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ATD Blog

Beat Back Sales Training Apathy

Wednesday, August 25, 2010
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The inevitable has happened. As you've been training your salespeople, it's crept in slowly but surely. A yawn here, a daydream there. Before you know it, everyone within a one mile radius has a thousand yard stare. Worst of all: it's happening to you too! Sales training apathy can get the best of anyone, sales trainer and salesperson alike. Here are some practical and effective ways to beat back that glazed look and get back to being focused.

Less Fluff, more meaning. If you strip away all of your PowerPoints, videos, and whatever other bells and whistles you have and all you're left with is the contents of a shriveled up beach ball (read: nothing), then you've got a problem. You already know who your audience is; now you need to make sure that your information is catered to them. Instead of taking the time to gloss up your typical presentation, use that time to gear your items more towards what the salespeople need at that time. To take it to the next step, try formatting your information in ways that directly synch up with what their expected objectives are. This results in not only valuable information, but a unique training session every time.

Make it fun for you too. Remember that conversation you had with your friends about weekend plans? Now think back to the last training session you gave. Chances are there was one distinct difference in them: passion. It's hard to maintain the same level of passion for your work as your leisure, especially when you're doing the same thing over and over again at work. But if you can find a way to mix things up and rediscover a long lost love of one part of your presentation, you'll see even the most disinterested salesperson on the edge of their seat. People feed off of enthusiasm and it's up to you to start the frenzy.

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Focus on the "What," not the "How." In other words, focus on the goal, not the methods of getting there. This may go against everything you've ever learned about "caring about the journey, not the destination," but by focusing on your goal, you can help both yourself and your salespeople carve out their own paths. There is not just one way of selling a product or service, so concentrating on the "how" may end up hindering their results later on. You should certainly be giving guidance on how to do actions, but by keeping the attention on the endgame, you're ensuring you aren't stifling anyone's creativity or boring yourself to tears by giving the same talk over and over again.

Sometimes, especially near the end of the summer, it's easy to see everyone's attention slipping as the training session goes on. But if you keep it meaningful, exciting for everyone, and focused on results, you'll see a classroom of energetic learners instead of war-weary salespeople.

About the Author

The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is a professional membership organization supporting those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees in organizations around the world. The ATD Staff, along with a worldwide network of volunteers work to empower professionals to develop talent in the workplace.

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