Those of you that follow my blogs will know that one of my key beliefs is that ‘adaptability’ is more important in selling than ‘ability’. By this I mean the action of flexing our own style based on the circumstances and the individual you are selling to. However, having worked with a lot of inexperienced sales people in the past few years I have learned that before they can learn to be ‘adaptable’ they must first learn to be ‘consistent’. This completely changed my view on how new sales people should be taught as they enter the profession.
In very basic terms it is the old “You cannot run before you can walk” story but I prefer a cricket analogy. When teaching a new fast bowler months and months are spent on getting the individual to develop their ‘stock ball’, this is called a “repeatable action” (it is the same idea with a golf swing). Until the new bowler can hit exactly the same mark on the pitch habitually, ball in ball out, they are not ready to try anything else. Once competent at their standard length ‘stock ball’ they can then learn adaptations such as a slower ball, a short ball and a full length ball known as a “Yorker”.
Bringing this back to sales I have seen the following scenario happen many times, both with and without management coaching. A new salesperson makes a call and does everything they have been taught to do, as best they can, they do a great job but they do not make a sale. They assume it was ‘their fault’ and decide to change approach for the next call. They try the new approach and that does not work either, so they decide to change approach again for the next call. I hope you are seeing the picture developing here. By constantly changing their approach they are not developing a “repeatable action”, they get frustrated, tense and sound increasingly desperate, which is never a good sign. If they do happen to make a sale, they will assume that the same approach will work on the next call and it may not, and so the cycle goes on.
My solution then is quite a simple one. The new salesperson should be encouraged and coached to be consistent above all else, regardless of whether their initial calls win business or not. In the early days do not set revenue targets or ‘over celebrate’ the wins. Instead you should set targets based on call volumes and how well they follow the structure you have given them. You may think that this approach will delay the time it takes to get a salesperson to be fully ‘productive’ but I totally disagree. Using my altered approach I have witnessed that they maintain morale longer and this results in them making more calls. As a result of making more calls they learn to become consistent quicker and this in turn increases their confidence. It is a cycle of experiential learning that really works exceptionally well and before you know it they will naturally start to learn adaptability, even quicker if you help them.
On a final note the great Zig Zigglar once said “for every sale you lose by being too enthusiastic you’ll win a hundred more you wouldn’t have got”. Young sales people are naturally enthusiastic and don’t coach this out of them.
If you would like me to train your new sales teams give me a call to discuss, I guarantee a rapid and exceptional ROI.
