. 

I've explained to salespeople that if the company has a bigger goal for them than they have for themselves, they shouldn't blame the company. The salespeople need to blame themselves because smaller expectations are a clear indication that they have stopped dreaming and stopped setting goals. I’ve explained to executives that it isn't about shareholder value. Their salespeople, unless those salespeople own shares, don't give a hoot about shareholder value. They care about sending their kids to school, buying a place in the mountains, and paying for the weddings.

When you have an environment where your people can continue to make their dreams come true, then you have something special where “enough is enough" is never an issue. 

In all moments of selling, there are many things that can go wrong. And when something goes wrong, it is in fact time to say “Houston, we have a problem.”  But who is the “we” that caused the problem?

How to Avoid Selling on Price

I have always loved President Theodore Roosevelt’s quote on problems: “If you could kick the person in the pants who is most responsible for most of your trouble you would not sit for a month.”  Just like in tennis or golf, many of our problems are self-induced.  They are “unforced errors.”

Our sales coaches, we are always dealing with sales challenges that span the entirety of the typical sales process.  From the opening moments of finding a lead to uncovering an opportunity to presenting and getting a decision, there are many things that can go wrong.  And when something goes wrong, it is in fact time to say “Houston, we have a problem.”  But who is the “we” that caused the problem?

Speaking of Houston, I was there this week delivering a keynote address at the 2022 Mid America Lenders Conference.  My training was on selling in a rate-sensitive environment which is a hot topic given that 2022 will be a year with multiple rate increases.  In my keynote, I asked the attendees if they were working on the right end or the wrong end of the problem.  When a prospect asks you at the end of the sales process for a concession (rate or terms), that tends to be a real trouble spot for salespeople.

Every company we work with believes in the power of having a value-based selling approach.  None of them want to be the low-cost provider in their respective industry.  And while we are called upon to help with last-minute or late-cycle negotiations, that is working on the wrong end of the problem.  The right end of the problem is at the beginning of the sales process where it is essential to introduce value into the equation.  After all, the primary reason why salespeople struggle to defend value at the end of the sales process is that they fail to introduce that value at the beginning of the sales process.  

From the sales assessment tool that we use by Objective Management Group, here are the skills of a value-based seller:

• Focused on value over price
• Comfortable discussing money
• High threshold for money
• Willing to walk if the prospect does not see value
• Always positions value
• Sales process supports value
• Learns why prospects will buy
• Doesn’t need approval
• Asks enough & great questions
• Avoids making assumptions
• Quickly develops rapport
• Not compelled to quote

Start helping yourself by positioning your value early.  Make it impossible for your prospect to miss it.  Find out if your prospect values it and protect your bottom line.

Remember this; “You do not decide your future. You decide your habits, and your habits decide your future” - F.M. Alexander. 

This blog will teach you how to create a sales action plan to help you outline the steps that will assist you in reaching, or better yet, exceeding your sales and personal goals!

Sales Action Plan

Here are the 8 steps for your Sales Action Plan:

1. Establish your personal goals

   We recommend starting with way too many goals, in fact, around 100 so that you think broad and deep and expand your thinking. Then categorize those 100 goals into types such as; personal, business, spiritual, wellness, etc., boil them down to the top 12 non-negotiable goals with details and timelines and don’t forget to set your BHAG (big, hairy, aggressive goal). This is the one goal that is shooting for the stars. If you want to know more about the goal-setting process for your company or personal purposes, reach out, and we will share the Extraordinary Goal Setting Process.
   

2. Create a Success Formula for new business

   The Success Formula outlines the specific activities and counts of those activities that a salesperson must execute to reach their goals. Yes, there is a way to create a formula for this based on each individual’s effectiveness. It is important to understand that if you must reach $500,000 in sales, how many outreaches, contacts, appointments, opportunities, proposals, and closes are necessary. And we will point out that salespeople have weaknesses at each step, and these are coachable, but only if you have the data! We will make it easy for you; use our Sales Success Formula.
   
   

3. Determine your key initiatives

   In the world of selling, key initiatives should point to prospecting or building relationships. All salespeople should have key initiatives of asking for introductions from their best clients, building relationships with Centers of Influence, and segmenting their current client base into the top tier, middle tier, and bottom tier with activities they will do for each. Another key initiative could be to grow relationships with current clients by X%. Be careful about setting non-sales-related key initiatives unless you can attach a direct relationship to the growth of your book.  
   
   

4. Establish your Smart Numbers – your key measurements for success

   These are simply the specific business goals that you will track and communicate regularly. For salespeople, these likely include; average sale amount, number of sales per month and year, number of proposals, and close rate. We have a smart number that we track called “pull-through rate” which is what percentage of our proposals close. This is important to determine if we are putting a proposal out to a prospect too early and if so, we need to improve our qualifying. These smart numbers are used to evaluate or benchmark performance between salespeople, and the Scorecard, and they are very effective when shared with the team.
   
   

5. Figure out what you should start and stop doing

   Staying focused on sales activities is not easy. It is easier to default to account maintenance, running down an Ops problem, and doing administrative work (which is sometimes necessary of course). Top-tier salespeople keep doing sales activities and stop doing whatever they can that is not helpful. They are good at understanding what is critical in their day and schedule that time, and they do not make excuses. They are very good at downloading nonproductive work to others. What are you doing that you need to stop, and that will allow you to start doing other activities that will help you grow your book of business? Make your list!

6. Create your sales & marketing plan

   In the workplan available below, you will see a sample marketing plan. These are your categories of activities that are of the highest priority that will drive the achievement of your goals, such as Networking, COIs, LinkedIn, Introductions, Social Media outreach, and video emails. Let’s face it, the world of selling has evolved dramatically in the last couple of years, and the days of in-person selling have changed. The buyer finds everything they need online, and if you are not found in that search process, you may not even know about the possible opportunity. Sales and marketing are more connected now than ever before, so make sure to create a plan and inspect it regularly and be adaptable to what is working for your business.

   
   

7. Review, respond and redirect as needed

   This may seem obvious but think about a sport that you enjoy watching. What happens if what a person or team is doing is not working or not working well enough? Do they keep running the same plays, or do they start serving to a competitor’s backhand or rushing the net instead of playing the backcourt? Good tennis players will change their strategies to gain an edge, and make their competition uncomfortable. The same is true of salespeople. If you are not reviewing your plan, you will not know if you should be adjusting your activity!
   
   

8. Don’t forget to celebrate your success

   This is the most overlooked step but what we know is that top-tier salespeople reward themselves by reaching their personal goals. Make sure that you do not forget to share your goals and celebrate them with your most important people. Why are you in this crazy business of selling otherwise?!
   

For more details on this approach, you can download our Sales Action Plan template today and get started. Remember, the best time to plant a tree is today so get started now growing your sales action plan and results.

There are three core sales competencies indicative of a salesperson who will set stretch goals and create an action to reach those goals.

However, identifying and establishing personal goals, as well as following an 8 step process, is critical to creating an effective sales action plan.

At the beginning of our goal-setting sales training, we always start with this: What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? This is a great question to kick off the thought process and discussion around establishing goals which are the basis for creating a sales action plan. Think about those on your team whom you know you can rely on to establish their goals, do the activity necessary and bring in the results. What skills and characteristics do they have? There are a couple of findings from the Objective Management Group sales evaluation that are indicative of a salesperson who will set stretch goals and create an action to reach those goals. Here are three of those core sales competencies:

1. An action-oriented and successful salesperson will always take responsibility for their efforts and their results. They will not blame the company, the market, or anything else if they do not reach their goals. They take ownership and will address the problem with a statement such as “I did not do the activity needed to reach…” While responsibility can be taught, you should be on the lookout for this quality when you interview new candidates.
2. Goal and action-oriented salespeople enjoy selling. That may seem obvious however there are plenty of sales folks who do not score that well in this finding. If you enjoy selling, you are more likely to naturally do what it takes; the hard work of calling prospects, getting plenty of rejection, not letting it get you down, and getting back on the phone. The enjoyment of selling helps these salespeople create and live their sales action plans and they have fun doing it!
3. Successful salespeople establish personal goals (different from company goals) and they are meaningful goals like a safari next June or a vacation house on the lake. These salespeople also have a plan to reach their personal goals with activities, a timeline, and a system to track their progress. Usually, their goals are non-negotiable, however, their plan to reach them may shift as needed. The OMG evaluation identifies these traits and you need to know these when you are hiring.

Sales Action Plan Ideas

“You do not decide your future. You decide your habits and your habits decide your future”- F.M. Alexander. This post is about how to make an action plan for sales but just a few comments about the goal-setting process. We recommend starting with way too many goals, in fact around 100, so that you think broad and deep and expand your thinking. Then categorize those 100 goals into types such as personal, business, spiritual, wellness, etc. After, boil them down to the top 12 non-negotiable goals with details and timelines, and don’t forget to set your BHAG (big, hairy, aggressive goal). This is the one goal that is really shooting for the stars. If you want to know more about the goal-setting process for your company or personal purposes, reach out and we will share the Extraordinary Goal Setting Process.

Here are the 8 steps for your Sales Action Plan:

1. Establish your personal goals
2. Create a Success Formula for new business
3. Determine your key initiatives
4. Establish your Smart numbers – your key measurements for success
5. Figure out what you should Start and Stop Doing
6. Create your sales & marketing plan
7. Review, respond and redirect as needed
8. Don’t forget to celebrate your success!

For more details on this approach, you can download our Sales Action Plan template today and get started. Remember, the best time to plant a tree is today so get started now growing your sales action plan and results.