Empowering Reps to Become Lifelong Learners
In a era of multiple specialists, sales teams, and more competition, sales managers need to establish a mind-set among their reps to “stay in touch” through continuous reeducation. Managers play a key role in teaching reps to study the industries or end users to whom they sell. They can teach reps how to put convincing, economically based sales proposals together that provide justifications to purchase products, as the rep moves up to sell to senior management decision makers.
The sales manager can instruct reps in orchestrationg the company`s total skilled resources, so necessary to providing total customer satisfaction. Managers are encouraging reps to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses relative to their job needs. In this way the reps can take charge of identifying gaps in thei training, rather than putting all the onus on the sales manager to suggest and develop their skills.
The reps can also adapt and grow if they are in tune with their own strengths and weaknesses. Rep who constantly stay in touch by going to relevant courses are well positioned to take advantage of any career broadening prospects that come along, whether a promotion or a lateral transfer. In addition, training can be a real motivator to reps, a tangible investment and vote of confidence when the company relieves them from field duties periodically to send them on special courses. When this happens continuously, the rep realizes the company considers him to be a valuable resource regardless of how senior or experienced he happens to be.
Tags: empowering, reps