Do You Have A Sales Reinforcement Program?

BY Kathy Crosett
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If you’re planning to launch a new product or service this year, you also need to make sure your salespeople know how to sell the new offering. Most companies spend plenty of
time training salespeople on the basics. But, if you want your latest offering to succeed in the marketplace, you need to establish a sales reinforcement program as Lisa Clark suggests in an article for trainingindustry​.com.

Any good sales reinforcement program takes into account exactly ‘what you want to reinforce,’ says Clark. These days, some new products and services are so technical that a solutions architect is often required to come along on sales calls and follow up with clients, post sale, in order to explain the details. This arrangement shouldn’t let your sales reps off the hook. They still need to be able to sell the product and your sales reinforcement program can help.

When you design the training materials needed for sales reinforcement, keep your audience in mind. Your salespeople are busy, active people, often relying on their mobile devices to get them through the day. They’re probably also accustomed to taking in information in small chunks. The last thing you want to subject these team members to is a lengthy detailed training session that stretches out over the course of a day.

Sales reinforcement materials should only cover what is absolutely necessary. The content should include details about the problems the product or service is designed to solve. Keep in mind that a picture is worth a thousand words. If a graph or another type of image can easily render on mobile devices and show the effectiveness of the solution, include the image in the training materials.

If the product or service is an upgrade or enhancement to an existing offering, your sales reinforcement materials may succeed in a Q and A format. Your reps have been selling your offerings for a while. They know the features that thrill customers and they also know what customers have been asking for. To make the best use of sales rep time and to motivate them to actually review the materials in your sales reinforcement program, consider using a Q and A format to help them understand the changes that have been made.

Regardless of the form you use for your sales reinforcement program, remind your reps on a regular basis that the materials are available to them. These reminders should take place regularly, even after any official sales training events you hold as the product or service is being released.


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