There is an old saying “Good times hide your flaws, bad times magnify them”. I would certainly classify this past recession as a bad time and based on the request I have received for sales training, the flaws being magnified have to do with sales skills.

In the good old days when sales were a plenty many organizations felt the route was to purchase sales automation software or get neat little gadgets to help you become more efficient.

Now that our sales flaws and foibles have show themselves in the last few years and each new sale is harder to get, companies are beginning to re-examine their people’s sales skills?

Sure you can “force” your field team to reach their numbers and they’ll go out and be aggressive but customers will only take the aggressive approach so long. Then what will you do?

Unfortunately, no amount of software or gadgets is going to help you out of this one. There is only one thing you can do: It’s time to get back to the basics of solution selling 101.

In case you are not sure if you need solution selling 101 skills, ask yourself the following questions:

• Can your sales team identify potential opportunities before a client initiates a project?
• Can your sales team be consultative?
• Does your sales team know the right questions to ask?
• Does your sales team practice the art of listening?
• Do you have a process for gathering critical information from customers and prospects that can initiate or further a sale?
• How is your sales team engaging new prospects to increase their sense of urgency?
• How is your sales team establishing credibility with cautious prospects and fending off competitors who have become even more desperate?
• How is your sales team minimizing objections and moving the sales process forward toward closure?

If you are uncertain about any or all of these you are not alone. However, it is critical right now to get your sales house in order. Times have changed and your sales skills need to be updated and sharpened.

Let me know if you agree.

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