In order to reinvigorate elusive sales growth many organizations are considering up-skilling their salespeople with the latest selling techniques and methodologies. Modern selling techniques, such as challenger-style selling, disruptive selling and provocative selling, are popular, and - in the right hands - they can be very effective.

But are they the right choice for you, for your sales reps and for your business?

Or, are you just telling your prospects: "Your baby is ugly."?

As I have previously pointed out in another article, their success very much depends on the stature, demeanor and the personality of the individual sales rep.

After all, the reality is that it takes a rare combination of talents to successfully challenge and provoke a buyer's thinking, without offending them personally.

Saying "Your baby is ugly." is definitely not the right approach.

Pointing out the above is not meant to criticize or diminish in any way challenger-style sales techniques.

Instead, it is meant to highlight that they are not something for everyone. In fact, I believe that challenger-style selling approaches work well for sales reps that have always used some form of solution selling or consultative selling style. However, in my experience and opinion, the majority of traditional "features and price" - oriented sellers are unlikely to successfully transition to a challenger-style sales methodology.

The majority of traditional "features and price"-orientated sellers will be unlikely to successfully transition to a challenger-style sales methodology.

I guesstimate that some sort of Pareto rule applies here, too. So, I put the figure at 80 per cent. That is, for about 80 per cent of sales reps challenger-style sales training will more or less turn out to be a waste of time and money. Again, I am not saying anything against the challenger-style sales methodology per se, it is just due to human nature that it is not for everyone.

In my experience, for about 80 percent of sales reps challenger-style sales training will more or less turn out to be a waste of time and money.

"For about 80 percent of sales reps challenger-style sales training will more or less turn out to be a waste of time and money."

If I am correct, then there are a whole lot of reps that will not benefit from challenger or provocative-style sales training.

So, the following questions then arise:

1. Which of my reps should attend challenger-style sales training?

2. How will we know which ones should go, and which should not ?

3. What do we do with the ones who are not going ?

Here are my answers:

Re Question 1. above: Send those reps to challenger-style training who have previously demonstrated an aptitude for consultative or for solution selling, as they are more likely to have the right mindset and demeanor to benefit from up-skilling to a more sophisticated selling style.

Re Question 2. above: Don't send the others, as their likelihood of success will be low.

Re Question 3. above: Send them to learn other programs, such as Social Selling.

Why ? Because they are more likely to succeed there.

Contact me with any questions on your specific situation. I'm here to help you.

In another article I pointed out the similarities in approach of social selling and dating. Yes, really. Now, most adults should be very familiar with how dating actually works, and how it doesn't work. So, social selling should be something that most sales reps can relate to, more so than any challenger-style selling.

Don't book your entire sales force into highly sophisticated sales training programs, but be selective about which candidates are best suited to which programs.

So, my advice for sales leaders is not to just book your entire sales force into highly sophisticated sales training programs, but to be selective about which candidates are best suited to which programs. In that way, you will be able to get the best of both worlds, i.e. you will be more likely to achieve a good result for all your salespeople, without unduly frustrating the ones that are not likely to benefit from highly sophisticated sales methodologies, nor will you be risking a low return on your training investment.

Just one last word of advice though: ALWAYS follow up on any sort of training with on-the-job coaching. Any form of training, and in particular sales training, needs to be reinforced with ongoing coaching to make it stick.

Why?

Look up Hermann Ebbinghaus on Wikipedia.

He discovered this fact back in the 1900's and even developed his famous "Forgetting Formula" on how long it takes for learned knowledge to be forgotten again. Take a look, it's an eye-opener.

Remember this next time you book sales training for your team.

Even better still:
Schedule a free Information Call with me to discuss your current sales practices.

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