Maintain high sales numbers and satisfy your customer’s needs at the same time by using these Top 5 Sales Commandments. There are many rules of thumb to follow in any sales process. As a salesperson, your ultimate goal is to maintain high numbers while satisfying your customer’s needs. There are five simple sales commandments that will help you do both - in every sale. One: Sell Relationships. There is no such thing as a single sale. Businesses have come to depend on repeat customers and word of mouth. So instead of selling a product, sell a relationship and trust. Let the customer know that you will be there the next time they have a need, and explain why your range of products can help them in the future. Your customer will come back - and they will tell others. Two: Sell value through benefits. At times it’s easy to lapse into a list of features for any product or service. It’s important to know the benefit of each product feature and communicate that to your customer. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes: do you really want to know the details of the feature? Customers want to know what’s in it for them, so set your presentation toward that goal. Show the customer how they’ll benefit from using your product or service - draw a mental picture of what they’ll look like, feel like, or be able to do once they purchase it. Three: Sell to emotion. People buy products and services for emotional reasons. One of the most well known direct sales letters asked a life insurance prospect who was going to fill his shoes if he was no longer around. Who would take care of his children? Would his family be able to stay in their home and pay their bills if he passed away suddenly? Think about your customer’s emotions and sell in a way that taps into them. If you’re selling a high-end sports car, you’re not selling the double-wishbone suspension system - you’re selling the exhilaration of cornering at 120 miles per hour. Four: Be subtle. People buy for emotional reasons but still do not like to be "sold", what they what to do it "buy". You can sell using benefits and emotions, but if your prospect gets one whiff of a "sales pitch" or a hard sell, he or she is going to run. So be subtle - use the benefits and emotions carefully. Talk to your prospect as if you’re friends having lunch or having a beer. Use everyday language but continue to show your prospect the benefits. Be personal - but maintain the subtlety. Five: Justify a sale with rationale. Your customers will buy based on benefit and emotion. But to avoid buyer’s remorse, strengthen the sale with a rationale. If you were selling a health supplement, you could recap all the benefits and then put the financial details of the sale on different terms, such as "… for less than $1 a day you can have increased stamina and better digestion". The insurance sales letter mentioned earlier used the daily price for peace of mind as the rationale for buying the policy. Whatever you do, make sure your customer feels like they’ve made a rational, beneficial choice. Remember these five commandments as you’re embarking on your next sales presentation. You customer will buy based on benefits, emotions, and rationale -and he or she will come back each time there’s a need. Keywords Related Posts:Five Focuses For SalesAccount PlanningThe 29 Costly Implications of Losing CustomersThe 29 Costly Implications of Losing CustomersSales Performance Analysis

Keep your training department and its customers knowledgeable by avoiding the Top Ten Training Myths. Training departments are sometimes viewed as being out of touch with the rest of the organization. Because of this, beliefs or myths about training, its functions, and its results tend to develop both within the department and outside it. To keep your training department and its customers knowledgeable, avoid these ten training myths. One: If training content is exactly the same each time, each group of participants will end up with the same knowledge. We can take every precaution to make sure training is delivered exactly the same every time - it’s a good practice and will maintain consistency. But remember that adults learn differently. Your learners will "hear" different things, focus on different aspects of the material, and lose focus at different times. Don’t promise managers that everyone will know the same thing. Instead, give them an overall picture of what is covered in the material. Two: Training is the solution for all business problems, including employee performance. There is a tendency in many organizations to blame the training process for organizational problems. Your job is to dispel this myth by conducting research when there is a problem. Some dysfunction could be related to the employee, a manager, or even a process. Determine what could cause your organization’s problems and be ready to analyze them - but don’t give in to the myth that simply by delivering training you’ll solve the problem. Three: All training results can be qualified in ROI (Return on Investment). If you need to prove your worth through ROI, start with the things that can be quantified, like reduction in errors or cost of training. When you deliver soft skills training, it’s very difficult to quantify the results in dollars and cents - and you should remind your stakeholders of this myth. Four: Any trainer can design training. There are quite a few myths related to who can actually work in training. To begin with, not everyone can deliver training effectively. In that regard, not all of your instructional staff will be able to design training courses. A potential training designer must have an excellent sense of order, appealing design, and understand adult learning concepts. When you look for this in a person, you will find it. When you assume that because they are a good trainer, they will also be a good designer, you will be disappointed. Five: Anyone can be a trainer. Just because an employee is a great salesperson does not mean that he or she will be able to teach others how to sell. A potential trainer must have an innate ability to teach and coach without alienating or making an employee feel uncomfortable. It’s not wise to blindly pull people in to deliver training - examine their true ability and you will pick the winners. Six: We do not need anything more than new hire training. Some industries have major turnover in frontline positions - in those situations, new hire training takes a very important role. But what about the people who stay? Do you offer them anything to help make the next career level? Do you offer recurrent training, other than what is required by the company or by law? The answer should be "yes". Develop programs that motivate and inspire the new hire as well as the balance of your staff and you’ll be able to retain those employees who’ve stayed with it. Seven: Elearning is a babysitter. Back in high school, reel-to-reel films, VCR tapes, and even DVD’s were sometimes used to "babysit" students. This is not the case with elearning. Elearning is a viable, powerful tool to reach employees. You’ll be surprised at the number of people who will retain new material from an elearning intervention. If your organization does not yet support elearning, promise them you’ll get results. With well-designed and well placed elearning programs, you will. Eight: Employees don’t mind taking training on their own time. Most employees, from the frontline to managers, do not like to take training on their own time. Managers willingly do it because that’s what they’re expected to do. Offer training during working hours, even if the hours are not a typical nine to five schedule. If you expect employees to take courses outside of their normal hours, be prepared to pay them. Nine: If you build it, they will come. A training center with state of the art technology is not enough to pack your classrooms. However quality training and good word of mouth is enough. Before you build or refit a training center, examine the quality of your training first. When all of your training is high quality, only then consider upgrading your facility. Ten: Elearning is going to put classroom trainers out of a job. This myth has two sides: trainers, who are afraid, and purse-stakeholders, who are hoping it’s true. Why pay trainers when we can deliver everything online? This is a dangerous myth. Elearning must deliver suitable material. It’s that simple. As long as real people are doing your jobs, you will need classroom training to establish relationships, coach, and give real-time examples. If you avoid and dispel these myths, your training department will gain credibility and your management will support what you do. Related Posts:Top 10 Training MistakesTraining Mojo: Developing a Culture of Training by Getting…eLearning: Developing Internally vs. Licensing ExternallyRole of the Trainer: EngagementTop 10 Training Metrics

When it’s time to coach a team member, these 10 Coaching Commandments can help you create an effective session that gets results. Coaching is an often underused but powerful tool. It’s underused because coaching is sometimes associated with negative situations, but you can also use coaching for positive behaviors. Coaching can encourage, set new direction, or establish authority. When you make the determination to coach a team member, here are the 10 Coaching Commandments that you should keep in each session. One: Recognize good work. It’s easy to forget that a coaching session can be a pat on the back - a reminder that someone is heading in the right direction. Be on the lookout for corrective coaching, but always remember to look for opportunities for coaching the good work. Two: Coach not-so-good work. This is an obvious commandment, but it’s too often overlooked! You may tend to stray away from coaching in a gray area - sometimes it may be easier to watch the employee make a mistake before saying something. Overcome your discomfort and take the time to coach - you may find that one session can point a wayward person back to the right path. Three: Coach in private. Have you ever watched a coaching intervention occur in a public or accessible location? This type of interaction can damage a manager’s credibility - not only for the person being coached but also for anyone who saw the exchange. Use an office, a conference room, or a room with one door for control, but make your interaction private. Four: Obtain commitment. It’s simple to explain why you’re taking the time to coach and then finish the interaction. By asking the "coachee" what he or she is going to do to improve the situation, you’re gaining a commitment. You’re also showing the person that you want their input on the expected improvement. Five: Beware of distractions. If you have to coach a negative, look out for intentional or unintentional diversions or digressions, such as bringing up what other employees are doing or using an emotional plea. As the coach, it’s easy to lose focus and to go along with the digression without even realizing it. Focus on the behavior that’s being coached and how the "coachee" can make improvements. Six: Focus on specific behaviors. This commandment applies to coaching for good work and bad work. If you say, "John, I’d like to thank you. You’re doing a great job", will John know exactly what he did right? Be specific: "John, I’d like to thank you for getting yesterday’s orders out on time with no errors." The same applies for negative behaviors. Seven: Be aware of your body language. Coaching a negative behavior can bring out the worst body language - the kind you may not even be aware of. Focus on maintaining eye contact, keeping your hands and feet stationary, and breathing normally. Combined with the right words, this tactic can create a positive environment for the coaching as well as a positive outcome for a negative situation. Eight: Recognize a "dead end". Coaching is effective only if it brings about a change in behaviors or attitudes. If you continuously coach without seeing results, you may have to face the fact that your "coachee" is not planning on or is committed to improving. This kind of "dead-end" should move into the possibilities of corrective action. It’s a good idea to consult with Human Resources when you’ve made several coaching attempts without results. Nine: Determine ability and willingness. Entire coaching programs are built on these two aspects. If you’re looking for a specific improvement, examine the "coachee" to ascertain his or her true ability to carry out the task. You must also look at willingness - is this person really going to commit or is he or she telling you what you want to hear? If ability is the issue, determine how to get the person to the right level. If willingness is the issue, explore the situation to find out why.  Ten: Believe that what a person does matters to you. This is the most important coaching commandment. You must believe in the contribution of every member of your team, in each person’s ability, and in the humanity of each person. If you do not care what the person does, he or she will know this. Show that what your "coachee" does is important to you - not only because of your business, but because you’re a leader who cares.  The next time you have the opportunity to coach, remember these commandments. You’ll be able to manage an effective coaching session - and make a difference to the team member. Related Posts:Top 10 Coaching CommandmentsWhen Coaching FailsCoaching as a Training Resource7-Steps to Creating a Mentor / Coaching Program - Step One: What Are Your Goals?7-Steps to Creating a Coaching and Mentoring Program Two: Design the Program

This past month has been a busy one.  I have found myself in discussions with a number of companies that are seeking a Chief Learning Officer (CLO), or the equivalent.  Many of the discussions have originated with the company’s need to move their internal training; up from some ad hoc structure into a more highly systematized educational system. What has surprised me is the hesitancy of the companies in taking the ‘step’ to a true training program, and hiring the CLO who would be responsible for it.  It seems that many of these firms [and their management] look at training as a ‘cost center’ and has minor or irrelevant impact on the profitability of the firm.   They could not be more mistaken. It has been my response to point out the four main attributes to a high-end training program.  These attributes are often overlooked and lost on management.  The reasons for the short-sightedness may be many, but seem to cluster around: 1) Rapid ramp-up for new employees — getting them up-to speed in dramatically quick fashion.  Far to many companies do not recognize or even tracking the value of taking new hires and fail to measure the value in  reducing the time it takes to make them proficient and revenue creating.  Far to many management teams treat this function as an HR program.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  This is a sales and marketing matter.  Improving the time it takes to making an employee a revenue generating component is not only measurable but valuable to the bottom line. 2) Systematized and consistent training programs are almost none existent.  Most internal programs are thrown together by various departments.  These ad hoc programs have little or no metrics attributed to the training courses. Sometimes these are management by the HR department, but are usually slapped together by some HR person with involvement of the other departments (sales, customer support, development, etc.). By creating a consistent program, companies have the ability to cross-pollinate skills, successful attributes and actions, and best practices. 3) Linking training with business goals. Since most of these companies programs are not systematized, nor tracked, it becomes close to impossible to link the training with ongoing business goals.  A structured training program allows for true alignment between what is taught to the staff and their business and revenue objectives. Finally, 4) the employee development is just overlooked.  Most ‘act’ as if employee development will happened organically without any assistance.  What a shame it is that these companies fail to improve and enhance their single most valuable asset… their people.  A primary goal is for CLOs to encourage their employers to investigate what competencies will make them successful and then align development programs with their strategic objectives. The role and primary responsibility of a Chief Learning Officer is to manage these 4 primary responsibilities for the corporation.  By creating and managing the training program, new hire preparedness is rapidly improved and productivity is achieved earlier by a consistent and systematized program.  The CLO, by systematizing the training, will insure that every employee has a universally approved introduction to the company and to the culture that it offers. They work to insure that all staff  are equipped to perform their job functions at a base-line that is measurable and manageable.  By creating the metrics with performance and training, the CLO insures that training is aligned with the overall business goals of the company. The CLO position is NOT a sales management position, nor is it primarily a HR position.  It should be thought of as the compliment, ‘the training yang to the sales yin’.  One without the other is incomplete.  They feed and build on each other.  Once a company’s management understands this, the ability to take the step towards true growth, in people and revenue, are accelerated. Related Posts:6 Reasons Why Corporate Training Programs FailTop 10 Training MetricsTraining Mojo: How to Align Training Metrics with Company…Corporate Training Choices ExplainedLeading High Performance Teams

There are many types of corporate training.  People often ask what type of training is best. While on the surface, it may seem that there is a reasonable response, the program is more problematic.  Each type of training has inherent strengths and weaknesses.  Sometimes the question of which type of training is best is correctly answered by the identification with an assessment of the needs-based purpose for the training. With each of the following training systems, I have provided a brief explanation and a summary of the pros and cons for each. Manual (self-training): The presentation of material, hopefully organized, is generally given to a staff member to basically self train.  A summary of this training system are: Strengths: Cheap & Easy Weaknesses: Inability to measure learning. Requires self-imposed focus Little interaction On-the-Job Training (OJT): Generally used by many corporations for training.  It is a mix of manual training, combined with direct oversight by a mix of management and experienced staff.  Strengths: Cheap & Easy Direct oversight Built in mentoring Weaknesses: Not uniform training Lowers productivity of the trainer during the ramp-up cycle Subjective metrics Computer Based Training (CBT): This has been previously thought of as a ‘holy-grail’ of a system.  The preparation and presentation of material, delivered to the student/staff for presentation and preparation of material and concepts.  The student takes the delivered CD-ROM disks and can participate in the training in geographically dispersed staff. Strengths: Access to uniform training Access to world-class trainers Flexible delivery and presentation Measured delivery in easy to absorb slices of material Weaknesses: Limited learning metrics Inability to measure participation Limited interaction Quickly outdated material Expensive production Web Based Training (eLearning): This is a system of training that greatly expands the process of presentation of training.  It is delivered via a Learning Management System, that contains numerous courses.  The student is capable of interacting with the system via any web browser. Strengths: Access to uniform training Access to world class trainers Felixable delivery & presentation Measured delivery in easy to absorb material segments Measurable metrics on both pre and post delivery Instantly updated material, eliminating outdated or discarded concepts/information Ability to create certification programs which can elevate the education cycle Weaknesses: Limited interaction with staff Limited interaction among staff On-site Seminars by Consultant: This system generally is done for specialty job categories. The rapid development of this type of program insures a swift implementation of this type of training.  It is delivered by outside trainers in internal corporate facilities. Strengths: Rapid Curriculum development High interaction with students/staff Highly specialized training with specific doctrine skillfulness Non-biased delivery of material Student participation is higher and staff experiences shared Allows for face-time and un-interrupted communication amount staff Weaknesses: Cost of the Consultants Cost of Equipment Cost of traveling Difficult to coordinate staff attendance Disruption of schedules Limited metrics Day long classes, causing limited attention and absorption of material On-site Seminars by Internal Staff: This method of training has been greatly employed by companies both large and small. It is generally conducted by internal staff in a corporate facility. Strengths: Rapid Curriculum development High interaction with students/staff Highly specialized training Student participation is higher and experienced shared Allows for face-time and un-interrupted communication amount staff Student participation is higher and staff experiences shared Allows for face-time and un-interrupted communication amount staff Weaknesses: Cost of traveling Cost of equipment Difficult to coordinate staff attendance Disruption of schedules Biased delivery of curriculum Limited metrics Day long classes, causing limited attention and absorption of material Off-site Courses at Training Centers: Generally thought of as a system of training that is centrally located for all attendees.  Training Centers are correctly prepared with both equipment and trainers for most Strengths: High interaction with students/staff Highly specialized training Student participation is higher and experienced shared Allows for face-time and un-interrupted communication amount staff Allows for face-time and un-interrupted communication amount staff Weaknesses: Cost of traveling Disruption of schedules Day long classes, causing limited attention and absorption of material Webinars:  These are seminars conducted via a web browser. These courses are a combination of audio, video and other multi-media presentation. Allows for feedback and guest participation. They allow for highly targeted delivery and participation by attendees. Strengths: High interaction with students/staff Highly specialized training Student participation is higher and measurable Allows for both internal and consultant presentation Recordable and re-deliverable to extended staff Limited disruption of schedules Weaknesses: Loss of face-to-face interaction by staff Limited metrics gauging participation and knowledge of students/staff Seminars: These are high profile celebrity seminars. They are presented by professional speakers or executives.  They are primarily off-site at convention centers or large training centers. Strengths: Celebrity presenters Easy to appraise Student participation is higher and staff experiences shared Allows for out-of-the-box presentation of ideas. Weaknesses: Cost of traveling Disruption of schedules Day long classes, causing limited attention and absorption of material Un-measurable assessments of presentation While all of these educational systems have attributes that appeal to different objectives, it is my opinion that a mix of many of these systems is generally most effective. Irrespective of what a company seeks to train its staff on, the essential ability to unceasing feedback will direct which mix of programs they employ.  For me, a balanced mix of CBT and eLearning, along with webinars and class-room training, provide the highest return on staff training. Related Posts:What Determines Value in Training?6 Reasons Why Corporate Training Programs FailBuilding a Corporate University: StaffingTraining Mojo: How to Align Training Metrics with Company…Role of the Trainer: Engagement

It is with a sad note that I am the learning physician that has to declare that elearning (as it now exists) is dead.  I am positive that many of you are going to say "WHAT"?   eLearning has had a long illustrious life.  As a baby, it was nothing more than a mail-order course delivered to interested individuals.  As it grew up, the teenage years were expressed as computer-based-learning programs that were sent by disk.  This was a huge expansion to the development of elearning as a youth.  It created a distribution process that was previously unparallelled.  It was a great youth experience. As an adult, elearning showed its capabilities when it was delivered on the internet.  With its capability to be available 24/7 and global delivery, it was just about everything that one could possibly hope for. As it aged, it learned new tools to increase engagement.  It successfully changed it self from paper reading to computer screen reading to browser based reading, but it still was nothing more than reading on a different platform.  It did learn to add some fancy graphics as well as some novel java and flash tools to increase engagement, but it continued to suffer from a position of isolation.  There was not much it could do that would to engage a collective of participants. This isolation is what caused it’s unfortunate death.  It reached millions of individuals, but could not  find a way to assist them to learn as a group or community.  eLearning is is mourned by its spouse Content Creation Tools and their children MOOC, edx, Coursera and udacity.   Related Posts:Adult Education vs. Corporate eLearningeLearning: Developing Internally vs. Licensing ExternallyBenefits and Potential Drawbacks of Internal eLearningBenefits and Potential Drawbacks of External eLearningEngaging Participants 4: Virtual Engagement

In its race with Amazon, Rackspace Hosting’s struggle over the open-source cloud computing has been epic.  The two firms compete heavily with each other over the emergence of each of there computing platforms.  Rackspace has promoted its OpenStack platform to corporate clients, just as Amazon has been doing.  As tech heavyweights throw their support behind one or the other, the growth for both firms have been massive. Both firms struggle to finding enough technical workers with any experience with "cloud computing" skills.  These are the skills necessary to take the various computer languages and install them into the infrastructure of these cloud-based platforms.  Universities and colleges have limited or no programs dealing with these cutting-edge technical skills. To solve this problem, Rackspace is launching the Open Cloud Academy.  The Open Cloud Academy will offer a number of educational programs that will provide students certifications in these cloud-based technologies.  Rackspace Chairman, Graham Weston says; "The Open Cloud Academy can help turn the tide by offering highly sought after technical training to the public, bolstering the this scarce pipeline and helping fill the countless number of roles in San Antonio and beyond." What I hope is that this message is heard loud and clear by all of the firms lamenting the lack of qualified applicants.  Relying on universities and colleges to provide the necessary skills for today’s demanding business environment is not going to happen.  Companies need to create and develop their own learning academies to train specific and critical skill sets for their workers. Copyright 2013 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved. Bryant Nielson - Managing Director of CapitalWave Inc.- offers 25+ years of training and talent management for executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a entrepreneur, trainer, and strategic training adviser for many organizations. Bryant’s business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering the individual. Learn more about Bryant at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bryantnielson     Related Posts:Barriers to ongoing Continuing and Professional DevelopmentMOOCs: From the Classroom to the Conference RoomMOOC: The King is Dead - Long Live the KingMOOCs in the corporate worldDisruption to the Continuing and Professional Development…

The History Channel has released a clip about the training programs employed by the Soviets in the 1960′s. What makes this interesting is a Ukrainian marine mammal program that is training dolphins to do the same thing currently.  What makes this more relevant is the three of these Ukrainian Killer Dolphins are on the loose in the Black Sea.  Here is an article from Business Insider on this story. Related Posts:The Future of Learning is a MOOC10 YouTube Videos Every Entrepreneur Should WatchDeveloping Skills through GamificationDid you know?MOOC: The King is Dead - Long Live the King

SYKESVILLE, Md., Mar 01, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) — GSE Systems, Inc. (nyse mkt:GVP) has published a new white paper titled "The Case for Simulation-Based Training in the Oil and Gas Industry, Upstream and Downstream". The document examines the need for efficient and effective workforce development in the oil and gas industry worldwide to combat the acute shortage of skilled workers both upstream and downstream. "Statistics show that U.S. universities are producing only about 20 percent of the engineering graduates they did 20 years ago," said Jim Eberle, Chief Executive Officer of GSE Systems. "Thus, the petroleum industry needs to train its recruits better and faster on systems that are more complex than ever before. They also need to make sure that they retain those recruits over the long term. New innovations in simulation-based training will allow industry trainers to accomplish these goals in less time with lower costs." The white paper examines the causes and characteristics of the skills gap in the oil and gas industry, including size and scope. It also provides an overview of the market for simulation-based training, including learning approaches, assessments of effectiveness, and operating and financial benefits to companies. Readers will learn why simulation-based training, prefaced with traditional classroom training methods on process fundamentals, is the most efficient and cost effective way to educate new employees and prepare them for their work in a refinery or on an exploration and production (E&P) platform. The white paper is free as a direct download at www.gses.com/resources/white-papers. About GSE Systems, Inc. GSE Systems, Inc. is a world leader in real-time high-fidelity simulation, providing a wide range of simulation, training and engineering solutions to the energy and process industries. Its comprehensive and modular solutions help customers achieve performance excellence in design, training and operations. GSE’s products and services are tailored to meet specific client requirements such as scope, budget and timeline. The Company has over four decades of experience, more than 1,100 installations, and hundreds of customers in over 50 countries spanning the globe. GSE Systems is headquartered in Sykesville (Baltimore), Maryland, with offices in St. Marys, Georgia; Madison, New Jersey; Cary, North Carolina; Chennai, India; Nykoping, Sweden; Stockton-on-Tees, UK; Glasgow, UK; and Beijing, China. Information about GSE Systems is available at www.gses.com. Related Posts:Gamified Applications for TrainingBenefits of Using SimulationsSimulation ComponentsBuilding a Corporate University: AssessmentUsing Simulations in Corporate Training

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