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Where to start with telesales training
You have to train regularly and apply yourself to become good at anything. To get buff in the gym, you have to eat the right food, get yourself a sensible and achievable workout programme and most importantly actually go to the gym several times a week and workout. Some people will put pictures of the type of physique they want to acquire on the fridge door and get themselves a training partner to give them the kick they need when the TV looks more tempting than the gym on a training night.
The same goes for Sales Training. In order to become good at selling over the telephone you have to get yourself a training programme. So apply yourself in the same way you would if you were looking to be a success in the gym.
Firstly
Get your head straight. You need to be motivated and driven in order to work on your sales skills. So build yourself some reachable goals. Think about what you really want from life and your job and set yourself some short, medium and long term goals. You’re not working on that sales floor for the ambience, so get yourself a target and go for it. I wanted a sports car when I first started out in sales because that was what the top guys on my sales floor drove. I knew exactly what type of car, what colour, age and year it would be and I found one at a car dealer near the office where I worked. I went down there and I sat in a 2nd hand Porsche 911 almost every week. I can still remember the smell of the leather and the acceleration of my heart as I sat behind the wheel and pretended that I owned it.
It doesn’t matter what you set as your goal as long as you believe that it is reachable. I got the car by the way; it took me nearly two years.
Secondly
Surround yourself with the right crowd. Get to know the high achievers on your sales floor, talk to them and learn from them. Don’t get too involved in the play hard work hard crew as it just makes your rise to success harder. I say this because I have done it. I’ve earned high salaries and blown the lot on fast cars and high living and it did seem like fun at the time, but in that state you make bad decisions and boy does it knock you to pieces and set you back.
If you’re on your own at work, or you feel that you could outperform everyone there, then immerse yourself in sales training books and information. You do not have to go out and spend a fortune on sales training courses. In fact I would ask you to be wary of any courses that are fantastically entitled with name like, ‘The Killer Lines Needed to be a Sales King’ or ‘How to Smash Your Sales Targets in 1 Day.’ I don’t know if these are actually courses but I have seen dozens with names like these that would lead you to believe that you can double your earnings overnight. There is not a magic pill or one thing that you can do to convert you overnight into a phenomenal salesperson. Enthusiasm and drive will help you. But if you don’t understand the sales process, listen & empathise with your client and their needs then you won’t be a huge success in sales.
Look for sales book that will give you an all over sales work out. Zig Ziglar and Brian Tracey are two favorites of mine.
Thirdly
Get yourself a workout programme just like you would in the gym. But instead of body parts to work on, work on parts of the sales presentation. Break it down into four easy sections, and list what types of exercises you will need to work on in order to get that part buff .
The beginning – Things like voice inflection, pace and tone are important and also tell the client who you are, why you’re calling and what’s in it for them. Give them a reason to listen to you.
The middle bit – Get to know your client, learn what they want from your service or product, use open ended questions. These are questions that start with Who, When, Where, Why, What & How. Using these types of questions gather more information than closed questions which will give you Yes and No responses.
Most importantly, make it sound like a conversation.
The Sell – Describing your product or service with features and benefits.
Remember that features tell and benefits sell, so use colourful and relevant benefits. Get feedback, so as you can see how you pitch is going. Trial close. e.g. “Is this the type of service you would by?” Talk to your prospect and not at them
The End – Closing. Don’t complicate this one, its really quite straight forward. Just ask for the deal.
The above is a simple guideline of areas and things that you can work on. Each point can be a training course in its self. Get into the swing of understanding what all of the above skills are and know your industry.
Fourthly
Most importantly, apply yourself and train every day. If you buy a book on sales then read it. I am on different sales floors everyday and I see the same sales books lying on the same sales person’s desks all the time. This is like buying a £100 pair of trainers for the gym and then wearing them to go for a pizza. Take your job seriously. Anthony Robbins states that 7% of people finish the books on self improvement they buy. Make up your mind to be one of the minority that succeed.
Finally
If you want to earn a 6 figure salary in sales then you have to apply yourself. Don’t be like one of the masses and put everything off until tomorrow. Think big and go for it and you will make it happen.
I hope this gives you a guideline to the sort of things that you need to work on in order to be phenomenal in sales. Just remember that there are a lot of sharks out there ready to sell you the ultimate sale training dream. Success in this business will not come over night from reading a chapter or two of a magic sales manual. You have to work hard, practice and train. There isn’t a one line solution. Sales is like a jigsaw with lots of little pieces that you need to put together. Start small, and go for your goals in a professional, ethical and focused way and success will find you.
About the Author
Check out my website for my free weekly telesales newsletter, and a whole host of sales stratergies and marketing tools. www.fatcatideas.com
Jigsaw Soul – “Anchor”