Sales Skills Series | Sales | Training Programs

Program Name

Sales Skills Series

Sales reps, partner sales reps and sales managers

Each of the following Learning Elements is a single 75-minute module that can be linked together (ideally in the order shown) and end with a Master Class.

Each module has an associated Work Assignment that enables participants to immediately apply new approaches and skills. The results and observations from the Work Assignment are then used at the start of the succeeding module. This enables collaboration between the participants and facilitation team to review best practices and methods to overcome hurdles or barriers.

Prospecting, Networking and Gaining Access

This is a highly pragmatic view of what it takes to gain new prospects in today’s over-marketed world where no one has time to spend with yet another sales person.  The program moves beyond the superficial advice and tips and tricks that are so often the sole focus of such a program.  Various ways to establish and grow a personal network are reviewed and discussed.  Best practices for gaining access are covered, specifically who to connect with, how to connect with them, and what to say when you do connect.  New social networking tools and the critical role that technology plays in this process are an integral component of the program.

Discovery and Qualification

One of the primary keys to successful selling in today’s world is in-depth discovery.  The days of leading with presentations and demonstrations are long gone, however, there are many barriers that face the sales person when leading with in-depth discovery.  These may include their own desire to present, and the prospect claiming that they don’t have time.  This program explores these types of barriers and offers proven approaches to overcome each one.  At the heart of the program are the skills of probing, listening, and confirming.  Each of these skills is discussed along with best practices.  The program extends to discovery call preparation, through the importance of qualification and moving on when an opportunity is not worth pursuing.

Value Selling

Selling value has almost become a cliché, but it remains a key to today’s increasingly commoditized world.  The fact is that negotiation often can be avoided by demonstrating value throughout the selling process.  This program focuses on how to understand and assess what each individual prospect values and then how to influence their “value frame”.  It also considers competitive situations and how to sell value in a manner that is differentiated from all other alternatives that the prospect may consider.

Differentiation and Crafting the Win Strategy

This learning element considers how an offering must be differentiated from all other that a prospect may consider, including doing nothing.  Central to this module is the ability to map out the various players across a prospect’s organization and decode their individual and invariably different, motivations.  A winning strategy is then crafted to differentiate the proposed offering from all other alternatives while considering each stakeholder’s motivation and preferences.

Developing Winning Proposals and Presentations

Many proposals and presentations are generic and do not speak to the prospect’s concerns.  As such they tend to include too much “boilerplate” that simply distracts from what is really important.  This module focuses on starting with a specific value proposition for a prospect and then looks at how it can best be communicated in both formal and informal proposals and presentations.  Things to include and specifically exclude are reviewed.  The concept of the “win theme” is developed along with how it should be used extensively and consistently in all communications with the prospect.

Objection Handling

Objections, rejections, and stalls are all part selling, unless the sales person is prepared and proficient in responding to these situations the sale can easily be lost.  The module looks at objections, rejections, and stalls in terms of where they may occur in the sales process and then the importance of swiftly and appropriately managing the responses.  Participants will learn why objections may not be negative, and how they can be used to discover more about a prospect.   A process for anticipating and managing these common situations is reviewed.  Common mistakes in handling objections are discussed along with how each can be avoided.