The Ultimate Sales Training Success Guide: Transfer Success Skills to People to Learn More So They (and You) Can Earn More

by Miranda Martin

“This is going to be the most exciting day of learning you’ve ever had, and I need everyone to pay full attention, take notes and figure out how you’re going to put this into action so you can make more money. Any questions so far?”

When people are eager to learn, messages and information can be transferred.

“A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” -John Maxwell

How do you get your trainee to truly be present? Not just physically present but mentally present? How to get your trainee to not only really learn the information but also be motivated to actually use it? Learn how to remove barricades you may not even be aware are currently in your way.

You need to be clear on what you are training and what you want your trainee to get out of it. You need to get buy-in from the trainee before you present the material. You need a clear roadmap for the trainee to understand when and where to use this material. You also need to make sure to inspect what you expect. You need to have actionable goals for each training session.

“G” STANDS FOR “GOAL.” Having a clearly defined objective is the most important place to start.

“E” STANDS FOR “EDIFY.” Edify is the step where you will prepare the learner’s mind for what is about to take place.

It begins in the promotion of the training. It’s in the setup before the instruction is given, so the trainee gets excited to receive the information on the metaphorical silver platter.

“T” STANDS FOR “TELL.” This is the stage that gives the instructions for the training or what is about to take place, the recipe or instruction manual, if you will.

“D” REPRESENTS “DEMONSTRATE THEN DISCUSS.” The first part, demonstration, is where the trainer (or an experienced model) shows/demonstrates the proper way to execute the new skill, typically in a role-play situation.

A two-way dialog about what has taken place—this is an integral part of the process and brings retention up to about 50%.

“E” STANDS FOR “EXERCISE.” This is where the learner/trainee will now practice and simulate what they have learned.

“A” STANDS FOR “ASSESSMENT.”

This is where the trainee understands the clear road map of their strengths and weaknesses and how to get closer to the finish line during the next live or simulated encounter.

“L” STANDS FOR “LEARN.” In this stage we will find out what the trainee has learned from the training experience.

“S” REMINDS THE TRAINER TO “SET EXPECTATIONS.”

WHEN YOU LEAD OTHERS, YOU GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO BE AVERAGE.

“As you get older three things happen. The first is your memory goes, and I can’t remember the other two.” -Sir Norman Wisdom

It’s scientifically proven that the average retention is around 5% of what we hear and 10% of what we read. IT’S BEEN SAID THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY LOSE 80% OF WHAT WE HEAR IN JUST THREE DAYS.

However, studies of the short-term memory show that we can start to forget things in as few as twenty seconds.

Edification is an interesting and unique word you will hear a lot woven through the pages of this book. To me, it means the setup before something important takes place. In the dictionary, you’ll find edify means “to instruct someone on a topic in a way that enlightens them or uplifts them morally, spiritually, or intellectually.” What we’re talking about is educating the recipient of the training so that they understand how the training will help them meet their goals.

EDIFICATION OF NOTE TAKING

Here’s the secret: it all comes down to the notes you take and how often you review them.

Also, it’s just as important to always take notes in bullet point form in a place that is separate from the material while you are digesting it.

HANDWRITE YOUR NOTES The very act of handwriting appears to have super important cognitive benefits. Neuropsychologists have identified the “generation effect,” which says individuals have a better memory for material they’ve generated themselves than for material they have read.

When we look at neuroscience articles, there’s a deeper phenomenon that explains this, called encoding. Mark Murphy from Forbes reports, “Encoding is the biological process by which the things we perceive travel to our brain’s hippocampus where they’re analyzed. From there, decisions are made about what gets stored in our long-term memory and, in turn, what gets discarded. Writing improves that enc...

Further, a Baylor University study confirmed that if you spend time reviewing your notes within a few hours of taking them, you will retain 50% of the material. However, if you wait longer than twenty-four hours before reviewing your notes, you only retain 20% of the material.

An extremely effective and simple method to do this is John Maxwell’s ACT system. He recommends putting one of the letters A, C, or T throughout the notes, so you know exactly what you are going to do for each of them. The letters are abbreviations as follows: A = APPLY—This is something you want to remember to apply C = CHANGE—This is for things you realize you need to change T = TEACH—This is for things you want to teach others One thing I added to this method is a question mark. I use “?” for things I need to ask questions on to gain more clarity. ? = QUESTION

Without taking notes on what you don’t understand, you’ll likely forget your questions as well.

The next step in cementing the learning from your notes is to regularly review them.

According to Hermann Ebbinghaus’s study, the optimal plan for reviewing your notes is as follows: In 18 minutes The next day A week from now Then in 31 and 90 days If you adhere to this routine, you CAN actually achieve 100% retention. And so, can your trainees.

INTENTIONALITY CHALLENGE #1

I would like you to set an alarm or reminder in your phone (or another device) to review the notes you took on retention. Specifically, the Forgetting Curve strategy and the Retention Pyramid information. Set an alarm for the following times to test out the Forgetting Curve on your important notes: 18 minutes from now Tomorrow One week from now One month from now 90 days from now

SPECIAL VIDEO ACCESS: FORGETTING CURVE In this clip, watch this special training on how I explain and use the Forgetting Curve with my team. Go to www.MirandaMartin.com/Curve

“The average person puts in only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who work more than 50% of their capacity and stands on its head for those few and far between who devote 100%.” –Andrew Carnegie

When one of my mentors and Co-founder of Symmetry Financial Group, Casey Watkins, is asked, “What do average people do?” He always confirms, “Average people quit.”

In the words of Tim Blixseth, “Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other is worthless.”

The Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer and Secrets of Closing the Sale by Zig Ziglar).

Hose Approach (Firehose) Hijacking Head-on Collision One Man Show Topic Hopping

“It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear.” — -Frank Luntz

One of the biggest sources of frustration I see is when a trainer KNOWS they explained something in detail but there’s no change in behavior on the part of the trainee. Does this resonate with you? Do you find yourself thinking or saying any of the following? But I went over that with them! We covered that already! We talked about that! They just don’t seem to understand! I wish they would just get it!

Now, think back to your most recent training session and answer the following questions honestly. Who spent the most time talking? What percentage of the total training time did you spend explaining something or just talking? You ______. Them ______. Did the entire “training” consist of just you talking?

I’ve seen some of the best, most elite salespeople sit down with a new trainee for three hours or even a full day or week and attempt to cover as much content as possible in the training. The trainer often includes advanced techniques and skills that may be great for a seasoned representative, but don’t help an entry-level person to get started in the role.

With intentional training, it’s not important how much is covered. What’s important is how much is retained and put to use. I can’t say this enough, so I’ll mention it again—intentional training is measured by the level of transformation, not by the amount of information.

Trainers may often feel that the success of their training is calculated by the number of line items they covered. So, let me ask, is it important to get through a laundry list of items and hope your recipients “got it” or turn the hose down and go through a select intentional few topics and know they got it?

Only 5% of what we say is actually retained, but if we use the firehose approach, retention drops down to 1 – 2%. This is a terrible waste of time for both you and your eager trainee.

Here’s something important to consider: When the brain gets distracted, do you have any idea how long it takes to get back in focus? ( ) 30 seconds ( ) 5 - 8 mins ( ) 20 - 25 mins ( ) 1 hour There’s a study from the University of California in Irvine that confirms that it usually takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to a task once distracted. Being intentional is way more critical than you may have realized.

I define a hijack as any time another presenter jumps in and takes over the direction of the training/call. Usually, the co-trainer had an afterthought and instead of finding an appropriate time to address it, they jump in, usually unprofessionally, taking over the direction of the session and talking over another person to express their thought.

“WHEN A TOPIC IS NOT EDIFIED CORRECTLY BEFORE YOU PRESENT IT, DON’T EXPECT ANYONE TO REMEMBER IT.” – MIRANDA MARTIN