I could see the storm building. It was during a training session, and the salesperson who was role-playing was not doing a good job. And, by “not doing a good job,” I mean that he wasn’t following the format of the sales call that was being taught. I should also point out that I wasn’t the trainer in this instance; rather, I was there to offer insights and coaching as necessary. Therefore, I probably had the best view of the growing frustration on the face of the salesperson.
Eventually, his team switched him out with another salesperson who followed the format and did a very nice job of it – which frustrated the original salesperson even more. What had happened was simple – the first salesperson had let his ego get in the way of his learning a technique that could have been beneficial. Instead of learning and implementing, he chose to instead stick to his old methods – and when the trainer called him on it, he looked bad in front of the group. This is all too common, but it doesn’t have to be that way; training can be an incredibly beneficial experience. Here are five ways to make sure that it is:
- Leave your ego at the door. Training isn’t about demonstrating how good you already are; it’s about learning and becoming better. So, park your ego. Or, as Ed Tate (from whom I have learned much) likes to say, “Seek Education, not Validation.” If you approach a training or coaching session with the mindset that you already are performing at peak, and you’re simply going to show off for the instructors, you won’t gain anything. Ask me how I know this. On second thought, don’t – this was a hard lesson for me to learn, but I learned it over 20 years ago.
- Be open to new ideas. Just because you’ve done things a certain way for years doesn’t mean that those ways are the best. Maybe times have changed and you need to change with them; sometimes your ways never were the right ways. Several years ago in a training program in Oklahoma, one salesperson piped up during a program on questioning and said, “Troy, I’ve been selling to the same customer base for 25 years and I’ve never asked these questions. Why should I now?” I responded, “Would you rather that your competitor asked them and you didn’t?” Two weeks later he e-mailed me and told me how well some of those questions were working; he had in fact captured two new pieces of business with them.Training isn’t about defending what you’re doing now. It’s about trying new ideas and techniques in a safe environment. I approach training the same way that I approach suit shopping – I’ll try on a lot of suits. Some will fit and look good on me and some won’t – even though they might fit and look good on someone else. Take what works for you and use it.
- Put away the distractions. I’m not just talking about turning off cell phones here (although, for the love of God, please don’t have them where they can ring during training!). I’m talking about other things that clutter up your head and your desk and get in the way of a learning experience. Had a problem with a customer? It’ll still be there after training – but who knows, you might learn a new way to deal with it.
- No playing under protest. Maybe it wasn’t exactly your choice to be a part of the program. Maybe the boss is making you do it, or the program has just been scheduled and you’ve been told that you need to be there. And yes, maybe that’s not exactly how you wanted to spend your day. Still….you’re there. You can either be the guy who has a bad attitude and shows it to everyone (which eliminates your ability to learn; worse, it hurts the ability of others to learn), or you can make the best of it and try to learn something that makes you money. Which do you think is the best way to go?
- Be open to simple ideas. As Ed likes to say, “Not all ideas are new and complicated.” Yes, you may have heard this technique a dozen times. You may recognize that it could be beneficial – but are you USING it? If you’re not using it – or if you haven’t tried it out – “I’ve heard it before” isn’t a valid excuse for not trying it now.
And, just because I’m in a generous mood, here’s one bonus way to maximize your training experience:
Implement immediately. This might be the most important; many great training techniques become lost because the trainee waits to implement and use the lessons taught. Then life gets in the way, the lessons become less fresh, and before you know it, they’ve been forgotten – and the time and money spent is wasted. Don’t be that salesperson. Once you learn a new technique that you want to use, put it to work immediately so you don’t lose it. Do these things, and there will be real return on your training investment of time and dollars.
