| Just for fun, take a walk into your local fast food joint | | | | not to look around to find the same programs all your |
| sometime and ask for a cheeseburger medium rare. | | | | colleagues and competitors have used. What you're |
| Obviously, the best thing you're going to get in that | | | | striving for is a competitive edge, something that's |
| situation is a polite explanation of the way fast food | | | | going to bring in new business, not the same tactics |
| establishments work. We all know that when we | | | | your prospects are hearing every day. |
| choose a place where you order your meals | | | | If this sounds like I'm picking on smaller companies with |
| numerically, we are trading a little bit of quality for price. | | | | reduced budgets, I apologize. I realize that not |
| Given that it's not exactly a secret, it's surprising how | | | | everyone can afford big fees, and that decisions have |
| many companies spend big dollars bringing in "brand | | | | to be made with a bottom-line perspective. But really, |
| name" sales training programs. I'm not talking about | | | | that's my whole point... the only thing you are "saving" |
| sessions with published experts or established sales | | | | by going with a copycat sales trainer is your future |
| legends, by the way, but run-of-the-mill keynotes and | | | | earnings. Your staff needs to learn from someone |
| seminars given by generic, supposedly "authorized" | | | | who not only understands your business and industry, |
| training partners. | | | | but who has been out in the field and seen what they |
| I'm not sure I understand the appeal. Surely, booking | | | | have faced. Those kinds of insights don't come from a |
| one of these training sessions saves you a small | | | | book or manual, and they certainly don't come from |
| fortune over having an actual best-selling author | | | | regurgitating someone else's speech word for word. |
| appear in person, but given that the rates for a "stand | | | | The value and any sales training program is the results |
| in" are usually in line with other established trainers, | | | | that come in the following weeks and months - not in |
| does that really represent a value? | | | | the name at the top of the invoice. If you find yourself |
| The point of sales training should be to improve your | | | | tempted to hire an unheard-of trainer from a "national |
| company's sales. There is no other goal - it's not to | | | | program," then think long and hard about what you're |
| have something to put in the company newsletter, not | | | | really going to be getting for your money. |
| getting a few signed copies of a book, and certainly | | | | |