Sales project

Training the sales force usually includes information about the company, basic s
ales strategies, operational policies and procedures, and product or service ove
rview facts. Providing company-specific techniques shortens the learning curve f
or new sales personnel so they can close sales sooner. Using real scenarios, Hum
an Resources personnel facilitate presentations on fostering effective communica
tion, networking, and decision making. Learning how to quote and capture orders
may require expertise in tools such as Oracle's Siebel system. Human Resources t
eams build and distribute tool demonstrations and simulations.
Expert Insight:
Providing relevant sales training involves aligning sales goals and traini
ng goals with strategic objectives. By using training activities such as role pl
aying, which allows participants to act out sales situations in a risk-free envi
ronment, Human Resources professionals help salesmen prepare realistically for s
ome of the challenging experiences they may encounter on the job.
following checklist to identifying sales training and development needs and give
your salespeople a copy in order that they can monitor themselves for self-impr
ovement purposes. What your salespeople should know... The answers to the follow
ing questions should be either yes, no, measure needed.
1.Do they know the size of their sales area?
2.Do they know the percentage of their sales area to the whole of the UK?
3.Do they know the total number of customers (potential and existing) in their s
ales area?
4.Do they know some of the important sales figures for their sales area (purchas
ing power, retail trade turnover, industrial turnover)?
5.Are they informed about the financial and investment assistance provided by th
e government to certain companies in their sales area?
6.Do they know their exact number of clients?
7.Do they know the average client order amount?
8.Are the purchasing volumes of their largest clients known to them?
9.Are the future plans of their largest clients know to them?
10.Can they remember the turnover of their largest clients for the last 3 years?
11.Do they know how much business their largest clients do with competitors?
12.Who is their best buyer going to be this year do they have any idea?
13.Do they know the growth companies and branches amongst their clients?
14.Can they access information about their clients at any time?
15.Have they set an annual turnover target for this year?
16.Is overall debit subdivided into important product groups?
17.Are they able to distinguish between small, medium and large buyers?
18.Do they make different numbers
19.When fixing visit frequency do they consider the requirements of the buyer as
well as turnover?
20.Do they have an idea of which buyers will play a greater role in future than
they do today?
21.Do they know how much a client visit costs, on average?
22.Do they know their average turnover per mile traveled?
23.Before visiting every important client do they make a note of the visit goals
?
24.Do they recognize which customers will be the main purchasers of a new produc
t?
25.Do they work out in writing their weekly travel schedule at least eight days
in advance?
26.Do they make a note of the arrival and departure times for every location?
27.Do they keep a note of the number of visits they carry out every day?
28.Have they set graduated visiting times for large, medium and small buyers?
29.Do they know the number of hours they work a week?
30.Do they know how much time they spend on average every week on:
a)Travelling
b)Discussions with clients
c)Breaks and waiting
d)Writing reports etc?
31.Do they know which business is profitable for their company and which are not
?
32.Do they know how they can increase the number of lucrative business deals?
33.Do they regularly read at least one specialist journal, which their clients a
lso read?
34.Do they know the regional associations, organizations, societies and co-opera
tives that their clients belong to?
35.Do they know some of the leading personalities of these organizations persona
lly?
36.Do they know, at least by name, opinion-forming personalities (members of par
liament, mayors, and bank managers) from their sales area?
37.Do they themselves take part in public life (local politics, charitable organ
izations, Clubs and societies)?
By using this list you have provided an excellent platform upon which to identif
y the sales training needs of you team. It also provides a useful focus for thei
r individual self-development in order to maximize the potential of their area.
Administer a self-assessment test to assess the sales aptitude of your sales for
ce so you can determine its current level of performance. One possible test is t
he Inventory of Work-Relevant Abilities available on by the University of Nevada
website or you can develop your own questionnaire. Use the results to identify
shortcomings.
# 2
Define learning objectives for your sales training program. Each objective shoul
d reflect a specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely goal. For exam
ple, training program objectives for entry-level sales professionals typically e
nable them to demonstrate the ability to describe the features and benefits each
product or service in the company catalog by their third month of employment

Conducting a sales force survey is a highly effective and low cost way to gather
information and insight from your sales force about the strengths and weaknesse
s of your company's sales process and environment. Sales force surveys identify
de-motivators and roadblocks that are impacting sales force performance.

How to Begin Training a Sales Force:

ow that you have hired a few sales peop
le, here is where the real work and excitement begins. Assuming you have hired e
xperienced sales people, before you begin with any training, make sure that they
understand your policies, procedures and rules of how you want to conduct busin
ess. Your sales team's understanding of these will help to eliminate any misunde
rstandings or conflicts that could come up later so, take some time now and prep
are this information for your new sales people.
Here is a good list of tools and information to present to your sales team as pa
rt of their sales training. Many of these can be put in writing for your new sal
es force to both read and keep for future review.
* Their personal work schedule.
* Explanation of company benefits which may include company cars, cell phone
s, demo equipment, expense accounts, uniforms etc.
* What is expected of them as far as sales quotas.
* Technical product information and company history.
* List of support individuals within the company, what they do and how to co
ntact them.
* What the pay plan is and how it works - including bonuses and incentives.
* Product brochures and other marketing materials or hand outs.
* A booklet of company policies and procedures.
* Issue each of your sales team their own company business card.
* Give a physical tour of their work environment if possible.
This list provides your new sales team with what is expected of them while
they are in your employ. This helps them to set their own goals so that they ca
n gauge themselves for their own success. This will also help each of them famil
iarize themselves quicker with who you are and what your company is all about al
lowing them to become a real member of your organization.
After you have provided your new sales team members with the items on the
list above, schedule out some time for your sales people to begin their training
by learning all about the product(s) that they will be selling. This time allot
ment could be anywhere from a few hours to a week or more, depending on the comp
lexity of what you sell.
During this time they will read, study, watch other sales people or yourse
lf to sell and exactly how the product is being presented. Allow them this time
to use the products and to put together their own presentations.
Also at this stage, always encourage them to do some roll playing with eac
h other as part of their sales training. Roll playing helps new sales people to
"get the marbles out of their mouth" and be able to speak quickly and intelligen
tly when with a prospect. In short, it is practice. Practice and preparation wil
l help work out the "new salesperson jitters" because it will help build their c
onfidence and confidence, when it is not over done, can energize a sales person
to the point that it is though they were wearing Superman's cape!