Aligning Key Stakeholders in Rolling out Global Sales Training Programs "Not invented here" is probably the leading challenge facing the rollout of global sales training programs. What happens in too many cases is that someone or some group in corporate headquarters says, "We need a training program for all our locations. We will develop it here, in our home country, and then roll it out around the world." It doesn’t matter where that corporate headquarters is located. If a training program comes solely from any one place, the rest of the world will say, "That won’t work in our country." It could even be that the proposed program is exactly what they themselves would recommend, but the fact that it came from somewhere else makes it tainted. The resistance to a program developed in Country A being implemented in Country B, C, or D is high and often justified because the targeted customers — their communication styles, their customs — are different. Overcoming this resistance is possible and can be relatively easy. It just takes collaboration and alignment of stakeholders. The people in Country B, C, and D should be considered stakeholders, not recipients, of the proposed training. Taking the time and effort to ask their input may not significantly change the construct of what the program would have been without their involvement, but it will make a huge difference in adoption. The stakeholders will feel listened to, engaged, and more receptive. They are more likely to say, "Yes, I think this will work in France," and their acceptance can help influence everyone who takes the training in France. If a training program comes out of the US and it has never been vetted by anyone in Europe, then there is sure to be strong resistance to implementation. Most global sales organizations provide a certain amount of local autonomy, which gives staff around the world the flexibility required to do business locally. They are often given control over local budgets, including local training. They may well use this autonomy to refuse to pay for a training program developed by headquarters without their input. In that case, headquarters has to sell it to the foreign managers, and that’s a very tough sell because the product was created without first identifying the customer needs — the customers in this case being the foreign sales staff. Rolling out a global sales training program is very much like rolling out a global product. It requires understanding the needs of the customer, reviewing and discussing what the stakeholders want, getting their buy-in to the proposed solution, and gaining approval and acceptance of the final product. The conceit by headquarters of thinking, "We know what you need," backfires with regularity. Sales professionals in other countries don’t want to sign up for the program, so it’s difficult to get training events filled with participants in advance, making it harder to book the desired trainers, produce materials cost-effectively, secure the right venues, and settle other logistical matters. As for participation, there will be a certain percentage of people who won’t come, and, as a result, there will be inconsistent approaches to selling across the company and its locations. It may seem cumbersome to do the upfront work of involving stakeholders around the world before developing global sales training programse, but it’s nothing like the task of trying to get a program invented elsewhere implemented by local managers around the world. Simply put, to avoid deep resistance to rolling out global sales training programs, make sure to involve key stakeholders. It can make a world of difference. Learn more about Richardson’s Consultative Selling Sales Training Solutions. The post Aligning Key Stakeholders in Rolling out Global Sales Training Programs appeared first on Richardson Sales Enablement Blog.

Many sales people make the mistake of just plain talking too much. Willy: I don't know why - I can't stop myself - I talk too much. A man oughta come in with a few words. Charlie's a man of few words, and they respect him. Linda: You don't talk too much, you're just lively. Arthur Miller - Death of a Salesman We all have sympathy for poor Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. He knew he talked too much, but he couldn't figure out why. And he couldn't stop talking too much even though he wanted to be like Charlie, a man of few words, who was respected by all. When business developers talk too much, they generate too few clients.      

Sales people can slip at a variety of different stages during the sales process. People with kids tell me that sometimes you have to let them fail, even when you could have jumped in to save them, so they will learn. Painful to sit by and watch, but necessary for growth. After being on the receiving end of an awful sales call last week, now I know the feeling. Poor kid (he could have been 60 for all I know, but he seemed like a kid), started sinking from the get-go. Since I couldn't dive in and save him, the future parent in me is dying to share the learning with someone. So here goes. While I will protect the name of the innocent, I have summarized my favorite (if I can call them that) 5 deadly sins that pulled him down like a pair of concrete shoes in the Mystic River.      

Salespeople that exhibit the 4 crucial elements are often the perfect fit. People often ask me, "Can rainmaking be taught?" It can surely be taught, but the question that people must ask themselves and their teams is, "Can we learn to make rain?" Makes me think of this one: Q. How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? A. One, but the light bulb has to want to change. Same goes for rainmaking: if you want to turn on your rainmaking light bulb, you can. If you’d like to discover if the rainmaking bulb can turn on for you (or for members of your organization), you need to know if the following four elements are in place.      

It's 2001. You work for a new company in the search engine space. Let's call this company Shmoogle. Shmoogle has this huge new idea—businesses are starting to grow based on getting found on the Internet. Why not have businesses pay per click to get found? Brilliant! You're a sales person at Shmoogle, and you know pay per click will be huge. You start prospecting on the phone. You: Hello Ms. VP of Marketing. This is Lamont Sanford with Shmoogle. I'd like to speak with you for a few minutes about our marketing program that's helping companies like yours generate a lot of leads and new business on the Internet. Ms. VP (who pleasantly accepts cold calls): Sure. Let's talk. (FIVE minutes go by. Conversation goes great.) You: OK, then, I think pay per click search engine marketing is perfect for you. How much budget do you have set aside for this? Ms. VP: I don't have a budget for pay per click marketing—or a budget for marketing at all right now. You: (Thinking to yourself: darn, not a qualified buyer.) Well, give me a call when you have one. Of course, only a complete loon would finish a call like that. The wrong turn was the salesperson's fault, though, for asking the question about budget in the first place.      

Tony Robbins, please accept my apology. About 15 years ago, when I was a budding manager in charge of my first strategic business unit, I dissed you pretty badly. I'm sorry. I take it back. My team and I were in a strategy meeting, trying to get something done—something really big that would literally change our fortunes and our lives. We knew the goal, and were now trying to figure out what to do to achieve said goal. A well-read young teammate of mine was a fan of motivational speakers, and was always looking for ways to increase sales motivation. At one point she shared, "Tony Robbins says, 'If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve the same results.'" To which I replied, "That self-help stuff…Bah-loney." So I dismissed what Tony said because I generally dismissed self-help gurus. Why? At the time I had only been exposed to self-help charlatans spouting useless pap wrapped in cheese blankets. As I fancied myself a serious business person, I was anti-cheese. And thus, by mistaken proxy, I was closed to advice from the self-help world that could help us understand, and enhance, the sales motivations of top performers.      

It’s that time of year again when all of the "Best of 2010" blog posts, newsletter, and magazine articles are coming out - from the best new business books to the best restaurants in every city. The inaugural Top Sales Awards hosted by Jonathan Farrington is a new addition to this year’s lists. The awards recognize the best of breed in 10 sales categories, including the top sales resources. I was honored to find out that our online magazine, RainToday.com, is nominated in the category of Top Sales Resource. With stiff competition in the category, we need all the voting help we can get. So click here to cast your vote for RainToday.com. While you’re at it be sure to vote in some of the other top categories, including...      

Cold calls don't always start perfectly. But learn to overcome these objections, and you'll instantly find more success in it. A business-to-business client we at RAIN Group work with recently closed a mid-six figure deal that started with a cold call. But it started out rocky. Indeed, about 20 seconds in to the cold call it almost fell apart. After the prospect answered the phone, Jim, a sales person that works for our client, began speaking and the prospect immediately said, "I’m not interested."  This is where many salespeople give up. Jim didn’t. He knew that this was just the first of three common cold calling objections. He persisted and, as a result, he got our client on the prospect’s radar screen and ended up winning a major deal. If your initial attempt to capture attention and create interest on a cold call doesn’t work, don’t just wilt! It’s easy to say "okay" and just move on, but, then again, it’s easy to fail at cold calling. All is not lost. You can overcome common objections and make saves. Here are the three common cold calling objections along with examples for how you can overcome them.      

This post started out as one about the best sales books of the year. However as I was looking through my bookshelf I couldn’t help but add a few of my favorite new business books too. So without further ado, here are my top reads of 2010 (in no particular order)...      

RainToday Takes Home the Gold for Top Sales Resource I am pleased and honored that our online magazine RainToday.com was chosen as the Top Sales Resource of 2010. Thank you to everyone who voted for us and to the judges; we couldn’t have won without your support. I’d also like to send a big thank you to Jonathan Farrington who did an excellent job putting together this much needed event. Bravo! Congratulations to All the Winners Winners were named in 10 sales categories and I encourage you to check all of them out. There’s a wealth of information to be learned from these sales leaders...