What do you do if your sales team lacks innovative thinking in their training programs?

In creative problem solving a great technique is to ask your sales team the following: ‘ if Elon Musk had to tackle this sales issue what do you think he would do?’ Or substitute Musk for any other individual that’s in the zeitgeist. It changes the paradigm and can stimulate different thoughts .

The first thing to do if your sales team lacks innovative thinking during training programmes is to identify the cause of the problem. Yes, you could sit back and think "I wish my sales team was more innovative", or you could take responsibility (or pass it to the trainer) to encourage innovative thinking during the programmes. In my sales training I often encounter this, but there are many, many creative thinking tools available (just look at Google) which encourage people to think outside the box. One of my favourites is "false rules" - put false restrictions on them (for example "what would you do if you had to turn a sale around during just 1 10-minute phone call") then see what that prompts. Use this as a base to expand ideas.

Compartilhe histórias de sucesso relacionadas à inovação para inspirar a equipe Ofereça treinamentos específicos sobre criatividade, design thinking e resolução de problemas. Use estudos de caso para ilustrar como outras empresas alcançaram sucesso através da inovação. Ajude-os a refinar suas propostas e a encontrar maneiras de implementá-las.

A rapid method to evaluate the effectiveness of current training programs is to have either myself or someone deeply acquainted with the company and its procedures participate in the training sessions alongside new hires. This individual can then document any gaps observed in the training process. This firsthand experience provides valuable insights into areas that may require improvement or additional focus to enhance the overall effectiveness of the training program.

Yes, encouraging ownership can be highly effective in fostering innovative thinking in sales training programs. Here's how promoting ownership can contribute to cultivating a culture of innovation: - Personal investment - Accountability - Creativity - Risk-taking - Alignment with organizational goals

To address a lack of innovative thinking in sales training programs, I encourage ownership among team members. By empowering them to take ownership of their learning and development, I foster a culture of accountability and initiative. This encourages individuals to seek out new ideas, experiment with innovative approaches, and contribute to the evolution of training programs.

The challenge for most training programmes is that they were created in a time when the world and customer behaviours were very different. Deploying a programme that is both relevant in the modern world AND pragmatic is crucial. There can be a big difference between "what should change" after a training programme and what ACTUALLY changes and ensuring that the programme addresses these requirements effectively is crucial.

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CX is paramount. Innovation can be enabled by the creation and implementation of a training programme to equip your sales team with the essential skills which each person actually requires. Practical training should focus on (i) helping to identify buyer need, (ii) define the requirement, (iii) be concise and, of course, (iv) being highly adaptive to change. Post training, and aside from process, does each sales person leave with the skills development they need next opportunity to answer: 1. What do I need to do to make the CX easier or "frictionless" for my customer? 2. How does this opportunity help us meet our business goals? 3. Are Buyer and Seller in alignment?