The Ultimate Guide to Sales Training: Potent Tactics to Accelerate Sales Performance

The Ultimate Guide to Sales Training is the go–to reference for sales managers, sales trainers, sales coaches, and sales consultants who want to increase a sales force′s productivity by using these proven techniques:

Building Mental Flexibility

Anchoring Concepts for Easy Recall

Encouraging Behavioral Change

Covering a wide range of topics, The Ultimate Guide to Sales Training shows how to develop a selling system, prospect effectively, and qualify and disqualify prospects. The book also covers information on using power questioning techniques, handling objections, and includes solution selling guidelines and ideas for creating and delivering potent presentation practices. In addition, the author covers such hot topics as managing reps attitudes and how to close the sale. He also includes suggestions for overcoming buyer resistance and making change occur as well as getting beyond barriers that block decision–makers, and much, much more.

Praise for The Ultimate Sales Training Handbook

"This book should be on the desk of every sales manager and sales trainer. Dan Seidman created a treasure chest of ideas, concepts, skills–sets and motivation tools that are ready to be converted into cash."
Gerhard Gschwandtner, founder and publisher, Selling Power Magazine

"Sales professionals throughout the world will discover performance improvement through this training encyclopedia. Dan Seidman is helping make sales training a major strategic driver for all organizations."
Tony Bingham, president and CEO, ASTD

"Each chapter just might be the one piece that plugs the gap in your team′s performance. Dan is truly earning the title Trainer to the World′s Sales Trainers."
Willis Turner, CAE CSE, president and CEO, of Sales & Marketing Executives International

Foreword xiii

Preface xvii

Chapter 1. How to Use This Sales Training Resource for Optimal Results 1

Part One: Preparing the Sales Pro to Sell 19

Chapter 2. What Makes a World Class Sales Pro Selling the Value 21

Chapter 3. The Many, Many Values of a Selling System 27

Chapter 4. Competitive Intelligence and Prospect Research 39

Chapter 5. Potent Communication Skills 49

Chapter 6. Buyers Behavior and Decision–Making Strategy 73

Chapter 7. Potent Proposals 83

Chapter 8. Pre–Work for the Sales Call 101

Part Two: Training the Sales Pro to Sell 107

Chapter 9. Establishing Rapport 109

Chapter 10. Prospecting 119

Chapter 11. Opening the First Meeting 149

Chapter 12. Qualifying and Disqualifying Prospects 159

Chapter 13. Bypassing Gatekeepers 167

Chapter 14. Power Questions 175

Chapter 15. Practicing Listening Skills 193

Chapter 16. The Ultimate Objection–Handling Tool 205

Chapter 17. Solution– Versus Consequence–Centered Selling 215

Chapter 18. Practicing Presentation Skills 223

Chapter 19. Closing 241

Chapter 20. Debriefi ng the Call 253

Chapter 21. Following Up After the Sale 259

Chapter 22. Up–Selling and Cross–Selling 261

Part Three: Training the Sales Pro to Improve Performance 267

Chapter 23. Daily Performance Tips 269

Chapter 24. Know Your Numbers 289

Chapter 25. Finding and Utilizing Mentors 297

Chapter 26. Ten Keys to Working a Trade Show 303

Chapter 27. Negotiating for Sales Pros 313

Chapter 28. Mental Health for Sales Pros 345

Chapter 29. Ethics for Sales Pros 375

Part Four: Re–Creating Your Training Experience: Key Concerns 405

Chapter 30. Redesigning Your Existing Sales Training 407

Chapter 31. Buy It, Don t Build It 421

Chapter 32. Sales Contests Connected to Training 439

Chapter 33. Reps You Should Not Be Training 467

Chapter 34. What s Missing from This Book 471

Chapter 35. A Critical Trend You Can t Ignore 475

Part Five: Appendices 483

Appendix 1. The Ultimate Sales Training Website/Blog 485

Appendix 2. Websites of Books, Companies, and Associations in This Book 487

Appendix 3. The Most Interesting Man in the (Sales) World 491

References 493

About the Author 497

Got Influence? 499

Index 503

Dan Seidman of GOT INFLUENCE? has been speaking, training and consulting for more than twenty–five years. He has been named "One of the Top 12 Sales Coaches in America" and is the designer of ASTD′s global sales training program.