The heart of any business is found in its sales. Sales should be dynamic, meaning demand adjustments must be made to accommodate market shifts and evolving customer requirements. Often, in order to elevate sales and rise to meet these challenges, companies allocate substantial resources to bolster their teams with tools and processes. However, there’s often a missing link in these training programs: continuity and reinforcement provided by the sales leadership. Your sales approach is a continuous journey that needs to adapt to changes in your industry, product offerings, and customer requirements. That means relying managers who do more than motivate; leaders equipped with the essential skills for success who will coach and reinforce these skills within their team
As per findings from the Salesforce ‘State of Sales’ report,
- 53% of sales managers utilize coaching tools to train their team members.
- 65% of sales representatives who consistently meet or exceed their goals credit their success to the support they receive from their sales leadership.
- 40% of sales reps do not possess the essential training and coaching required to carry out virtual sales effectively.
This underscores the significance of ongoing investments in sales training programs, guaranteeing that sales teams possess the essential abilities and knowledge to adjust to evolving market dynamics and shifting customer demands.
Furthermore, with current market trends and pressures impacting every industry, sales teams increasingly recognize the importance of a value-selling model. Our REAL selling sales training portfolio assists salespeople and sales leaders in consistently achieving and surpassing their sales targets, enhancing the precision of sales predictions, and boosting the average order value.
This approach is tailored to the target sales audience and their industry, market drivers and target customer profile, consisting of the following four phases of the learning journey: Research, Engage, Advocate for the Customer, and Lead to a Solution. Interactive conversations, hands-on activities, and scenario-based challenges enable participants to put their learning into practice, evaluate their comprehension, and prepare to apply their newfound skills in their upcoming sales calls.
The following sections will delve into a thorough exploration of the REAL sales approach.
Research
Sales professionals should have an in-depth understanding of their own offerings and how customers perceive their value. To achieve this, they should concentrate their research efforts on sources like annual reports, the company’s website, and LinkedIn profiles, while staying up-to-date on market trends and industry news. The ultimate goal is to become intimately acquainted with their business.
- Conduct a thorough analysis of the target industry, identifying key challenges and trends directly impacting buyers. Develop a strategy to showcase this industry knowledge in sales interactions.
- Establish a systematic approach for monitoring market trends on an ongoing basis. Create a dedicated team or utilize tools to gather and analyze relevant data, ensuring that the sales team stays well-informed about the dynamic factors influencing the industry.
- Implement a process for gathering comprehensive company information, including organizational objectives and culture. Develop a framework for aligning the value proposition with customer objectives and provide training to sales professionals on effectively navigating discussions with multiple decision-makers.
Engage
During the engagement phase, sales professionals must establish a solid trust base. Authentic sales training programs prioritize the development of trust and emphasize active listening to foster engagement. This approach empowers salespeople to uncover the customer’s objectives and engage in open and confident discussions about their issues. Ideally, each salesperson embodies the following:
- Competence in their industry, products, and customer profile.
- Consistency in their approach to listen more than they talk.
- Communication with a clear understanding of the customer.
- Commitment to customer value at all times.
- Character/Intent to perform with honesty and high standards.
- Success-driven on behalf of the customer.
Advocate for the Customer
Prospective buyers seek valued partnerships rather than mere products and services. Shifting from a sales role to that of a partner means comprehending your buyer’s objectives and priorities, followed by showcasing your dedication to meeting those needs. Advocating for the customer entails:
- Prioritizing the buyer’s needs and interests in every scenario.
- Showing commitment to facilitating the buyer’s achievement.
- Establishing a partnership that is both trusted and highly valued.
Lead to the Solution
Lead the path towards the solution rather than just presenting the solution outright. A salesperson’s role is to assist the buyer in making informed decisions and preventing them from sticking to the status quo. Lead the buyer in recognizing the significance and urgency of their needs, and then make your solution the clear and logical next course of action.
Sales reps should include the following steps to achieve the best outcome:
- Shift focus away from the solution itself. Solutions lack intrinsic value until they are aligned with a customer’s need. Instead, prioritize identifying goals and perspectives. Before offering recommendations, engage in diagnosis.
- Identify and address all the factors that drive value.
- Identify the top priorities and establish the success metrics. What are they currently measuring?
- Address objections, involving aligning questions with value statements and remembering that the primary goal is simplifying the purchasing process.
- Seek the sale. Salespeople only achieve success when the customer succeeds, which involves confidently presenting proposals that support the customer’s business.
Our REAL Selling approach includes the following customized training portfolio:
These represent just a few of the customizable titles in our portfolio. Each module is a 2-hour virtual instructor-led session which can be adapted to your needs and easily grouped with other modules.
- The REAL Sales Approach
Key message: The program, comprised of 4 individual modules, strongly focuses on developing skills that can be readily utilized in the workplace, with ongoing support and guidance from the sales manager following the Sales Manager Coaching Guide.
- The Expansion Sale
Key message: This module focuses on a customer-focused strategy for value-based selling through a deep understanding of the customer, including their challenges and opportunities, industry, and corporate objectives. Customize the message to emphasize the business value and the specific results they seek to achieve.
- Competitive Selling and Negotiation
Key message: The module helps sales reps use situational negotiation to enable customers to make informed purchasing decisions by tailoring the value proposition to their specific needs. When talking about the product, make sure to sound confident and excited about how it can make a good difference in the customer’s life.
- Account Planning
Key message: This program cultivates a strong connection and confidence with clients. Set a clear purpose, agenda, and outcome (PAO) for each meeting. Offer your valuable perspectives while prioritizing active listening over excessive talking.
- The Customer-Centric Approach
Key message: This module enables transactional sales reps to become more consultative in order to match the purchase process with the sales process while confidently managing the sales cycle with digital tools.
- Powerful Customer Conversations
Key message: This module provides practice to overcome possible roadblocks and ensure the customer comprehends the solution’s worth. Salespeople should emphasize their expertise as a trusted partner to the customer, persuading them to choose the solution over the current norm and focus on enhancing its value.
- Insight Selling for Value
Key message: When salespeople try to make customers interested in their business or product, they should talk about what makes it better than others and how it helps the customers. This module helps sales reps use insights and stories to explain the value proposition and showcase how solution value connects to the customers’ needs and wants.
Conclusion
Sales represent a crucial element of any business, necessitating ongoing adjustments to align with market changes and customer demands. With its four phases, the REAL Selling sales training portfolio enhances qualification, deal size, and long-term partnerships. This approach ensures that sales teams remain effective and adaptable in a changing market environment. The REAL sales approach impacts business outcomes, including enhancing the qualification of opportunities, accelerating the sales cycle, expanding deal size and fostering long-term partnerships.
