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Why Reinforcement Is Necessary for Sales Success

Why Reinforcement Is NecessaryWhy Reinforcement Is Necessary for Sales Success is a subject discussed by other serious sales trainers as well. It's not just me. You hear me say, "Ongoing reinforcement is needed for getting results in selling." That a one-time seminar or lecture won't get you results.

Why is that?

Let's deal first with the lecturing. Why doesn't hearing a sales technique once at a seminar work? The answer is because actual learning did not occur. The salesperson goes into congnitive overload. They become defensive. The message is tuned out.

"I already do that."

"This guy isn't telling me anything new."

"I'm already a great salesperson."

Even if the salesperson does accept the new idea, after a couple of weeks they'll forget it. Back to their old comfort zone. Back to their old techniques.

Why Reinforcement Is Necessary: How It Overcomes Inertia

But the sales manager/trainer/leader has to have a playbook. The playbook can be a consistent sales process. It can be objections and rebuttals. It can be an equation to be applied to the customer's business--can we reduce their costs or increase their revenues? What is inside the playbook doesn't matter as much as having one.

Without the playbook, you don't have a target to aim at. If you don't have a target, will you have consistency? If you don't have consistency, can you manage your results?

The Three Learning Phases Showing Why Reinforcement Is Necessary

The plain truth is the way we learn is why reinforcement is necessary for sales success. Some approaches are based on studies of adult learning. Effective coaching simply bolsters that adult learning process. So how do we do it?

First, we perceive. We assess a situation and perceive which variables are critical to our success.

Second, we decide. Which course of action should we take? Thank goodness we have that playbook handy!

Third, we act. We practice, we roleplay, we rehearse--but most of all we use the new technique in real life.

The salesperson can practice. The coach gives ongoing feedback. That feedback can come in the form of ridealongs and a debriefing chat right after the prospect visit. It can come in the form of simulations. And it can be in the form of team coaching, where peers work with one another.

But the common key is that you need to see the new technique over and over again...interacting with real life. That's how it will stick. You must first perceive the need for it. Then decide to use the techique. And then really use it, taking action with the new technique in live selling situations.

Sounds simple? Doing this consciously is not nearly as easy as talking about it. That's why having a coach who will keep showing you why reinforcement is necessary helps so much.

Update: Is Ongoing Re-Learning of Sales Technique Still Needed In 2022?

Many years have passed since the first version of this post was written in 2014. Have people gotten any smarter? Are they more effective at learning and retaining information?

Of course not!

The belief that "I looked the course over one time, and now I know everything forever" remains an extremely common one. But let me remind you that * I * have to go over my own material several times a year—or else I'll forget the techniques just as easily as anyone else. And I'm more familiar with these concepts than anybody!

Humanity has a belief that just because we read or heard something and it seemed good, we must now know that thing and retain it for all time. You know just by reading the previous sentence that the idea is ridiculous; however, you go on acting as if it is true.

Don't fall for this unthinking belief. It's not just silly: it's harmful to you. Get a coach and a continuous sales training program in place to support your success.

>> If you're ready to become supported by the greatest sales and business owner training on the planet, SALES ON FIRE, go here <<

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Why Now Is the Best Time to Learn How To Sell

Learn How To SellShould you learn how to sell? And if so, when?

Well, let me ask you this:

Do you like the idea of being automated out of that job you have?

Does the thought of staying at pretty much the same income level year after year appeal to you?

If you're a business owner but aren't yet convinced that sales is part of 'what you do', are you enjoying the monthly rollercoaster of ups and downs in revenue?

Here's the unvarnished truth:

Now is the best time to learn how to sell. Right now.

Why?

1. It's going to take you awhile.

Selling is a skill. Just like riding a bike, cooking, painting or fencing...there are things you're going to have to learn and practice. Your commitment is required.

Start now, so that in a few months you'll be well on your way to competency. You'll see why this is important in a moment.

2. Many jobs are getting replaced by automation, or downsized out.

If you want to remain at the mercy of someone else and events outside your control, by all means ignore learning sales skills and keep doing what you're doing.

Anything that can be done by fewer people, or a machine, or outsourced to a country with a cheaper labor pool, is at risk of being instantly taken away. The whole concept of work is changing. And having a college degree does not matter.

But sales roles...

3. Skilled salespeople are rare.

Yes, there are loads of people who put on a sales department nametag and head on out--but few, very few, are actually competent. Sales is the only field I can think of that you can be sent out into the front lines without any training. And product training does not count. If you want to learn how to sell, you must begin with a consistent sales process.

Salespeople create massive value. Anyone who can get $2X for something that costs $X will always have a place in an organization.

Selling won't disappear. Able salespeople will always be in demand. And it's simple economics: when supply is low and demand is high, the price (your earnings) go up. So invest in yourself now, and reap the rewards for the rest of your life.

4. Learning to sell will make you a better person and communicator.

If you learn how to sell with a consistent sales process, you will become a more precise communicator. The things you say will have purpose. Take the simple act of asking, "Is this a bad time to talk?" When I call a family member this is the first thing I ask. How do I know what they were doing right before I called? Maybe one of my sisters-in-law is having a meltdown. Checking first is a polite thing to do.

Also, from a personal perspective, I know that learning to sell has made me a stronger person. Since I am looking for best fit rather than a sale right now, I only work with people who will treat me well. This takes away the fawningness that many people associate with selling--as if the salesperson has to become your best friend to get the order. Instead, I am checking for potential problems.

"Easy for You to Learn How to Sell, But for Me...?"

Sometimes I hear people say, "Well, it's easy for you." It wasn't. As a teenager I was nervous. I always wondered what other people were thinking. Getting on the phone was difficult until I got into my mid-20s. And even then, it took about six months as a credit manager making calls until I started getting comfortable with it.

If I can do it, so can you: but the point is, learning how to sell is a transformational process. If you commit to it, learning the skills will make you better.

Sales skills are going to become diamond-value assets in the next several decades. Fewer and fewer people are going to have them. Everyone wants to stay hidden behind a computer or away from the front lines. But for those who want to commit, and transform themselves with these skills, the rewards will be tremendous. Not to mention the stability. When you can pull money from the walls whenever you need it, you can truly write your own ticket.

The time to learn how to sell is NOW.

2022 Update About How You Can Learn How To Sell

The original post was written in 2014 and like many things in sales nothing has changed in the meantime. Despite AI copywriting software and "done for you" sales teams, it's still the best time for you to learn how to sell for yourself.

The first thing to do is find out about different styles of selling, and determine which feels right for you. Hopkins traditional style selling, consultative selling, and Challenger selling are just three examples. Then commit to learning the process and techniques of the individual approach you feel is best for you. Soon you'll be applying a consistent sales process, and knowing why you got some orders and not others.

>> If you're ready to learn how to sell, ethically and effectively, check out SALES ON FIRE <<

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Jason Kanigan and Matthew North Sales Interview

Jason Kanigan and Matthew North have both been sales pros and trainers for years. Both have Amazon/Kindle books on the topic. And now, they've met for an in-depth discussion of sales approaches, success in sales, sales mindset, and more.

Join us for a truly transformative talk on how sales can be totally different for you and your prospect from the "Herb Tarlek from WKRP In Cincinnati" pushy, false enthusiasm-filled, say-anything-to-get-the-order beliefs and experience you likely had installed about selling as a kid.

Selling does not have to be pushy. Selling does not have to be about you. And selling does not have to be about trying to wrestle the prospect to the ground until they say "Uncle!" and buy.

Jason Kanigan and Matthew North Sales Interview

Jason Kanigan and Matthew North share their views on selling right here:

Jason Kanigan & Matthew North Sales Interview from Matthew North on Vimeo.

If you want to learn how to "be and do" sales differently, then listen up.

We discuss the subject of Authenticity at length in this interview. And ultimately there's nothing more important than your authenticity. Being it, expressing it, living it.

Jason Kanigan and Matthew North On Authenticity In Selling

If you're constantly trying to reshape yourself to please others in the hopes they'll buy, you aren't being authentic...and you won't be having genuine conversations with them. You won't be able to take the risks you must to get to the truth of things.

Selling can be about matching up problems with solutions.

Selling can be about listening rather than talking.

Selling can be about creating value wherever you go, rather than talking everyone you can into being a buyer and then dealing with highly uncomfortable buyer's remorse later on—or the Client From Hell, which is even worse.

Jason Kanigan and Matthew North Interview

 

>> Jason Kanigan is a business strategy and conversion expert with many years of sales training experience. To discuss your concerns about your sales team or your own sales skills, book a call with Jason here. <<