With customers spread out from coast to coast and accessible through everything from messaging and Facebook to conversations, it’s easy to lose track of the core of good selling activities.  As a leader, you can easily get carried away trying to answer technical questions.  Along the way, you forget that the core pieces really stay the same across all the alternative selling venues. Now is a good time to go back to training on the basics.  Here are three important things to remember that will help make your job of training new sellers easier.

You are the heart of your business.  You matter more than anything else to the success of your business.  What you know, do, emphasis, train and share all matter most.  Your passion–your heart–makes you successful.  No one else can do the business like you.  The same is true for everyone on your team: they are the heart of their business.  When your new consultants recognize this, they can’t be stopped.

Every seller knows more about their product than the buyer.  When new consultants remember this, their confidence goes up and selling becomes easier.  Of course, it has to be true.  One easy way to support new sellers in learning about their products is to explore product features and benefits.  A feature is an attribute of the product.  A benefit is the way that the feature can makes a difference to the customer.  A simple way to train new sellers in features and benefits is to take a sheet of paper, draw a vertical line down the paper, and then list features on the left and benefits on the right.  When the consultants start to get comfortable with the process, you can start to push their thinking by asking some key questions:

  • What makes this important to the customer?
  • What makes this better than _____________ (alternative brands or ingredients)?
  • What’s the competitive difference that the customer will want?

Ask more questions than you give answers.  Once the new consultant is confident about their ability to discuss the products, they are ready to start learning the next part—asking questions.  I’ve found this is easier for leaders who think like a coach.  When the leader understands asking powerful, curious questions, then she can support new consultants learning to do the same thing.  The used car sales rep leads with questions; the successful direct seller seeks to understand with curious questions.

How will you stay in your heart zone?

How will you grow your capacity to support your team?  Learning new skills is a part of growing, but it’s not the whole story. Team Connections Pro is one powerful option to support your development.  We’ve all been there and understand what you are going through.  We also know that our role is best filled by coaching you to explore your limits and then hold you to your chosen activities.

For $47 a month, you have access to training materials, podcasts, webinars, and COACHING.  Where else can all of those options be there for you? You owe it to yourself to look at Team Connections Pro.