Dea(r)th of a Salesman, Part 1.

(With apologies to Arthur Miller)

Far too often we hear the complaint, “I can't find enough good salespeople anymore.” I don't think salesmen are too hard to find, just hard to develop and keep because of prevailing business attitudes.

I like salespeople. I like them because they use their smarts, personality, drive, and initiative everyday in an extremely difficult environment. I like them because they persevere under very trying conditions. I like them because they enjoy being with other people. (Further, I like them because I am one!)

But they have become the most under-appreciated, misunderstood, and scapegoated employees in business today. I have two peeves about the way businesses treat their sales staff:

• Sales training has become almost non-existent , to the detriment of both the sale staff and the business. (The topic of this post.)
  
• Commission programs have become a poor and ineffective substitute for Sales Management. (Next week's installment.)

Why everyone benefits from sales training, and why it has disappeared.

The best known and most profitable companies in the past always had great sales organizations. (Think IBM and General Motors.) The activities of the sales department were the public face of the company, and a key differentiator between organizations. Successful companies put a lot of emphasis on sales training, to ensure the job was being done right, done differently than the competition, and done in a way to enhance the company image.

This approach worked well. Salespeople learned all about the product, and what the customers were looking for. They learned how the company's products helped the customers in their everyday life, and how they were superior to the competition. They also learned how the company expected to be represented to the buying public. That's the kind of training that makes salespeople and companies great.

Somewhere along the way, this concept got lost in the desire to hold down costs. The reasons given to justify reducing training efforts are:

• With high sales staff turnover, whatever training you do will just benefit the next company (competitor?) that hires them.
  
• If you hire salesmen from the industry, sales training is not needed.
  
• If you hire great sales staff, they will resent you trying to tell them how to do their job.

The answer to all of the above is three simple words. Ba. Lo. Ney.

The current issue of the Harvard Business Review has a great article on sales staff turnover, and a key element is the lack of training, mentoring and career development. So, if your turnover seems too high, INCREASE training, don't cut it back. Good salespeople want to be appreciated, and want you to show that by investing in them.

Another fallacy is that if you hire from withing the industry, more training isn't required. This logic only holds if your competitors do a great job of training. Yet, as the above paragraph states, if they were doing a great job of training, they probably wouldn't be losing their good salespeople to you. Further, sales training gives your staff the tools they need to differentiate your company from the competition. And that is something only YOU can do.

Finally, good salesmen are looking for leadership, and the training you offer is part of that leadership. Show them what you want done, why you want it done that way, and how it will benefit both them and the company. Good people will appreciate your efforts and your commitment to them.


So, What is the real reason behind this Lack of Training?

I think, often, small business senior management has become remote from both their customers and the selling process. They have completely delegated the selling function to others, and are too removed from the activity to feel comfortable in the training role. They use the excuses given above, and abdicate their responsibilities.

Everyone suffers. The Business. The Boss. The Salespeople. The Customers.

Practical Tip of the Day:

Option #1: Spend some time on the road with your salespeople. Find out how they spend their time, and what their accounts are saying. Firsthand. Look for patterns that training could improve.

Option #2: Look for some “Best Practices” opportunities. What are your best people doing that the rest of the staff could benefit from learning? The top people will appreciate the attention, and the learners will appreciate the advice.

Next Post: Counter-Productive Sales Compensation Plans.