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

by Miranda Martin

THE BIGGEST ISSUE IN THE ONE-MAN SHOW IS THAT ALMOST 100% OF THE TIME THE NATURAL OUTCOME IS THAT THE PRESENTER WILL JUST TALK NON-STOP ABOUT MULTIPLE TOPICS AND FORGET TO BREATHE OR INTENTIONALLY PAUSE BEFORE CHANGING IDEAS.

the one-man show is that almost 100% of the time the natural outcome is that the presenter will just talk non-stop about multiple topics and forget to breathe or intentionally pause before changing ideas. The audience captures very little, if any, of it.

Keep in mind that listening to one voice without interruption can be very boring and that itself can lose people. If you choose this style (for example, if you must provide training on a large conference call with no hope of interaction,) you must be very good at vocal tones, pausing, rhetorical open-ended questions and projecting energy to keep the audience engaged.

Trainers will often start a training session and try to cover a laundry list of items. The topics are often presented as a big run-on sentence. There is no breath while the trainer moves from topic to topic. It might be amazing material, but there is no possible way for anyone’s brain to keep up with the topic hopping or to digest everything that’s covered. With no signal from the trainer before switching topics, the participants wouldn’t be able to properly follow and store the information provided. There was no time spent testing the group to ascertain if they really understood what was being trained. Did they really get it? Did you know they got each point before we topic hopped our way on to the next one? I don’t know, they may have, but I am not sure. Occasionally the trainer feels they did test knowledge however, they used a close-ended question. Trainers habitually ask, “Do you have any questions?” The simple “yes/no” response begs for a “no,” so the audience can just get this painful ordeal over with. An open-ended question (How would you use that information in your next sales call?) requires the trainee to demonstrate comprehension and forecast how they might apply the training. Lastly, perhaps it was a refresher course on things the group had already demonstrated they have learned but had not fully implemented. Perhaps in this scenario the trainer’s objective was just to review material. In this case, the goal was indeed accomplished.

When you find yourself succumbing to topic hopping, ask yourself, Would I rather train on five things and have them all forgotten or train on one or two things and have them deeply embedded in my trainees’ behavior?

SOLUTION 1: OUTLINE YOUR AGENDA

The simple act of outlining your training session can help to prevent nearly all of the HHHOT offenders.

Hijacking mostly occurs when another trainer is afraid something important may be missed. If they can see it is on the agenda already, assuming they read the agenda, they should hold off on the interruption.

SOLUTION 2: TEST FOR KNOWLEDGE

The second solution is to become effective at asking questions throughout the presentation to test for knowledge and understanding. The best type of question to use is an open-ended question, that requires more than one answer. Open-ended questions upgrade training sessions by requiring the learner to think and give their minds time to catch up.

When we promote interaction, it helps the group absorb more of the material. This will also wake the audience up and have good closure before going on to the next intentional topic. When done consistently, your trainees will know you will always test for knowledge at the end, so your team learns to pay attention more intentionally.

“How can what I just covered be used?” “Why is what I just explained important?” “Can someone repeat back the key points they just took from what I said?” “What part was your biggest light bulb moment from what I just went over?” “Who wants to go first to practice what I just covered?” (if applicable).

SOLUTION 3: THREE SECOND PAUSE

When conducting ultimate intentional training, it’s imperative to have a clear, definitive, and intentional stop at the end of each topic. Consider the topic change your stop sign to check for confirmation as well as to give any other training driver(s) a chance to share any relevant information they feel has been left out or glossed over. This step gives potential hijackers a voice at a time that won’t sabotage your trainees’ attention.

If you are presenting solo, I recommend putting in an intentional three-second pause and inserting as many open-ended questions as time permits to test for knowledge before switching topics.

If presenting with a co-trainer, I recommend pausing for three seconds and verbally inviting your co-trainers to contribute before the topic changes. “Bob, do you have anything to add?” This gives the trainee’s mind a chance to catch up and also gives the co-trainer a chance to cement what was just said or to add more relevant information.

Practice

FINDING THE RIGHT CO-TRAINER Adding a co-host/co-trainer adds another voice to support your message. It’s an effective way to connect your training session with more personality types than the one you have.

CONFIRM YOUR COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AS WELL AS WHO WILL HAVE THE “RIGHT OF WAY” IF THERE IS A HEAD-ON COLLISION. IF YOU FAIL TO PREPARE, YOU’RE PREPARING TO FAIL REACHING AN EXECUTION OF A FLAWLESS CO-TRAINING SESSION.

INTENTIONALITY CHALLENGE #2 Take a few minutes and intentionally plan your next training session. Include a broad outline, including planning where the stop signs will go and which engagement questions you’ll use. What open-ended questions can you intentionally use in your next training? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On your training outline, take a highlighter or a different color pen and plan out where you are going to change topics. Write in what Open-Ended Topic Changing Phrase you are going to use. Remember to write your open-ended words of choice on the top of your training outline page in big letters to remind yourself of what to say at a quick glance. This way you don’t fumble around in papers and bring an unintentional halt to the flow of the session.

trainer’s success is really measured by the success of their learners and their learners’ ability to apply what has been taught,

ROOT ISSUE #1: ASSUMPTION

The assumption comes into play when the trainer and trainee don’t understand where the other is at. The trainer might assume knowledge is there that isn’t, resulting in the trainee feeling over their head. On the other hand, the trainer might assume knowledge isn’t there that is, leaving the trainee incredibly bored and less willing to trust that the trainer won’t waste their time in the next session.

ROOT ISSUE #2: NO BUY-IN FROM THE TRAINEE

When someone’s heart is not in something, they will not execute at the highest level, or at all. If the trainee has not bought-in to the training material, it is due to fall on deaf ears. Typically, in this situation, the trainer fails to provide proof that what they’re encouraging the trainee to do actually works. As a result, the trainee won’t care enough to implement what has been presented.

THE SIX THIEVES Thieves who steal your trainees’ attention, time and success 1. WHOSE WAY IS BETTER? 2. THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO 3. WHEN IS THIS NEEDED BY? 4. THEY DON’T KNOW WHERE TO USE IT 5. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? 6. THEY DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO IT ~Miranda Martin

Especially in sales, there is a lot of ego on both sides of the equation and that often gets in the way of progress. Our ego really is the most expensive thing we own, isn’t it? Trainers often rely on titles and accolades alone, like “manager” or “business owner” to provide authority, but typically those are not enough to get true buy-in from a trainee. For the skeptic, titles don’t equate to proof of competence.

I think giving your background is one thing, but if this trainee is so focused on what an expert they are, do you think they are equally focused on being an open-minded, fully teachable student of yours? The answer is no. They think they are the expert.

John Maxwell, says, “People buy into the leader before they buy into their vision.” The only way to do that is to be humble.

“Call people up, not out,” and “No matter what, always leave people better than you found them.” Remember, leaders become legendary not because of their power, titles or past, but because of their ability to empower others.

Try is expecting to fail in advance.

When the topic isn’t set up properly from the start the trainee may not realize how golden the content is, and they won’t be as apt to pay deep attention to the training.

THE SECOND THIEF: THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO

Following are the top three reasons I’ve found that learners fall short on knowing what they are supposed to do: Trainers do not understand the real goal of the training. There is no intentional goal outlined, so there’s nothing concrete to strive for. Often, the trainers assume the learner should know what to do, believing the instruction is just common sense. The training delivery isn’t complete. In the conventional training world, most normal training sessions consist only of a demonstration or a lecture. As we learned from the learning pyramid, dictating results in only a 5% retention rate and a demonstration provides only 30% retention. Without the complete delivery cycle, the trainee has to do a lot of work to bridge the gap between the introduction of information and competency. Lack of confirmation. A common reason that learners often miss the mark is that they wholeheartedly think they are doing what you trained or asked, and no one has told them otherwise. Trainers and managers are often too busy to observe the trainee in action and offer correction as needed. As a default, trainees think they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, but in reality, without an inspection, they are often NOT doing what they are supposed to do, and no one knows it.

THE THIRD THIEF: WHEN IS THIS NEEDED BY?

Another common issue is that trainees are too often left with unclear expectations and don’t understand when their deadlines are.

It’s critical to provide the specific details for your trainees about your deadlines.

Deadlines are where accountability is born.

THE FOURTH THIEF: THEY DON’T KNOW WHERE TO USE IT

Be as detailed as possible to take the guesswork out of which situations to which this new information will be relevant.

THE FIFTH THIEF: WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

When a learner does not understand why something is important, they are not motivated to take action.

When there is no buy-in from the learner: They don’t want to put the effort in They really don’t see it as a priority They don’t see a good reason for doing it They, truthfully, do not care about it They don’t understand how important their job is

Learners are looking for innovation, the best and fastest road to success. They are not looking for a rusty, expired way of doing things. They will assume the old way lacks creativity and modern-day innovation.

Firstly, you want to let them know you respect them and their experience. Secondly, you want to ask for their commitment to a 90-day period of being an open-minded teachable student. Compliment their accolades and remind them their accolades and experiences were a big part of why you chose to work with them. When they bring up other ways of doing things, remind them that you’re excited for them to add in their nuances. However, the quickest proven path to success is for them to put their old ways aside for ninety days so they can master the process that is proven to work here. Assure them that top performers are those that have demonstrated success with our proven system. After their foundation has been built, it is the most effective time for them to now layer in their educated experience. Confirm that your motivations are the same; you want them to be consistently profitable, and that starts with them being fully present and teachable. Get agreement. “Can you commit to that?”

THE SIXTH THIEF: THEY DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO IT

When training occurs, traditionally most of the time we just talk “at” people and expect them to be able to repeat and execute what we explained perfectly, when in truth, they really don’t know how to do it. Talking is not enough. We need to have the trainee simulate what was just taught to confirm it is going to be done effectively when they are in the real world. Without the simulation, aren’t we just guessing or hoping they know how to execute what we’ve taught them?

65% OF PEOPLE ARE VISUAL LEARNERS

INTENTIONALITY CHALLENGE #3 Identify three areas or situations you feel you are guilty of (the ROOT ISSUE #1) “ASSUMING” where you now see you could work on having more clarity and communication. Identify three areas or situations you feel you are guilty of (the ROOT ISSUE #2) “NO BUY IN” where you now see you could work on being more intentional with your set up.

Zig Ziglar says, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

The patients in the group who had written detailed plans started walking almost twice as fast as the ones who had not written their plans out.