Despite the fact that the majority of sales staff always have a challenge on their hands when it comes to shifting a certain product or service, those in the business of advertising arguably have a much tougher task. In an ever-changing industry where other forms of promotion and publicity are becoming increasingly effective, these men and women are usually given the job of selling something the buyer probably doesn’t need. On top of that, prospects probably aren’t listening and will usually say no regardless of what is being offered. Constantly coming up against these obstacles can be incredibly frustrating, both for the individual and the business. In several cases, advertising sales staff will keep on preserving with the same technique, even if it isn’t getting them anywhere. For this reason, those in advertising are always looking for new ways to sell television commercials, roadside billboards or some other sort of promotion material. Thankfully, there are several approaches and ideas out there, which could boost your advertising sales.   Change the attitude and improve the aptitude of staff Managing to secure an advertising sale is solely dependent on one factor - the salesperson. They are the one who should control the process from start to finish, effectively communicating with the prospect, explaining the benefits of advertising and eventually closing that all-important deal. However, if the individual does not have the right attitude or appropriate aptitude to complete this duty, sales will noticeable suffer. And even if your staff are performing at a commendable level, there is always room for improvement. This can be achieved through training, which might sound like a tedious and uninspiring exercise, but will undeniably provide positive results. The problem is that right from the get-go, numerous members of sales staff will be disinterested and disengaged with the whole training process. This is largely because age-old methods of teaching are typically used, which do nothing to enhance the skill set of sales staff who would much prefer to be at their desks. However, there is another option. At Wranx, our training solution has been on used to increase the expertise of sales staff but not adversely affect their attitude towards learning. This is possible through our accelerated learning model, which features gamification as well as desktop and mobile integration. That way, training can fit in with everyday operations while improving proficiency at the same time.   Revamping pitches and enhancing communication As mentioned previously, a big obstacle that stands in the way of advertising sales staff is the objective-based opinion of prospects. More often than not, they will simply reject your advances and completely ignore what you have to say. However, they will have been trained to say no, even if the prospect shows an active interest and believes in the product. One way to find out whether this is the case is to offer the client a free ad and note their response. Despite being presented with the chance to receive some complementary promotion, they may claim their budget is used up or can’t afford any advertising right now. So, in addition to changing your staff’s attitude towards advertising sales, you may need to alter the outlook of prospects too. This is easier said than done and much harder than up skilling stubborn salespeople. Even so, there are a few techniques, which might just work. These include:   Understand the facts and use figures to your advantage - Even though conniving a client to buy advertising can be tough going, it is actually more difficult to get a customer to buy from that brand. Having this kind of knowledge, which you can pass on to prospects, will stand you in good stead and increase the chances of securing advertising sales. Be bold and have a plan for the future - If you come up against a particularly headstrong client, be bold with your approach and ask questions like "Why do you not want to receive extensive exposure?" or "Why is our audience neither attractive nor important to you?" On top of this, believe that you will succeed and tell the prospect about your plans for phoning up and having meetings in the future. Have a systematic process in place to guarantee results - Set-up a system where it is possible to find out important metrics about sales calls and messages, such as their time, date and content. By discovering what worked and what didn’t, you can develop a tried and tested process for sales staff for follow. In addition to capitalising on repeatable patterns of success, you can also save time and boost productivity. Have an actionable and prompt plan in place for when a sale is likely - As soon as you get a prospect on your side, it is important not to waste time. Staff should know exactly what they can offer the client and must be able to move them quickly down the sales funnel. Therefore, create an actionable plan that your salesmen and women can follow, which satisfies the wants and needs of the client at the same time.   Understand the market and take advantage of current trends Another challenge facing all advertising sales staff is the fact that online forms of digital marketing are quickly becoming the promotional tool of choice for several businesses. However, this does not mean to say that advertisers cannot jump on the bandwagon and take full advantage. In fact, there are numerous opportunities to sell advertising online and by demonstrating an awareness and understanding of current trends, your clients will be more likely to make a purchase. Recently, the following have been causing a particular stir: Native Advertising - This is where ads are seamlessly embedded into the web pages and social media news feeds of Internet users. Compared to traditional banner ads, these forms of publicity are proving to be much more effective and influential. Even though some people believe these advertisements interfere with their online experience, it is a great opportunity for brands to showcase content in front of the user’s eyes, which they will find interesting and entertaining. Popularity of mobile - Mobile users are now much more important than those on desktop, as the uptake of smartphone and tablet browsing has exponentially risen over the past couple of years. This is putting greater emphasis on things like responsive website design and dedicated mobile apps, something advertisers can exploit. Digital video - Mashable says "time spent watching digital video has more than doubled since 2012," meaning that advertisers must take note of this trend and not solely concentrate on TV commercials. Advertising before YouTube videos and in the middle of on-demand content might be a little annoying, but this could well be a trend that is here to stay.   So, even though advertising sales staff face an uphill battle to sell publicity space and promotional materials, there are various ways in which performance can be improved. Along with increasing the expertise and adeptness of employees, it can be hugely beneficial to re-think the structure and content of sales pitches as well as developing a greater understanding of the changing face of digital marketing and online advertising. Share this post with your own audience

As a new exciting company, Jon Davies was looking for somebody to be the online presence for everything Wranx and thought a graduate would be ideal so contacted John Hall CEO of Professional Liverpool for support. With a clear objective to promote professional excellence in Liverpool and the City Region they facilitate the development of business and personal relationships among its members enabling access to a variety of support services. John having worked closely with Anne Donnelly, Business Development Manager at the University of Liverpool Management School introduced him to Steve Wood from the Graduate to Merseyside team. Explaining what he was looking for Steve was quickly able to find the perfect candidate. Step Forward, Chloe Britton, an Edge Hill University Advertising graduate with a variety of marketing, retail and sales experience, she had the right balance of skills, experience and attitude to make the role her own. In just two weeks, Chloe has already made an impact by working on a pitch for a global brand and working on important case studies. Other duties she has tackled are maintaining the blog and social media channels, assisting the sales team, and organising PR campaigns to name a few. Very happy with the impact Chloe has already made and excited for the future, Jon is appreciative of Graduate to Merseyside’s support:   "Talent is the lifeblood of a technology business like Wranx so having a resource like Graduate to Merseyside on our doorstep is invaluable. Chloe is a fantastic addition to our team and demonstrates a mix of tenacity and creativity that is really going to help drive our growth"   Chloe is delighted to be part of the Wranx team and is looking forward to the future:   "I am thrilled to be working at Wranx and I have already started to apply my knowledge and skills from University into my day to day work. I am receiving a wealth of knowledge from my colleagues and I am learning something new every day which is helping me to develop and achieve more out of my role.  I found that the Graduate to Merseyside service was brilliant and if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be in the position that I am in now."   Recruiting a graduate not only provides you with relevant skills and experiences but genuine enthusiasm, flexibility and the right attitude to fit in and make a positive impact to your business. Share this post with your own audience

Even though customer service has the potential to boost buyer satisfaction and change someone’s perception of an organisation, it is often overlooked. For several businesses, making a profit is the only thing that matters, which means training usually revolves around sales staff and how they can close more deals. However, customer service goes above and beyond the point of purchase. It concerns the activities before, during and after an individual decides to buy a product or service. For this reason, customer service training can be a hugely beneficial thing to invest in, as by its very nature, looks to enhance the way a business serves what brings in money. Although the importance of customer service will differ depending on the product, service, industry, company and customer, there is almost always room for improvement. In most cases, customer service representatives must be able to give assistance to various personalities and characters. At the same time, they must reflect the core values of the organisation and adhere to the company culture. Striking the right balance between these two traits isn’t easy, especially when members of staff also need to know about product information and details about delivery, warranties or other customer questions. Consequently, customer service training is somewhat essential. But rather than being viewed as an initiative or activity that helps staff get better, customer service training should be considered an overall approach to systematic improvement. After all, it has the potential to play a vital role in a company’s ability to generate more income and revenue.   Benefits for members of staff Increase motivation and engagement Because customer service has a big impact on the success of an organisation, this can be used to motivate and engage members of staff. If you show employees that you care about their individual development and career progress, they will be inspired to help the customer in any way they can. This doesn’t have to be an integral part of training either; simply demonstrate that your customer service staff are absolutely crucial and without them, the business would not be able to survive, thrive or compete. Improve knowledge and skill set It is fair to say the main purpose of any training course is to improve the knowledge or skill set of an individual. When it comes to customer service, this will concern things like enhancing communication, the importance of listening to the customer, problem-solving approaches and the need to be organised. If you conduct training that includes the same set of competencies, it will give your entire workforce a standard process to deal with customer issues or questions and creates a sense of team spirit at the same time. Boost confidence and morale Confidence is an incredibly important trait when trying to make a sale, but it can be even more consequential for customer service. If an employee doesn’t have faith in their ability to handle a complaint or conviction when conveying the benefits of a product, customers won’t think highly of the brand. However, training can boost morale for employees, who will then be more eager to serve the customer and improve their shopping experience. This can also transform the whole workplace environment and generate good vibes.   Benefits for the customer Increase customer satisfaction This one is fairly obvious, but the whole purpose of customer service training is to improve satisfaction for valuable patrons and purchasers. This in turn will lead to the customer feeling appreciated, respected and cherished. Customers can rest assured that any issues or problems will be resolved quickly and competently. They will also appreciate the fact they won’t have to make repeat calls and can discover product information easily. Improve purchasing options Even though you will want customers to approach your business first and ignore the alternatives, most of the time they’ll have a plethora of other purchasing options to choose from. But by championing customer service, they will be more inclined to pick you above other vendors. Businesses that rely on discount promotions or marketing techniques to improve profit margins constantly have to alter or adjust their activity. But by always concentrating on customer service, you give buyers yet another reason to make a purchase. Boost chances of loyalty You can’t underestimate the importance of customer loyalty. It is surprising just how many organisations focus their attention on securing new business yet completely disregard existing clientele, who are often much more valuable. But if you do everything you can to improve the overall buying experience, customers will want to do business with you time and time again. Therefore, there is no need to worry about securing repeat business, as you’ll have built up a loyal group of customers.   Benefits for the business Increase turnover and profit As previously noted, numerous organisations will train their sales staff in the hope of increasing profits. However, with a confident and competent customer service team, turnover will undoubtedly increase anyway. This is because you’ll achieve higher retention levels, acquire new customers, reduce employee turnover, and boost bottom-line sales. If the business improves its ability to serve, then customers will be more satisfied and more loyal, leading to an increase in profit. Improve reputation and standing Despite the fact some shoppers will choose a certain retailer because they have the lowest prices around, countless customers are more concerned with the overall buying experience. If this is a bad one because of incapable or uninterested customer sales staff, they won’t waste any time in letting their friends and family know. Word-of-mouth can seriously hurt an organisation’s reputation, but it can also improve a company’s standing too. So, if you manage to deliver an enjoyable experience, which comes about through well trained, motivated and knowledgeable staff, your customers are sure to pass on favourable recommendations and reviews. Boost uniqueness and individuality If your business can’t compete with low prices being offered elsewhere, you’ll need to come up with some sort of unique selling point. But it is possible to offset the effect of your more expensive products with a better customer experience. On top of that, providing the best customer service around can differentiate your business from industry rivals. Some sort of niche can be invaluable during tough economic times or in competitive marketplaces and having a team of exemplary customer service staff will give you some much need individuality.   What are the benefits of customer service training? Well, in many respects, they are never ending. Although any form of up skilling can improve staff competency or alter employee attitudes, when it concerns customer service representatives, training can deliver extensive advantages to the customer and organisation. This being so, you shouldn’t underestimate the power and potential of customer service training. Share this post with your own audience

Back in the good old days of retail, shop owners and chain stores only had to worry about getting customers to walk through the door. This could be achieved by reaching out to local consumers through traditional forms of marketing such as print advertising or radio commercials. Then, more and more outlets and emporiums started to offer mail-order services for their products, which could be viewed in a catalogue or seen on television. Once more, this was another way for retailers to increase exposure and improve turnover. But today, things are incredibly different and it is all because of the Internet. No matter where you are in the world, it is almost always possible to order something online, regardless of the retailer’s location, and have it delivered straight to your door. While this brings about a wide range of benefits for stockists and suppliers, it also poses a number of problems, one of the biggest being presence. Never before has there been such an extensive and overwhelming sales platform that anybody can trade on. So, in this sizeable and substantial environment, how on earth can you create an online presence?   Create top-notch high-quality content Ask any marketer what is the most powerful tool at their disposal and they’ll probably say content. In recent years, this has been heralded as the king of online promotion and publicity, which in turn can help you establish a strong online presence. If you think about it, there is a good chance that potential clients and prospective customers will be going online to discover information about subjects closely related to your brand. So, instead of visiting a well known news outlet or popular blog, why shouldn’t it be your company instead? To achieve this, you’ll need to create content specifically for your website. This can include feature articles, case studies, white papers or any other type of content that your target market will find informative, interesting and useful. You can discuss recent company developments, produce tutorials about certain products or comment on trending topics related to your industry. Try to include keywords that consumers will be searching for to increase your search engine footprint and don’t forget about using additional forms of content such as images and video to keep visitors on site.   Cause a stir on social media The power and influence of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter is sometimes difficult to measure. However, it is fairly obvious that brands and businesses can harness the incredible potential of these sites and use it to improve their online presence dramatically. Social networks are where we go to communicate with friends, see what is going on in the world and receive some much-needed entertainment. But with the ability to follow or like your favourite clothing company or fast food outlet, it is also a place where product information or discount offers can be discovered too. Reaching out to the audience and showing your fans or followers that there is a human behind social media communication is absolutely crucial. Even if your business wants to maintain a formal and professional image, most social media users will reject cold and heartless status updates or tweets. However, don’t fall into the trap of attempting too much. It will be virtually impossible to maintain the same level of activity and interactions on every social network there is, so do your research and pick channels wisely. For example, Instagram is great for appealing to a young demographic, whereas LinkedIn remains a social network predominantly for white-collar professionals.   Understand and capitalise on current trends As previously mentioned, the world of retail is completely different to what it was 50 years ago. Not many shops or stores would succeed if they adopted the same sales techniques as their prosperous predecessors, even if traditional values are still thought of highly by customers. But the need to stay on top of current trends is even more significant now, as retail keeps on changing and evolving at a rapid rate. In many respects, some approaches and tactics that gained prominence in the 21st century are already out-dated and old fashioned. At this moment in time, the biggest trend that simply can’t be ignored by retailers is the power and popularity of mobile. Thankfully, this is a movement that looks like its here to stay, but you never know what advances in technology could change things once again. To establish a mobile presence, you must have a website that is optimised for smartphones and tablets. In addition to this, you can look into developing a dedicated app, making your business information available on online directories and maybe even plan for wearable technology, as this seems like an inevitable future influencer for retail success.   Don’t ignore tried and tested methods Even though the Internet has transformed the very nature of retail, you shouldn’t discount or ignore tried and tested methods of establishing a marketplace presence. In fact, traditional techniques can be hugely effectively online, especially with certain consumer groups. Take advertising for example. Several businesses will ignore the benefits of search engine banners, as they believe that organic exposure is much more effective and influential. However, PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising can help you create an online presence straight away and will position the brand in front of the eyes of your target audience. In spite of the fact that consumers have a huge amount of information available at their fingertips, some people still prefer to speak with a human being. Thankfully, this can be achieved online, either via social media or an instant chat facility. Think about improving the knowledge and expertise of your staff through training and differentiate the business from industry rivals. At Wranx, our training solution has been used to up skill numerous customer service representatives in a variety of different industries. With a greater understanding and deeper knowledge of products or services, well-trained members of staff can boost any company’s online presence and provide the business with a unique selling point.   Creating an online presence Let’s not kid ourselves here; creating an online presence isn’t easy. However, with so many promotional options and marketing possibilities, any retailer can increase exposure, improve reputations and make a name for itself thanks to the Internet. First and foremost, concentrate on creating top quality content that your clients and customers can benefit from. Secondly, make sure this content is shared on social media and interact with customers directly using a personal tone wherever possible. Then, capitalise on current trends such as the popularity of mobile to demonstrate an understanding about what customers want and need. Finally, don’t forget about traditional marketing methods, which can prove to be just as effective when creating an online presence. Share this post with your own audience

From ordering more stock and improving product quality to upgrading essential equipment and opening new premises, there are several areas of a business where money can be spent. All of these will attempt to make an impact, whether it’s to enhance the customer experience or boost employee productivity. But at the end of the day, profit and prosperity will come down to one thing - sales. Failing to generate enough money through the sale of products and services will cause any business to collapse. To ensure a steady stream of sales are being achieved, there are a number of different options. However, investing in sales training can be the most effective and influential. The problem with this is that various organisations and their employees have a rather unfavourable view of training. Some view it as a pointless waste of time, while others feel disengaged and uninterested with the whole process, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. If carried out in the right way, using the right teaching techniques and learning methods, sales training can have an extremely beneficial impact on any organisation’s activity.   Best practices for increasing sales training impact Lead by example If your sales team can see that even senior executives and managers want to improve their knowledge, they will be more receptive and eager to learn. Therefore, head honchos should lead by example and display a visible commitment to sales training. Reiterate its importance to the business Training can often be seen as an extracurricular activity, completely detached from the organisation’s objectives. But if you reiterate its importance to the business and spell out the desired results, training can make a bigger impression on employees. Create an environment that supports behavioural change With training, your sales staff will be given the opportunity to increase their skill set and expertise. However, the impact greater knowledge can have will often depend on employee attitudes when back at work. Therefore, remove any obstacles that prevent changes from being implemented and focus on the accountability for behaviour change in participants and their managers. Devise a long-term plan for sales training Before training takes place, come up with a plan that prioritises long-term implementation. This should include reinforcement, follow up and measurement. Sales training will be much more effective and influential if it is an integral part of the business. Support employees in other ways If you continually train your sales staff, they will become capable of carrying out other roles and will develop a desire to do better. Therefore, support your employees in other ways, such as assistance with career development and providing promotion opportunities. Always analyse and evaluate What is the point in conducting sales training if you fail to analyse or evaluate the results? By using a Leading Indicator Evaluation survey or Retrospective Behaviour Change survey, you can monitor the progress of employees and adjust your training activity accordingly. Increase communication and creativity Before, during and after training takes place, set aside some time to interact with employees and encourage creativity. For example, you can send out newsletters and emails that publicise success or capitalise on gamification to provide sales staff with a fun way of learning.   Enhancing the impact of sales training by understanding current trends For sales training to work, it needs to reflect what the customers want at that moment in time and include teaching about current trends in order to be relevant. Currently, that includes the following: Buyers are more intelligent than ever before - Thanks to the Internet, buyers are able to conduct research into products and find out about the brands they want to buy from. This means that sales people come into contact with customers at a much later point in the buying cycle, so tailor training to take this into account. Customers have access to multiple touch-points - While searching for product and company information, customers can interact with multiple touch-points, which calls for sales staff to communicate through a number of different mediums. Ensure employees know about these channels to facilitate the best customer experience possible. Sales staff are still in the driving seat - Despite the rise of online shopping and the ability to purchase products at any time and any place, sales staff still have a great deal of influence over decisions. Your employees have the power to establish trust, understand buyer motives and provide appropriate solutions.   How to sustain the impact sales training can have Although a recent study by Training Industry found that 81 per cent of organisations believe sales training programmes are somewhat or very effective, sustaining this impact is another question altogether. In fact, it is fair to say that sales training isn’t effective if it cannot be sustained over a prolonged period of time. Thankfully, there are a few different strategies and approaches you can adopt, which will ensure training continues to be influential and fruitful long after it has taken place. Implement post-training development plans - This should be thought about before training and will put on record the hopes you have for sales staff. Think of ways you can help employees apply what they learnt and how to replace old behaviours with new knowledge. Introduce individual feedback sessions - Just because a few members of staff are achieving more sales does not mean to say all employees are succeeding. At the same time, those who are doing better could get complacent if they do not receive praise or reassurances. Therefore, introduce individual feedback sessions to sustain success. Embrace the power of gamification - As mentioned previously, gamification has the potential to increase the impact of sales training, but it can also help staff retain and apply newly acquired knowledge. Competition and leaderboards will encourage sales staff to do better, while the fun of gaming keeps interest levels high. Use mobile devices to your advantage - Desktop-only training apps and solutions are far from ideal into today’s workplace, as both customers and employees prefer to use smartphones and tablets when carrying out or completing certain tasks. But rather than being a workplace distraction, mobile devices can help your business sustain the impact of training through easy access to materials and resources. Invest in sustaining sales training success - Paying out for training is sure to be a significant expense, but you shouldn’t avoid other areas of investment, as they can be equally influential. Therefore, put money aside for communication, assessments, evaluations, training aids and gamification.   Can sales training make an impact? In a word, yes. While digital forms of publicity and online shopping platforms provide customers with the opportunity to discover product information and make an instantaneous purchase, the power and potential of sales staff should not be underestimated. If these employees are given the opportunity to learn new skills and adopt different behaviours, they can become even more effective at selling. However, it is crucial that businesses recognise current trends, introduce the latest technology and integrate new methods of teaching in order to reap the rich rewards training can afford. Share this post with your own audience

Regardless of an organisation’s size or sector, its success will rely on happy and satisfied customers. If treated with respect and given the attention they deserve, purchasers and patrons will keep on coming back for more. With any luck, they’ll also tell one or two people about their favourable experience and recommend your business to even more potential clientele. But even if contented customers speak highly of your business, this positivity could be outweighed by negative comments. People are much more likely to leave bad reviews or condemn a company if they didn’t receive a suitable level of service. What’s more, it is much more difficult to rectify a substandard reputation than maintain a favourable one. Therefore, customer service should be considered a priority for every business. However saying this is one thing and getting your staff to actually translate the company’s culture into action is another. Thankfully, this can be achieved through appropriate training. Having said that, this creates another problem. Certain members of staff won’t be very receptive to traditional training techniques and can lose interest very quickly. This is particularly true if they consider it to be a temporary position or don’t have much passion for the role. For this reason, you might need to advance your customer service training to improve attitudes, increase interest and enhance expertise. But how can you make this possible?   Daily line-up meetings Even though the vast majority of customer service representatives perform technical responsibilities on a daily basis, which they will comprehensively understand and be able to carry out to a high standard, certain aspects of their job will be very different and can’t be defined. And if a business wants to deliver a great service, it needs to recognise that each and every employee will encounter new challenges and obstacles all the time. To address this, the Ritz-Carlton developed the daily line-up meeting, which only takes a couple of minutes each day, but enables employees to discuss one or more of the key principles of customer service. This example can work wonders for any organisation according to Micah Solomon, a customer service consultant, speaker and author. He says that if you schedule a daily meeting time for every division of your company at once, customer service will undoubtedly improve. "I know that every industry and every company culture is different," he says. "I’m far from dogmatic about applying what you could call the daily ‘standup routine’ to every business situation. I have, however, seen companies make revolutionary improvements from implementing this approach."   Board games Listening to a teacher talk about enhancing the customer’s experience or watching a video of how not to deal with complaints can be rather boring. As a result, employees won’t listen to what they are being told and could struggle to recall important information or principles. With this in mind, KFC decided to inject some fun into its customer service training program by commissioning students at Sullivan College of Technology and Design to create a board game. This would be rolled out to members of staff across 4,600 KFC stores in the United States in an attempt to improve attitudes and expertise. "For us, it was really exciting because students have unique ideas. They are not totally immersed in the corporate world. They think differently," said Kathy Gosser, director of breakthrough training and readiness at KFC. The game was based on Monopoly and required employees to answer certain questions while making their way around the board. But in addition to increasing enjoyment, the combined elements of competition and excitement are much more memorable than tedious classroom teaching. The same can be said for Wranx’s gamification model, which encourages employees to take part in various challenges and compete with colleagues to achieve a higher position on leaderboards.   Regular training exercises A lot can be said for implementing one or two training courses every year and having members of staff attend. However, some organisations might find it more beneficial to introduce regular training exercises, which constantly revisit the most crucial aspects of customer service.  Ideas include: Role-playing - Get employees to assume the position of a customer and act out real-life scenarios or situations. You can also ask members of staff to pair up, serve each other, rate performances and make suggestions.  Demonstrations - Get employees to demonstrate how they would deal with angry customers or unhappy patrons. You can also ask members of staff to explain product or service information, so other employees can fill gaps in their knowledge. Teamwork - Get employees to work with people they wouldn’t do normally, as this also helps your personnel learn. You can also ask members of staff from other departments to contribute their thoughts and opinions too.   Enduring tips Even though you can implement new and novel techniques or tactics to up skill your customer service staff, there are various foolproof and ensuring tips that any business can benefit from. Understand your customers - If you identify and recognise customer requirements, you’ll be in a better position to address their wants and needs. Harness the power of customer feedback - Don’t shy away from negative comments or criticism. Harness its potential and use customer feedback to your advantage. Set clear standards - Make sure your staff know what is required of them and provide constant reminders. Reward strong performers - Although this will maintain high standards, it can also encourage other members of staff to put more effort in too. Implement a culture of teamwork - Working as a team will improve overall efficiency and provide customers with a better experience. Establish objectives - Give members of staff some goals to work towards and provide rewards when they are met. Carry out performance reviews - Identify strengths, weaknesses and areas of improvement to enhance customer service. If your customer service staff receive adequate and appropriate training, the whole business is bound to benefit. However, some methods and approaches don’t always have the desired affect. But by adopting new tactics, introducing regular training exercises and implementing a few tried and tested techniques, then your training should deliver favourable results. Share this post with your own audience

Despite the fact that B2B sales training has good intentions, members of staff can struggle to see this. For them, it means being away from their desks and missing out on commissions to watch powerpoint presentations and listen to a lecturer. This doesn’t benefit anyone. The business will waste valuable capital on pointless teaching while employees will grow disillusioned with their job roles. Therefore, more and more organisations are starting to adjust their outlook on B2B sales training and adopt new approaches. But how can you get your workforce excited about training and more engaged when learning new skills or expertise? Well, here are some suggestions.   Inject excitement by introducing games While making lucrative sales and closing in on deals, your staff are bound to be quite animated and lively. They need to be enthusiastic about the company’s product or services and high-spirited in order to coax prospects into making a decision. But as soon as they enter a training environment, buoyant and bubbly personalities soon disappear, as the passive nature of most teaching methods is enough to make employees fall asleep. To address this problem, think about injecting excitement into training by introducing some games. Get your workforce out of their seats and devise some role-playing exercises or practical demonstrations. Another option is gamification, which can do wonders for incentivising and engaging your employees. Wranx uses sophisticated and science driven techniques that encourage focus and delivery but also entertain and amuse staff. What’s more, the gamification model capitalises on the human instinct of competition, which is a standard characteristic of most sales staff.   Take training online These days, sales staff don’t need to travel up and down the country or the other side of the world to speak to prospects. Instead, they can go online, set-up a videoconference, have face-to-face conversations and with any luck, complete those all-important sales. So, why should you conform to age-old training techniques as well? Chances are your members of staff won’t have a problem with learning about new sales strategies online, but they will surely take issue with conference room training. From making course information available online to developing cloud-based applications, there are numerous ways you can bring your B2B sales training up-to-speed with today’s digitally connected society. Another benefit of taking training online is staff can learn at a time and place that suits them. Wranx has a 100 per cent hosted solution, allowing you to make changes and adjustments remotely. Furthermore, it is extremely cost-effective thanks to a pay-user per-month model. Also, you can make it available everywhere because there is no need to install specialist software and you’ll never have to pay for upgrades or suffer from downtime.   Combine training and selling As mentioned previously, one of the reasons why B2B sales training doesn’t always work very effectively is because staff would prefer to be at their desks closing in on sales. During a presentation or demonstration, their minds could be elsewhere and they might not be fully focused on what is being said. Sales that are on the brink of being completed could quite easily fall through too. But combining training and selling isn’t as hard as you might think. Also, employees will be much happier and more engaged with training if they can pick it up at a convenient time. Wranx training solution is available on desktop, but also smartphones and tablets too. Whichever platform your employees choose to use, they can complete coaching and courses when there is a lull on the sales floor. On top of that, it will much easier to apply new skills and expertise if they are being taught in the same environment as sales.   Utilise the brain’s potential In standard training scenarios, your sales staff will receive an abundance of information in one go, which is often different to comprehend, remember and then apply at work. This doesn’t do anything for their motivation or engagement levels either, which will steadily decrease if the teachings they are receiving go in one ear and out the other. Thankfully, there is a solution. If you adopt a little and often training tactic, your sales staff will be much more receptive to teaching materials and benefit from increased learning at the same time. The technique known as spaced repetition takes advantage of the brain’s capacity to remember or learn new items when they are sporadically studied over a prolonged period. Wranx will provide your staff with short sharp quizzes every day to gain an understanding of how well they comprehend certain subjects.  This engages employees more than traditional tactics but will also increase their ability and aptitude at work.   Enduring strategies for sales training In addition to these approaches, which concentrate on increasing sales staff engagement, there are quite a few enduring training strategies that shouldn’t be forgotten about. These include: Coming up with a coherent strategy - Give your employees a framework, which they can reference when the buying process stalls. This will include things like documenting positive business news, making a case for the company, leveraging institutional resources and being proactive in their approach. Encouraging teamwork - Instead of focusing on specialised tasks for each and every team member, bring employees together and get them to work towards common goals. This in turn has the power and potential to create customer value and increase bottom-line conversions. Focusing on improvement - Even if you’ve managed to secure a winning strategy, it might not be equally effective six months down the line. So, always be open to improvement and constantly revisit the skill set of your staff. Using data - You might be surprised at how data can enhance and improve B2B sales training. Better metrics can deliver results you might not have previously expected, so dig deep and get data that improves your employee’s expertise but also adds to the customer’s overall experience.   Making B2B sales training more engaging Through gamification, online applications, on-the-job teaching and revolutionary learning techniques, it is possible to make B2B sales training more engaging. Just make sure that any training fits in with your employee’s daily routine and their attitude towards the job, as failure to do so can result in boredom and a lack of enthusiasm. But even if you do manage to implement more interesting and appealing training, don’t forget about tried and tested strategies that have been proven to work time and time again. These include the benefits of a strategy, the importance of teamwork, the need to improve and the value of data.  Share this post with your own audience

Despite the fact that several of us have trouble remembering certain facts or recalling moments in time, some people believe that the human brain is capable of retaining an infinite amount of information. For quite some time, neuroscientists have attempted to quantitatively measure how much our brains can store. But even if they manage to draw accurate conclusions, there are certain individuals that buck these verdicts, as they have demonstrated remarkable cognitive feats with their atypical minds.   The capacity to remember Nowadays, most of us own a mobile phone or have the resources to look up contact details of friends and family members, which means we don’t need to remember telephone numbers anymore. However, if you asked Chao Lu of China to memorise and recall your address book, he would probably stand a fairly good chance. In 2005, the 24-year-old graduate student managed to remember 67,980 digits of pi in a 24-hour stretch and didn’t even take a bathroom break. In addition to just numbers, certain intellectuals can also call to mind complex visual scenes or in-depth details about previous events. But this isn’t always down to training the mind through hours of study. Acquired savant syndrome is when healthy people suffer an injury and suddenly gain incredible recollection powers. Take Orlando Serrell for example, who was hit with a baseball when he was 10-years-old, but then developed the ability to remember license plates and compute complex calendric items.   The science behind memory If you wanted to quantify the brain’s capacity to remember, you could match-up memories with the amount of neurons we have, which is approximately 100 billion. However, this doesn’t allow for much information according to Paul Reber, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University. "If you could have as many memories as neurons, that’s not a very big number," he says. "You’d run out of space in your brain pretty fast." Because of this, most researchers believe memories are formed in the connections between neurons and across neural networks. The architecture of neurons, which form extensions in and out of a central hub, makes various memories readily available to recall. This web-like structure gives us "exponential storage" notes Reber and our capacity to remember "goes through the roof." He also believes our potential storage "gets into the several petabyte range," which equates to thousands of years of MP3 song files.   What makes memory champions different? So, if everyone’s brain has the ability to create numerous neuron connections, why can some people remember information better than others? Well, memory champions and record holders claim they are no different to anyone else and have simply trained their brains. A USA Memory Championship winner has even revealed that his memory was terrible before becoming a mental athlete, with practice making the difference. "Within weeks of training, maybe even less, you’re doing something that seems almost impossible to the normal person," says Nelson Dellis. "We all have this skill within us." Before starting his routine of cerebral workouts, Dellis could memorise a deck of cars in 20 minutes. But since becoming a recollection prize-winner, which requires up to five hours of training a day, he can now do this in less than 30 seconds.   How to increase the mind’s memory Dellis says that he uses well-known and long-established techniques to commit items to his mind, which includes building a memory palace. By taking a property or home you know well, it is possible to position items you want to remember on the kitchen counter or dining room table. "You mentally navigate yourself through that space and pick up those images you left there and translate them back to what you memorised," cites Dellis. Those who can remember lots of random numbers also use similar tactics, but will instead string digits together into a story, which can be read silently in the mind. And although anybody can potentially adopt these strategies, there is a lot of interest in whether the memory can be improved and enhanced without having to put so much work in.   Changing the way our minds work With the right technology, it might be possible to unlock our inner savant according to Allen Snyder, the director of the Centre for the Mind at the University of Sydney. He believes we operate on a high level of conceptual thinking, rather than concentrating on smaller details. He believes "we are conscious of the whole and not the parts that make it up," which could be a result of evolution, as we needed to identify predatory threats quickly. But if we can avoid elevating data to a conscious level in the brain, we might be able to remember individual details more easily. This "privileged access" is what savants benefit from. Snyder looked closely at cases of acquired savant syndrome and identified the left anterior temporal lobe as a particularly interesting area of the brain. Dysfunction here is linked to newfound artistic and musical abilities in people with autism, dementia and savant syndrome. In his research and experiments, Snyder has developed a "thinking cap" that generates magnetic fields to stimulate the left anterior temporal lobe. Although patients demonstrated improved drawing, proofreading and counting skills, it remains to be seen whether technology can noticeable enhance long-term memory.   Processing information into memories Even if the brain’s ability to remember has no limitations, it is clear that we aren’t capable of memorising and recalling every piece of information that comes our way. But why is this? Well, Snyder believes it "has something to do with the economy of information processing," while Reber also concedes that there is a "bottleneck coming from our senses into our memory." So, perhaps the most important thing to bear in mind is that the brain should be viewed in terms of speed, not in terms of capacity. "It’s not that our brains are full," Reber says. "The information we’re experiencing comes in faster than the memory system can write it all down." Share this post with your own audience

Seeing as the financial industry has received a fair bit of criticism and negative press in recent years, banks are finding it more and more difficult to attract customers and achieve sales. Certain sections of the general pubic are becoming increasingly disillusioned with how the city works and don’t have much faith in the majority of today’s biggest banking institutions. On top of that, most customers prefer to bank online, as this is much easier and convenient. Few have the time or inclination to go into their local branch in order to see account statements, apply for a loan, transfer money or speak to an adviser. Therefore, new and novel approaches are often required to gain trust and secure business. But how can this be achieved? Well, it starts with training and coaching your sales team. These employees remain pivotal to a bank’s success, even if numerous branches are deciding to adjust their operating models so that sales staff double up as cashiers or customer service representatives. Changes like this might improve efficiency, but they will do little to increase turnover and boost bottom-line performance. This is only possible by having a confident and competent sales team, capable of taking prospects through the buying process and closing those all important deals. To achieve this aspiration, you’ll have to recognise current trends, identify prosperous areas, come up with a strategy and perhaps most significantly, train your sales staff.   Current banking trends Rather than thinking of ways to adjust your offering in response to online banking, you need to embrace this technology instead. Not only can this enhance the customer’s experience, it has the power to boost revenue as well. According to research by the executive team of a large US bank, implementing an enterprise lead and referral management system can mean an additional $1.5 billion (£1bn) for large banks and $500 million (£340m) for mid-size banks. Despite this promise of profit, the 2012 Forbes Secret Shopper Study of 10,000 companies revealed that obstacles in the way of cross-team collaboration at traditional banks contributed to 63 per cent of leads falling through the cracks. Even more alarming, these were not followed up on either. But by using digital tools and changing the behaviour of staff through training, you can take little known prospects, gain information about them, understand their intrinsic requirements and achieve favourable results. This involves using the right marketing channels, prioritising hot leads, taking appropriate action, closing the deal and recognising their valued custom. However, these concepts won’t be familiar to scores of staff used to traditional methods of selling banking products. This is why training matters.   Asking questions To make the most of leads you identify through methods like email marketing, walk-in contacts, mobile apps and customer referrals, you’ll need to take a step back and make sure your sales team has the same outlook towards improving performance as you. Ask questions such as:   How much time is your team spending on selling? Find out whether customer service inquiries or credit administration is taking up too much time. See if they’d prefer to spend their time on new client acquisitions instead. What contact does your team have with customers? If they are still meeting face-to-face with loyal customers in branch, then training can continue to focus on walk-in business. Never forget that existing clientele are just as important as new patrons. Are they allocating their time correctly? Even though all customers should be treated with the same levels of respect and regards, more time might need to be allocated to prospects with high potential. How often do you discuss performance with your team? Regular sales meetings can help to improve results, while giving employees the opportunity to offer up suggestions at the same time.  Do they have the tools to succeed? This will include training resources, industry information, market data and sales pitch books. How can you improve staff ability? Look into different forms of teaching and coaching. If customers are banking online, should your training go digital as well?   This last question is particularly pivotal, as bank sales staff might not be very receptive to traditional methods of training. Due to the nature of their roles and responsibilities, chances are they’ll be more interested in hands-on or practical activities. This can include challenging games that create competition between employees, role-playing real-life scenarios to understand the customer’s point of view and team-building exercises, which enable knowledge to be shared across your workforce. Training online can also be much convenient, because your employees will be able to start and complete coaching at a time and place that suits them. Alternatively, training can take place in the office on desktop computers, which doesn’t remove staff from their primary role.   Implementing changes Once you and your sales team understand what the customer wants and how to satisfy these requirements, you can start to implement some changes. These will attempt to improve the customer’s experience but also secure more product sales. Think about the following five changes:   Set performance goals Establish the current state of branch sales and set goals that go above and beyond this. Don’t forget to measure and monitor the performance of individual employees as well as the entire branch.  Forecast demand Even if walk-in numbers are dwindling, you can ask branches to forecast demand and propose staff scheduling accordingly. This means staff won’t have to perform cashier duties when they should be closing in on deals. Look forward, not back Owing to the fact that the landscape of banking has dramatically changed over the last decade, don’t look back on historical performance, as this is no longer relevant. Instead, look forward and adjust your strategy with today’s clientele in mind. Schedule activities To manage the time of employees more effectively, schedule specific activities for your sales staff. You can also leverage excess cashier capacity for duties such as outbound calling to maximise productivity. Learn from mistakes Nobody quite knows what the future has in store for banking sales staff, but rather than lamenting mistakes relating to performance and training, learn from them. The public’s attitude towards banking is changing and scores of people now prefer to manage their accounts online. This means that sales staff are facing an uphill struggle when trying to promote financial products and services. But embracing today’s digital age and giving your employees the tools to enhance their understanding of sales can deliver success. Share this post with your own audience

Effective leadership can be make or break for an organisation. Having someone who is great at their job heading up a business is just what it needs to move in the right direction, but as with every role, it’s essential not to stop learning. The fact is that the corporate world is changing all the time, bringing new challenges that even the most experienced of leaders can find it difficult to overcome. This is where training really comes into its own. Staying ahead of the curve and being able to deal even with the most contemporary of challenges is just what a business needs to remain relevant and competitive. Of course, a competitive business will also see its sales increase, not least because customers recognise the added value that is on offer. Getting to this stage, however, requires ongoing training for even the most effective of managers. Here are some areas in which you might want to focus your attention for improved sales success.   Get recruitment right The first step to boosting sales is to make sure you have the right staff on side. This may involve taking a closer look at your recruitment strategies, and if there is room for improvement, deciding where changes need to be made. Not everyone is an expert on how to find the right staff, so this is an area where you may feel the need to enhance your skills. Having the best team on board could play a key role in better long term sales performance.   Define roles Any successful sales team needs its members to have clearly defined roles. This gives everyone a true sense of what is expected of them, as well as what part they can play in moving the company towards its sales goals. It’s important to take a fresh look at what everyone is doing once in a while. Does one member of staff have talents that might be put to better use elsewhere? Or could a new employee learn new skills by being in a particular team? Sales departments should always be developing, and it’s your role as a good leader to make sure these changes are made in a way that helps improve a business in the long run.   Know how to delegate Some leaders can find it difficult to trust their staff with specific tasks, but delegation is essential to the success of any company. There are going to be times when you’re not around to keep an eye on what’s going on, so knowing how to delegate effectively is a key management trait. There’s a strong chance that some employees may have particular skills that are ultimately going to boost your sales - so give them the opportunity to use them. Taking a step back is something any management training course will teach you, and with good reason.   Embrace technology It is not uncommon for leaders to take a reluctant approach to technology, but in reality it could make a real difference to your bottom line. Cloud-based training has become increasingly popular and provides a flexible and simple way of learning that any leader will be able to adopt. Taking on people who can help deploy these systems and keep them operating effectively is a wise move. However, you will need to fully understand them yourself if you are going to use the technology to improve sales and gain a better overview of your business.   Offer training to staff Workplace training is one way of ensuring staff are developing their skills, which could ultimately lead to an increase in sales. It pays to know exactly what they are going to learn from the course you assign them to, which is why e-learning products might be a better option. You can see for yourself exactly what employees are likely to gain from their studies, as well as assess how it will translate to improvements in your business. Training in this area will show what packages are right for your firm, before you decide which one to introduce to your workforce.   Improve your image Are you one of those bosses who spends all day sat behind their desk, letting other members of staff get on with their daily duties? While this might seem like an effective way of running a business, in reality it could be alienating your workforce. Adopting an open-door policy or holding regular training sessions could be just what you need to give a more personable impression. Sales staff in particular are more likely to work harder for a boss they appreciate than someone they rarely see.   Keep everyone in the loop Another sure fire way to alienate staff is to not keep them up to date with what’s happening in the company. After all, they each play their own important part in its success, so why not let them know how well the business is performing? Training is available on how to put together effective and motivational presentations. If this isn’t something you have considered before, it could be a good way of getting staff on side and encouraging them to put their all into their sales roles. Share this post with your own audience