Sales Training

Job Responsibilities
Understand your products and
services.
Drive sales of your products and
services.
Achieve and then exceed your
assigned
sales quota.
Represent the company to the
marketplace
in a professional manner.
 Prerequisite
Who are we?
 Our market space and our profile
What are our core values?
 Our mission statement
What do we do?
 Our products and services
What do we bring to the table?
 Our value proposition
 Know your Competitors
 What do they do?
 Who are our competitors?
 What do they bring to the table?
15 Science-Backed Tips for Making
Better Sales
Calls
 Start Sales Calls with a Bang
 Don't Bad-Mouth Competitors
 Use Awesome Labels
 Set the Agenda and Stay in Control
 Stand Up
 Use Emphasis Wisely
 Simplify Options
 Adopt Smart Product Positioning
 Get Emotional
 Clarify Product Value
 Empower Customers
 Remember, There's a Time for Everything
 Serve Hot, Not Cold
 Observe, Record, and Predict
 Make it About You Too
 Start Sales Calls with a Bang
Always start your sales calls in style. One study tried to
figure out how to increase room service tips for waiters in
hotels. Much to the researchers’ surprise, all the waiters
had to do was start with a positive comment. When hotel
guests opened their door, waiters said “good morning”
and gave a positive weather forecast for the day.
How does this help you? Never start your sales calls or
meetings by talking about bad weather, traffic, or being
busy. Always begin with a positive comment or anecdote.
Think great weather, fun weekend plans, or a favorite
sports team winning a game. That kicks most sales calls
off on the right foot.
 Don’t bad-mouth competitors
during sales calls
The biggest self-sabotaging mistake during a sales call
is to speak ill of a competitor. Due to a psychological
quirk called spontaneous trait transference, research
has shown that whenever you say bad things about
someone else, your audience puts those same traits on
you.
If you say your competitor is low quality and unreliable,
your potential client can’t help but associate those traits
with you, even if they know logically that you are talking
about a third party. So no matter what, when it comes to
gossip about competitors, always say, “No comment.”
 Use awesome labels

Assigning a positive label or trait (like having high

intelligence or being a good person) to people
generally compels them to live up to the label. In
one study about fundraising, the researchers told
average donors that they were in fact among the
highest donors. When you are with a client or
potential customer, give them good labels. Be sure
though that the labels are sensible and genuine.
Never attempt anything that will push people into
thinking that you are inauthentic, fake, or
manipulative.
 Set the agenda and stay in
control
When you get on sales calls that I’ve set up from
meeting requests, always like to 
articulate clear agendas and ask the prospects if
that's okay with them. This way, you can keep calls
on track and accomplish what you want to achieve,
while making customers feel that they are in control
of the conversation.
For example, you might say, “Well, I’m glad we’re
able to connect today. I’d love to go over XYZ and
then would be happy to answer any questions you
might have. How does that sound to you?”
Stand up

Allow your passion and excitement for the

product to come through in your sales calls.
Make it something the prospect can be infected
by. In my experience, sales reps can achieve this
by standing up and doing sales calls in a main
common space, instead of hiding in a cubicle or
a conference room.
Use emphasis wisely
Highlighting certain words or phrases is an
effective communication tool that helps you
convey your message better. Focus on your
inflection, especially on voicemails. We describe
this as “putting makeup” on your calls. By adding
inflection to the right words, you sound more
passionate and articulate and, in turn, more
convincing.
 Simplify options
Too many options can easily confuse buyers, making it
harder for them to select, rationalize, and affirm a
purchase decision. Unless you are a data analytics
engine, information overload rarely delivers a benefit.
When describing your product, reduce the number of
options and features you want the prospect to focus
on. This way, they can arrive at a decision faster and
feel more confident that they are not missing out on
anything. Only when the likelihood of attrition/rejection
becomes overwhelming should you present
countermeasures (i.e., the next tier of options).
 Adopt smart product positioning
The way you frame your product often spells the difference
between a closed deal and a lost opportunity. Groundbreaking
research in behavioral economics confirm that framing
matters. For example, saving $10 feels oddly different across
varied buying scenarios (purchasing a smartphone vs. buying
a shirt, for example) even when the amount saved is exactly
the same. In many cases, relative positioning beats pricing in
making brands more appealing to consumers.
Packaging the product as a solution instead of just a
commodity or service also increases the likelihood of
conversion. At the end of the day, you perform better by
solving problems than by selling products.
 Get emotional
The key finding of behavioral economics is that people rarely
hinge their purchase decisions on solidly rational grounds. In the
vast majority of cases, people buy stuff largely because of
emotional triggers and other hyper-personal, sometimes illogical
factors. When engaging prospects, probe for the emotional
button that can sway their purchase decision. Articulate a
product’s value through the use of relevant and powerful
storytelling. In some instances, adopting the pleasure-pain
dichotomy may work. Lastly, personal trust — however misplaced
— also works in selling, as social media recommendations prove.
People will believe an idea or buy a product if these are endorsed
by family, friends, or influencers they trust. As a seller, you can
pull this powerful string through referrals, testimonials, and
influencer marketing.
 Clarify the product’s value
Make it easier for prospects to assess a
product’s subjective (emotion-based) and
objective (fact-based) benefits. Whenever
possible, have an ROI calculator/formula at hand
to help prospects quantify the benefits of the
product when emotional triggers are inadequate
to push them towards a firm decision. In either
case, clearly demonstrate that the value
customers receive more than justifies the price.
 Empower Customers
People enjoy discovering stuff that makes them feel good or
solutions that address their pesky problems. But they resent being
forced, wrangled, goaded, or tricked into a purchase decision.
Because business is leaning more towards a subscription-based
paradigm, brands aim to build long-term relationships with
customers. If people perceive that you are force-feeding terms or
tricking them into buying, you’ll lose not just customers but a
revenue stream. Hence, give customers enough space, freedom,
and power to make purchase decisions they will not regret.
You can achieve this by closely involving customers in developing
the solutions they need. Get their feedback and give them a
semblance of control in the problem-solving process. But always
direct the conversation towards your value proposition.
There’s a time for everything
The life as in sales, timing matters. Depending
on your industry and the specific prospect you
are engaging, the proper timing for making calls,
doing presentations, sending emails, scheduling
meetings, and attempting a close exist. There
are a number of studies that pinpoint the specific
times within a day best suited for reaching out to
your target consumers. Find one for your niche
and implement accordingly.
 Serve hot not cold
Plan and prepare for each call. Ask customer
about there job profile past experience and
qualification. Participate in their conversations
and identify the values, thought leaders, and
brands they associate with. Know as much as
you can about a prospect to make them feel they
are important, that you have done your
homework, and that you care about their
success.
 Observe, Record, and Predict
The key is to limit your talk time and listen to what your
prospects are saying. When prospects talk extensively
about their situation, you have already pulled the right
strings. Keep them talking. Observe their behavior.
Discern their needs based on their statements. Design
and propose a solution that squarely addresses their
problems.
Ask the right questions. Probe for relevant answers. And
truly listen. That is what top-notch selling is all about.
 But it’s also about you
Customers warm up to and trust business contacts who
are masters at their craft. Train to be the very best at what
you do so customers will see that your solutions are
peerless and they will lose significant value when they
move to another vendor.
Think big and set higher goals to challenge yourself and
your team. As behavioral economists suggest, organize
your goals into several mini objectives that incrementally
increase in difficulty. Perform the easy ones first to
establish a string of successes that will give you the
momentum, confidence, and motivation you need to beat
more challenging goals later on.
Happy Selling!