Sales, like any other field, is fraught with mythology and misconceptions. Some of these beliefs are perpetuated by anecdotes. Most are just stories that have an unusually strong “sticky” factor. They just won’t go away.
Here are the most common small business sales training myths.
=== Selling Is More Art Than Science
This is probably the most common one, usually used as an excuse to forgo sales training or otherwise investing resources into improving individual sales persons or teams. Just having a “winning personality” and the “gift of gab” does not a great salesperson make. These can be helpful, but not all of the time. In fact, those who are good talkers are often bad at sales.
Selling is not about finding the right person at the right time and making the sale. That rarely happens. Most of the time, it’s knowing how to find the right person, knowing when is the right time, and then knowing how to sell to them and close the deal. Knowing implies knowledge and professionalism, which implies training. You can learn through hit-and-miss how to do these things, but that’s inefficient. Selling is a science that can be learned and applied, it’s not an art that is purely instinctual any more than drawing or writing are arts that are just instinctually learned. Artists go to art school, writers attend writing classes, and salespeople should attend sales training.
=== Our Sales Force Is Too Small for Training
This is a common excuse for not sending sales teams (or individuals) to training or hiring a sales trainer for your team. The truth is, there are sales training opportunities everywhere and they’re there almost all the time. Resources at your local business clubs, at industry-wide events, and more are at your disposal to improve your sales force’s training.
Often, sales training is as simple as buying a few DVDs or it can be as learning-intensive as hiring a professional sales trainer for a day or a few days. Sales training doesn’t have to involve weekend retreats, expensive wine-and-dine events, etc. It can be done in-office or at nearby events that won’t even require you to pay for lodging. Actively searching for sales training opportunities will yield options.
=== Sales Training Is Too Expensive
This goes with the above myth. While it can be true if all you consider are expensive retreats, high-end sales training professional teams, or expensive conferences and long-distance travel options. If you look around, though, you’ll find options that fit your budget. It’s honestly too expensive for you to NOT utilize sales training. That’s no cliche.
=== Web-based Sales Training Is Pointless
This can be true, but most of the time, it’s a myth. Cyberspace holds many opportunities for many things and sales training is one of them. Live conferences with sales trainers, training programs through paid subscriptions, and more are all to be had online. Without travel. At much less expense.