Last week my column featured the incredible speakers we have leading sales training sessions at the 2012 MNA Annual Convention next week in Bloomington. I’m confident that this stellar line up offers something that everyone can find value in – whether you are new to media sales or a seasoned professional – and hope that by now you’ve taken a moment to register and plan to attend.
This week, I present to you 10 reasons why I believe it’s worth your time to participate in sales training (and for sales managers, why you should require your team to attend MNA sales training.) Whether at the convention or at any of the sessions our Minnesota News Media Institute (MNMI) offers throughout the year, the sales training we provide should not be viewed as a cost for you to incur. Rather, sales training is an investment that all ambitious newspapers need if they want to achieve their strategic and tactical sales goals.
WHY SHOULD I ATTEND SALES TRAINING?
#10 – Increase Your Skill Set
Sales training sessions provide you the necessary tools to heighten your skill set, along with the ability to try new things (or try things differently if desired results are not obtained using present techniques.) Knowledge is power, and the more sales knowledge that you can develop the more sales you will make.
#9 – Increase Your Ideas Base
Sales training sessions stimulate internal thinking. Fresh ideas relevant to newspapers and your specific publication will flow from listening to people with vast experience in selling and having conversations with your counterparts from across the state. New ideas drive results, and new innovations drive sales and service.
#8 – Increase Your Confidence
Confidence is key in selling. If you are not confident in the products you are selling, how can you expect your client to be confident in the return on investment they desire? Sales training sessions arm you with the ammunition you need to confidently assess your clients needs and sell them a program that will deliver results.
#7 – Increase Your Motivation
A motivated sales force is vital to any newspaper. It’s amazing how smoothly the sales process flows when people are motivated. Sales training sessions provide opportunities to increase your aptitude, make more sales, and earn more commission. And we all know that money is one of the largest motivators for salespeople!
#6 – Increase Your Retention Of Staff
Salespeople want to know that their employers believe in them and want them to succeed. If a newspaper invests in their people, their people will invest more of their time in the business. Losing top sales performers is a massive drain on any newspaper. The cost of recruiting new salespeople almost always dwarfs the cost of quality sales training.
#5 – Increase Your Competitive Edge
I assure you, your media competitors are actively training their sales team – and probably on how to sell AGAINST newspapers! This puts you at an immediate disadvantage. New thinking, new methods and new techniques result from quality sales training sessions. Advantages are tough to achieve in this highly competitive media market, but sales training is an effective and low cost way of driving forward and staying one step ahead of the competition.
#4 – Increase Your Professionalism
We all strive to become trusted sales professionals. Quality sales training sessions provides opportunity to hone your selling skills and fosters professional selling habits. Providing consistent sales training also sends a message to all salespeople that professionally representing their newspaper and closing sales must be taken very seriously and worked on continually.
#3 – Increase Your Efficiency
Sometimes the simplest ideas produce the greatest results. Often time, sales training sessions prove that the biggest win is not an introduction of new ideas but rather a change in – or the discarding of – old and inefficient ideas. Quality sales training will help you discover and capitalize on your individual strengths to achieve greater success.
#2 – Increase Your Potential
Often before undergoing sales training sessions, salespeople are unaware of their potential and are – in some ways – handicapped by their own beliefs. Quality sales training raises the ceiling of what can be achieved. Belief in yourself is a key component in sales success, and increasing your personal potential will push you to attain more for yourself and deliver more for your newspaper.
…and #1 – Increase Your Sales Revenue
This is self evident. All quality sales training sessions worth their salt should pay for themselves. After attending a sales training course, results should be evident with increased sales from existing clients and the development of new business. Incremental revenue growth will easily pay for the sales training investment…many time over.
Don’t forget, this year MNA is offering a “First Time Convention Attendee” special 50% off rate. If you’ve never attended in the past, this gives you the opportunity to attend incredible sales sessions – and any of the other convention programs and activities – at a huge discount. If you have not registered, I highly encourage you to fill out the registration form and send it in to us this week.
I look forward to seeing you next week in Bloomington!
Have a terrific week,
Dan
If there are specific topics you’d like to see discussed in a future issue of The Sales Cycle, please contact me at 612-278-0223 or dan@mna.org