“Hoping” this will be successful, is just a dream
Businesses hire salespeople to make sales. Businesses want sales so they can generate revenue. Businesses want revenue so they can pay their bills, grow their businesses, and create wealth. So why, when onboarding new salespeople do they put so little effort into training and coaching them on how to sell towards those objectives?
As a professional sales coach and the founder of BeenThere Consulting Services, a sales coaching company, I am meeting a statistically significant number of salespeople that are not properly trained, or in some cases not trained at all on how to sell their businesses product or services. This is particularly prevalent in the insurance and financial services industries. But, not limited to them by any stretch of the imagination.
A new salesperson with experience
Frank is an experienced salesperson. He also has a history of being successful. Five months ago, he was hired by TCC (Technical Communications Corporation). This story and the following stories are based on actual events. All names have been changed because they are irrelevant to the messaging.
Frank was frustrated. TCC management was frustrated. New sales were not happening. How could this be? Frank was well liked and had already done business with much of his current account base while working for previous companies. Proper training would have prevented this negative situation and set Frank up great success. More details to come.
A salesperson who is new to selling
Judy is retired military. She excelled in her job and responsibilities. She was disciplined, focused, and a leader. She brought all those attributes to the private sector after retiring from her military service.
Judy was hired by BFI (Best Financials Inc.) providing professional services to individuals, families, and businesses. BFI gave her a plan to execute, assigned her a mentor, and had regular meetings with her. She worked hard, made progress to a point, and she struggled to meet the goals set for her. She had decided that this was not the career path for her.
Judy hired me to be her sales coach. During my meetings with her, I learned that her mentor was not helping her in a timely fashion or in some cases, not at all. In one situation, Judy’s prospective client, who had an absolute need and even a desire to buy her services, said; “she wanted to think about it,” and that Judy should get back to her in a few months. She told Judy she had to figure out her finances.
This is a classic objection. Judy, being new to sales, took her prospects word as absolute, did not recognize it for what it was, and let her prospect leave without giving her an order. She told this to her mentor and that was the end. Her mentor should have recognized the objection and coached Judy how to “handle the objection.”
It’s not too late
I did coach her how to go back to the prospect, how to handle the objection, and move the prospect to become a client. This opportunity is very much alive. This is important because the prospect is exposed and her family is not protected if something bad should happen to her, such as injury or death. If we knew when such things could happen, we would plan the coverage timing accordingly. In this case, peace of mind and protection will only be achieved when the coverage is in place.
As a shameless plug, my book on this subject, will be released on Amazon.com September 9th, 2024; Handling objections – Clues for closing the sale. Click here; (Notify), if you would like to be notified when the book is released.
For both Frank and Judy, the companies had made investments in time and money with an expectation of a significant ROI for many years to come. Not only was that expectation not being met, but there was also the cost of “lost opportunities.” Because their salespeople were not operating effectively, nobody could ever be sure about how many potential opportunities have been missed.
When an experienced football quarterback moves from one team to another, he is not just thrown into a game. Why not? He has been playing football his whole life, he is accomplished, and wants to get into the game.
But he does not know the plays. He has not practiced with his teammates. He does not know what to expect from them, their strengths, and weaknesses. He learns this from proper training and coaching. This takes place in the briefing rooms and during practices. It continues on even when he is playing in games that count.
When a player moves into one sport from another (example, baseball to football), that individual is hired because ownership and the coaching staff believe there is potential for great success. They don’t simply have the player sign a contract and toss the player on to the field during the regular season. They need to evaluate the player, train the player, reevaluate the player, and continue training.
When ready, the player will participate in team practices, and even in exhibition and pre-season games. All along being coached.
So why should this be any different when onboarding salespeople. Do you really expect them to perform and even be high-performance salespeople without the proper comprehensive training and coaching.
It takes more than product training
This is not just training them about your products and services. It is training them in all the skills necessary to understand the marketplace, their customers, what methodologies have proven effective in successfully selling their offerings. It is about evaluating them, coaching them in real-time, role playing, setting meaningful key performance indicators (KPI’s). Measuring results, revising when necessary, asking questions, and most importantly, being there for them when they may not even know they need your help.
In real life, there is no such thing as, “build it and they will come.” It takes effort and persistence. At a minimum, do the proper training and coaching, and you will be setting the foundation to build a strong sales team with results that will meet and exceed your revenue expectations.
As a professional sales coaching company, BeenThere Consulting Services is ready to assist you to grow your sales. Without sales, you have no business.
If you are ready to grow your sales, I am ready to assist you. Contact me at:
Email: Phil@BeenthereCS.com
Schedule a meeting: https://calendly.com/BeenThereCS
ABOUT PHIL WHITEBLOOM 
Phil has been in sales and sales leadership for over 40 years. He is a multiple award winner and has helped customers such as Fortune 500 companies, U.S. and local governments, institutions of higher education, houses of worship, television/radio companies, and more. Along with his sales teams they have solved thousands of problems, and generated billions of dollars in revenue. He is also known as a strong leader, boasting diversity and employee retention.
Send Phil an email Phil@BeenThereCS.com and let him know what sales topics you would like him to write about. How can he help you?
To learn more about BeenThere Consulting Services and how they can help you and your business go to BeenThereCS.com. To discuss specific needs or programs with Phil, Whitebloom go to at Beentherecs contact-us or schedule a meeting with Phil at Calendly BeenThereCS.
The BeenThere/SoldThat Podcast
oin Brianna Hendley of Achievant Business Coaching Achievantcoaching.com and Phil Whitebloom as they cover sales and business-related topics designed to build your skills and increase your knowledge. Their mission is to provide you with takeaways to help you achieve your goals and dreams.
Click on this link to listen to the Been There Sold That Podcast. Or search Been There Sold That Podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
More from BeenThere SoldThat
Want to know what programs you can participate in to grow your sales and business? Go to BeenThereSoldThat.com and see what programs are available.
Achievant Business Coaching, Your GPS to Success
Brianna Hendley, the founder and CEO of Achievant Business Coaching has a wonderful program underway. Do you want to accelerate your success? Click below to learn more. Achievantcoaching.com
You Must Write a Book
You Must Write a Book
Many of you have told me that you are thinking about writing a book. Some of you are in the process of writing. The questions I have for you are, “What do you want your book to do? How will you measure the success of your book?” If the answers to those questions are important to you, then you must learn from an expert, highly accomplished author, entrepreneur, and coach. My friend and mentor, Honorée Corder is that person. The first step is purchasing her series of books, and when you are ready, her courses. I have done this myself. I don’t know how I could have done it without them. Here are the links: YOU MUST WRITE A BOOK 
BeenThere Consulting Services, LLC
BeenThere Consulting Services is a sales coaching company. Coaching is more than training. We work with your specific sales needs in real-time. We address what is impacting your business now, while creating enhanced processes and developing skills for future success. Our promise is that you will have actionable take-a-ways after each meeting, which will increase your sales and benefit your business overall.
No one program fits every need. We offer a variety of options to meet the needs of those who want to improve their sales.
One-to-one coaching: Custom programs designed to meet client’s needs.
BeenThere Sales Coaching Hour: Group Coaching focused on specific topics and skills development.
BeenThere/SoldThat Mastermind SB: High-end group coaching for small business owners, where members work together to solve problems for themselves and others.
How to contact us
To determine which program will work for you or someone you know, contact us at Beentherecs contact-us.
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