Sales is what runs the business world. If you don’t have sales your business isn’t going to be going anywhere. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling an item such as a refrigerator, books or automobiles or services such as automotive servicing, pool cleaning and the like – all of these will need sales to keep it going.

Of course, when we talk about sales we are bound to talk about the sales team. After all, without a sales team, you wouldn’t have people who will sell the products or services you are offering. That’s why they are called the sales team – because they are the ones who will sell for you.

Whether you have a sales team or whether it’s just you and your brother one thing is very important – you need to know what it is you’re doing. Yes, sales are all about selling but it’s not just that. You need to be able to know what you have to do so you can be professional when you’re in front of the customer.

This means you need to have a trained sales team!

This is important because having a sales team who are trained to be as effective as they can be can do a lot not just for your business and you as the employer but also for the employee as well.

That said the concept of sales is not necessarily an academic pursuit. Rather it is based on experience and an understanding of the psychology of customers – their wants and their needs. Having your sales team trained for this can go a long way in making your business successful.

What’s in it for you?

As the employer and as the business itself you get a lot out of training your sales team. These benefits go a long way in making sure your business stay afloat and ahead of your competitors.

• You get more sales. That’s because a well-trained sales team will always outperform a non-trained one. There are a lot of good reasons for this. For one thing, a trained sales team knows how to send their message across without sounding pushy.

That’s because they know how to blend their sales talk with that of informing the customer on the merits and demerits of the products they are selling. Doing so gives the customer the sense that the salesperson is helping them instead of just pushing a sales on them.

Then there’s the customer’s psychology. A trained salesperson will be able to recognize the signs on whether the customer is on the hook or not. By knowing this they will be able to adjust how they proceed with this specific customer in order to close the deal.

• You don’t have to fire your employees. Having low sales figures is a good reason for having doubts on how effective your sales team is. That said it’s not a good reason for you to fire them – at least not until you’ve trained them first.

The low sales figures may not necessarily mean you have a bad sales team. They may be doing the best that they can with what they know. By training them you give them more in terms of what they can use in order to really sell well.

At the same time, you give them confidence and let them know that you, as their employer, are behind them. This will make them work that much harder to repay your confidence in them. By doing this you get yourself a loyal customer but will become also known in the community who support their employees thereby making customers trust you.

• Your employees stay. Lack of skill and knowledge can dishearten anyone. Often, this leads to employees leaving. That’s because they feel they don’t have what it takes to stay in the industry and be competitive.

However, when you train them you’re giving them the weapons they need to not only make sales but also stay competitive. With this, they will no longer feel like they’re inadequate.

Also, by training your sales teams you are preparing your business for the competition whenever they come. That’s because a trained sales team can hit the ground running and not have to fumble when the competition is breathing down your necks.

Because they’re trained you know that your salespeople are competent. This means that you don’t have to be always hovering behind their shoulders. You can let them do what they’re supposed to do while you are able to do what you need to do because you have time – time you didn’t have to spend overseeing them.

At the same time, you can easily promote from within because you have a trained team to select from. Doing this gives them an incentive but it’s not only that. Promoting from within also allows you to get new hires which in turn will spread the word that you are a strong business that takes care of its employees.

• You get a bigger and more loyal customer base. Customers like to be given the answers when they ask the questions. They want to be treated in a professional manner. A well-trained sales team will give them all that.

That’s because a well-trained sales team will be able to impart the information that the customers are looking for in an efficient manner. This means that they will look confident in the eyes of the customers thereby adding to their credibility.

At the same time, they will be able to articulate their assistance that much better. This means they will be able to answer the needs and wants of their customers making the latter that much more comfortable and thus happy with the whole sales experience.

What’s in it for your sales team?

It’s not just your business that will be benefiting from having a trained sales team. The members of the sales team you’re training will benefit as well.

• Gives employees confidence. That’s what training does – it gives employees the confidence to do the job properly and more efficiently. Training gives them the added knowledge that they can apply in order to do the job.

It’s not just the training that gives them confidence. The fact that you, as their employer, were willing to spend the time and money to train them also gives them confidence. That’s because it shows that you are taking care of them and that you are investing in them to do good for the business. It also shows that you recognize that they are an important part of the business.

• Gives each employee a connection with each other. People who undergo the same training regimen often become closer and work better as a team. Military training has shown this. Retreats have shown this. This means training your sales team together will give the same results as well.

Training together gives each member a sense of camaraderie. Going through the same thing together gives each one a feeling of equal footing which in turn bonds them together to one another. This results in better teamwork and the ability to work together more cohesively.

• Improves employee productivity. This works both in the short term and on the long term. Because the sales team members have the weapons they need to better market the products or services of your business they can do a better and more efficient job of selling it.

At the same time, such training will give the person(s) the foundation that they will need so they can rise up within the organization. This results in more job satisfaction and thus a happier employee.

Training is an integral part of any business. It is crucial for the development of the people who work there not only for their success but also for their satisfaction and service.

That said, there are those that say that managing the sales people well is much better than training them. What do you think? Is training the answer or should you even bother with it? Let your comments flow below.