Sales Training Courses: 5 Questions to Pick The Best

Google search for “sales training courses” throws up 227 Crores results. (10 million =1 crore)

If you add a geographic location and search “sales training courses in bangalore” you get served 5.46 crore results, 222 crore lesser results now.

So, how do you pick the best sales training course for yourself?

Ok, I hear you. You will pick from one of the 10 odd companies listed on the first page. Aren’t they supposed to be the best? If they weren’t the best, then why would they be on the first page of Google search, right?

W.R.O.N.G !

Showing up on the first page of Google means that, the first page-ranked company has the best Search Engine Optimization (SEO) team for sure, NOT necessarily offer the best course.

No matter which course you pick, confirmation bias will kick in and you will feel you made the best choice, only to find out years later that it was a waste, like quite a few of my workshop attendees.

We had an incident 2 weeks ago with one of the workshop attendees. It was a 2-day sales workshop and he comes up to me during the lunch break on day 1 and says. “I have learnt more in half a day here than I did in a 3-day sales course at IIM”, which is among the premier business schools in India.

He also said that he was attending my sales workshop, only because, the start-up incubation company he was working with had made attendance mandatory and moreover, they were paying for it.

So, for 3 years he has been slowly but surely bleeding sales, but had no clue about it. He found out about what he was missing, only by CHANCE and not CHOICE.

Imagine all the lost opportunities for 3 years. Imagine the frustration of not knowing what’s wrong, blaming the product, market, customers and the black cat that crosses your path.

Sales opportunities are like hotel rooms. If they are not occupied for a day, that revenue is lost forever. Period.

My objective of writing this article is to prevent you from falling into the trap of ‘best course’, instead, show you how to choose the ‘best-fit course’ for yourself.

When you finish reading this article, even if you were to call my company for a sales training course, you will be in a position to ascertain by yourself, if this course is the right fit, and not let my sales rep talk you into it 😉

This is going to get interesting. So, put on your seat belt, kick back, relax and read on.

What are the different types of sales training?

Broadly, there are two types of sales training courses – Inbound and Outbound.

Inbound Sales Training

Here, the buyer already has made the decision to buy the product or service, not necessarily yours. He is now reaching out to either buy from you or decide to buy after speaking or interacting with you.

The buyer may reach out to you in a physical store or over the phone. When the buyer interacts with you only via phone or internet, the set up at your end is called, Inside Sales.

Outbound Sales Training

In Outbound sales, the sales reps reach out to potential buyers, check if they have a need and then try to sell the product or service. Since, you are reaching out to sell; it is called Outbound Sales Training.

If you are reaching out physically/in-person, it is called Outside Sales. If you are doing the same via phone and internet only, then it is called Inside Sales.

Sales Training Courses For Beginners

First love, first bike, the experience of first anything, good or bad, leaves an impression and impacts our decision-making for life. Remember, since it is our first, we are most vulnerable, less information and more feelings controlling our judgment.

So, let me take the pressure off you, about making the right choice and answer these questions first-

What are the 3 most important things in sales?

• Right Knowledge
• Right Skills
• Right Attitude

In today’s world all the knowledge is at your finger tips because of the internet. In fact, there is too much information out there, which can be overwhelming, especially for a beginner.

From being an alumni and excellence awardee from Nationa Institute of Sales (NIS Sparta), to having a successful career in sales to training over 32 thousand sales reps from 8 countries, this is my prescription:

Right Knowledge to succeed in sales

            Market & Company

            Product Knowledge

            Competitor Knowledge

Right Skills to succeed in sales

            Selling Skills

            Presentation Skills

            Closing Skills

Right Attitude to succed in sales

            Positive Mental Attitude

            Self-Motivated

            Never-Say-Die

What are the most important skills required in succeeding in sales? 

Selling or Sales Skills

Presentation Skills

Closing Skills

How do you train to be a sales rep?

• Start with an in-person sales workshop rather than online training and get trained in at least one of the top selling techniques – SPIN from Huthwaite, Sandler from Sandler Selling or Collaborative Selling System from Catalyst.

• Be a student for life about human behaviour – How people form opinions, make decisions, what is cognitive bias, confirmation bias, anchoring bias etc

• Work on improving your presentation skills. Seek out the best presentation techniques, content writing

Question to ask the sales training company:

1. How many role-plays will each participant get to do in this program   ?

If the answer is anything less than 10 mock role-plays/participant, then this is not a good program for a beginner course.

B2B Sales Training Courses

Business to Business selling is quite different since the selling cycle can run into weeks and months before you close the sale.

Add to this, the fact that B2B involves multiple decision makers apart from user and influencers.

So, it is important that you pick a course and sales methodology that is specifically for B2B or High value Sales.

If the training company says it can be used for both, it depends on you….R.U.N!

Because B2B sales is like running a marathon vs most B2C or low-value sales which is like running a 100-metre sprint, usually just one or two interactions to close the sale.

Yes, running is common in both marathon and sprint but the training, diet and preparation is totally different.

So is B2B selling.

Question to ask the sales training company:

2. Please explain how does this sales methodology help specifically in B2B sales?

3. Does the facilitator has B2B sales experience?

Many sales trainers are from banking and insurance background which is too specific a domain to handle real value in a B2B sales training as a facilitator.

IT, SAAS & Software Sales Training Courses

All B2B sales training selection criteria apply here too, plus software sales experience.

Many good B2B trainers are over 50 years old and not really able to keep pace with changing technology and hence are not able to connect with the audience.

Hence, it is important to find out if the trainer has software sales experience.

Question to ask the sales training company:

4. Which all products has the facilitator sold himself before becoming a trainer?

Advanced Sales Training Courses

99.9% of all sales training courses offered are for beginners. It’s a simple demand-supply situation.

Usually companies get the training company who trained them earlier to come and do a advanced training course.

If you are looking for an advanced course you must use all the above questions plus

Question to ask the sales training company:

5. What all can you cover under an advanced sales training syllabus?

Or, I need advanced training in topic 1, topic 2 and topic 3 areas in selling. Can you take me through about how you will go about it?

There you go, you now have everything you need to BUY the sales training course of your CHOICE rather than being SOLD a course by the sales training company!

Please do comment below and let me know your thoughts, suggestions and questions if any.

CLICK to read the article 5 Best Sales Training Companies In India

CLICK to read the article 6 Features of Great Sales Training Partners