Changing course! I know we're supposed to touch on listening today, but I've had some really interesting insights to the question I posed on a LinkedIn Sales site, and want to share them with you. This is a place with the brightest and best sales folk I have heard in one space (check out the group Sales Playbook! You won't be disappointed). I got some really thought-provoking comments on debate point. The question was:
If those who can do, and those who can't teach, what's that say about sales professionals going into sales training? Who's the best corporate sales trainer? A former rep or a development specialist?
There was a lot of weighing in, much on behalf of the sales person as trainer. Well, I'd like to add another point of view.
I have been a sales rep, a consultant and a trainer, but no matter what my occupation, I find that I sell. I'm not sure if I can go to the grocery store without selling, because I look on sales and service as simultaneous activities. We reach out, we connect, we listen and we try to help people (and I believe that is really the ultimate form of sales: fulfilling a need). Sometimes, I might just be selling myself, cuz I do like to be liked. That being said, selling for me has often been instinctual. I know I do certain things, but often (especially early in my career), I didn't get it down to a process and sometimes forgot things.
That's where I think the professional sales trainers with development backgrounds come in to play. They have analyzed process. They are often better listeners than many sales people. They can stand out of the spot light.
I am aware that the best sales folks listen, and advocate for that all the time, and can let other people be the stars, especially their customers. I wonder, however, if the best sales training programs have a balance of both backgrounds. Is a sales rep driven program going to lack something, or can using outside vendors and speakers balance that? I am really trying to decide if a sales rep can just walk into training and be good without some major personal development along the way.
Did that stir up the pot at all? Tell me what you think!
Note: The thoughts and opinions on Training Wheels are my own, unless otherwise referenced, and are to be food for thought. If contemplating business changes, these blog posts are not a substitute for consulting your lawyer or accountant. I"ll bet you already figured that out, didn't you?
