The Problem With Sales Training
The vast majority of sales training solutions are action
oriented. They tend to focus PURELY on sales strategy,
consultative selling, sales management, effective selling
skills, closing skills, cold calling, account management,
negotiation skills, and so on.  On the surface, this may
seem to make complete sense however sales training that is
purely action oriented will never improve performance in
any significant way over the long term.
 
The top 1% of sales people and sales driven organisations
operate completely differently from all the rest! Their
ability and approach to successfully selling higher margin
solutions, products and services than their counterparts
with less stress, sets them apart.
 
The M.O.S.T model recognises this approach and provides
quantum shifts in sales performance: M.O. S.T  stands for
Mindset, Objectives, Strategy and Tactics. If you want to
get the MOST out of your sales training and sales
development efforts read on:
 
M Mindset is crucial to sales success. Attempting to
improve performance in any significant way without creating
the appropriate mindset is a waste of time. Since most
sales training is focused PURELY on sales strategy and
tactics, this would make it a waste of time. The key is to
worrk with individuals and organisations to develop a
mindset and environment conducive to quantum shifts in
sales performance.
 
O  Organisational and individual goals and objectives tend
to be too small. There is a crisis in business where most
managers and sales people refuse to set "Big Hairy
Audacious Goals" for 3 main reasons. Fear of Failure,
Absence of Evidence that the goals can be achieved and the
need to Manage Expectations. Yet most CEOs, MDs and Sales
Directors want them to think bigger and commit to setting
and achieving bigger goals. What's the answer? Before you
can think bigger and achieve bigger. YOU HAVE TO THINK
BETTER. Sales managers and sales people can and will set
bigger goals, which they will achieve, when they have the
RIGHT mindset.
 
S Strategy is determined by objectives therefore it is
limited by the size and quality of objectives. The bigger
and more exciting the objectives the more creative and
effective the strategy will be. The degree to which a sales
strategy gets buy-in and support will be determined by the
mindset of those involved in supporting that strategy.
Without that support the strategy will flounder.
 
T Tactics are seen by most organisations and sales training
companies as the key to improved sales performance.
Ultimately the way people act will influence their sales
results, so selling skills are important and I teach them
as-well. That said; the fact of the matter is that very few
sales training methodologies and programmes effect quantum
shifts in performance unless there is a permanent shift in
the paradigm of sales people and their management conducive
with the desired shift in performance. For this reason the
best programmes provide sales professionals and teams with
a shift in mindsets that ensure they maximise traditional
sales skills training and generate pragmatic solutions that
compound results.
 
 
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Buki Mosaku – Results Oriented Sales Coach, Author,
Speaker,  is the founder of Inquire Management an
international corporate development and sales training
consultancy.  His clients include Royal Dutch Shell,
Motorola, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, HSBC, BT,  as well as
mid-market and start- up companies across the US, Europe,
Asia and Africa. He also regularly appears as a guest on
BBC radio, as a  sales and staff motivation
 
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