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Should sales reps be trained on how to buy vs trained on how to sell?
I was reading Jim Keenan's blog, and came across this post: Does Anyone Know How to Buy? I thought the idea of training sales reps how to buy was an interesting twist. Should sales reps be trained on how to buy and why buyers buy? What would this kind of training entail?
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6 Answers
Lauren, fantastic question! I'm constantly amazed about how few sales people have any understanding of the purchasing/procurement function. It's interesting, I've met a number of great sales people who had been in a procurement function at one point in their career. Most of them are very effective because they understand the function and how to best connect with purchasing customers.
Sales people should read some good books on purchasing and supply chain management. They should find some good blogs, maybe attend some events.
It will improve their impact.
I would love to reposition the question a bit to: should sellers learn how to help buyers manage their buying (change management) process as well as learning how to sell?
The way I see it, sellers need two skill sets that are unique: 1. help buyers navigate through the entire off-line change process, including helping them put together the entire Buying Decision Team so they can all lend their voice to what a solution should look like; 2. sales, so sellers can then do the needs assessment and solution placement.
I think if we stop thinking of the sales job as merely a solution placement activity, and add our brains to the buying process as outside facilitators, we can sell a lot more.
Lauren,
I don't know that Sales staff need to be trained on how to buy, but I think it is critically important that they learn how their customers and prospects want to buy or to help their customers improve their buying process.
Most sales processes and training are around how we want to sell- not on how our customers want to be "sold".
In its heyday Saturn sold a huge numbers of cars to women- their primary target market by changing the sales process....
Mark, are you talking about transactional selling (things) or consultative selling (ideas)? My answer would be dependent on which one you are thinking of.
Mark, I asked that question because of this: I have worked with 650+ marketing firms, and in many of those engagements they have hired a business development person. In those experiences, a sales person who has been very successful at transactional sales falls short in a consultative sales environment.
For myself, I don't pay that much attention to how people want to buy. I'm the expert (in this very narrow field) and part of the equation when you are an expert is to control the sales environment. I do zero marketing/advertising, and have an abundant number of choices when it comes to which clients I want to work for. So they come to me, and there's very little selling at all because they've already pre-qualified themselves.
Buyers have many reasons for buying - some might even be called irrational.
I agree that a consultative sales person should know how his / her product is bought - but notto the point where assumptions get in the way of tried and true questioning.
With limited training time, I'd place more emphasis on training the art of uncovering the real reasons for buying, the influencers, expectations etc.
When you know the right questions to ask you have a much better chance of controlling the sales / purchasing process.
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