Sales Training Is More Important Than Ever

December 1, 2020

A complaint I get from general managers on a very regular basis is, “I cannot find quality sales people.” Great ratings are nearly worthless unless you have the sales team to convert them into revenue. As the saying goes, “you can’t sell what you can’t cover.”

So what do you do when you cannot find experienced sales people who know how to convert data into dollars? Find good people and TRAIN THEM!!!!!!!

You cannot teach drive, enthusiasm, or character. Therefore, that is what you need to look for in a potential sales person. From there, you need to teach them the ropes.

Unfortunately, many organizations have cut back on training, or they never had a formal training program to begin with. Often, they just hire experienced sales people from the competition. Now sales managers are handling multiple stations, carrying a list, writing endless reports to corporate, and worried about NTR. There is no time to train and teach those with potential the things that they need to know to excel as a radio consultant.

Remember, these people are representing your brand. You can have a tremendous radio station and offer professional services to the advertiser, but without highly trained and effective people to offer these services, your brand will lose its luster.

I know it is not an easy task finding the time, but consider it a multiplier effect. Two well-trained sales reps can do twice the work of a single sales rep. This is even more than a sales manager, because their focus is only sales. Now get another two and success will follow.

So how do you get this done?

If you do not have the bandwidth or resources to properly train your team, you need to look outside. Organizations like the Radio Advertising Bureau have offerings that will help with sales training. We at Research Director, Inc. can also help get your sales team knowledgeable and conversant with the ratings (quantitative and qualitative). The data that drives sales is more important than ever before.

Other organizations like the Center for Sales Strategy offer both online and onsite sales training to help make your team more effective and professional.

Does this training take time and/or money? Yes! We all know that sales is no longer answering the phone and taking orders. In addition, qualified and experienced people are hard to find. The only answer is to find the right people and have a plan on how to train them to properly represent your radio station.

If you have any other ideas on training great sales people, please share below!

-Charlie Sislen, Partner

• Tweet