The ten reasons why great trainers and elearning developers perform terribly as salespeople!

[Paul Terlemezian]

I read this article today titled the 10 Immutable Laws of Customer Relationships. It was intended to help salespeople sell more effectively. With thanks to Geoffrey James -

• LAW #1: Your customer wants to feel important.
• LAW #2: Your customer craves being appreciated.
• LAW #3: Your customer is NOT interested in you.
• LAW #4: Your customer seeks success and happiness.
• LAW #5: Your customer wants you to listen and understand.
• LAW #6: Your customer must feel valued before buying.
• LAW #7: Your customer buys emotionally but defends logically.
• LAW #8: Your customer’s average attention span is short.
• LAW #9: Your customer wants you to show true interest.
• LAW #10: Your customer wants to teach you something.

Instructors and elearning developers - I believe that you agree that the above list is important and that you try to follow these laws (after all - we are "selling" people on learning from us!)

 

But....

 

1. As humans we also want to feel important

2.....and appreciated

3. We want our learners to be interested in what we have to say (we want them to turn off their cell phones and laptops to prove this!)

4. We measure our success and happines with the level 1 reviews

5. Of course we expect the learners to listen and understand us (especially on webinars or ondemand learning)

6. We must feel value before we teach (the students must arrive to class on time and return from breaks when we tell them to.)

7. We deliver logical content with emotion (OK - I'm more guilty on this than any of you.)

8. Our attention to questions is short - we have a lot of material to cover and never enough time to do so - especially with a webinar.

9. We really need the learners to be interested in us

10. It's our job to teach them something

 

Any hints for how to turn "teacher mode" off when we are selling?

Do you agree that it is important to do so?

 

Does Geoffrey James have it wrong?

 

 

 

[Laura Smith Dunaief]

I think "teacher mode" is common, whether or not you're an instructor. 

It's something that sales trainers struggle to teach salespeople, generally - to turn off the feet-first "let me tell you about what I have and how it will help you" tendency.  It's really the opposite that we should be doing: asking questions, listening, understanding, and then coaching clients toward a solution that will help resolve their problems. 

For those of us who marry coaching with training (fairly common), this should be a fairly comfortable shift.

In fact, if we think of sales as a coaching/consultative activity, it becomes much less anxiety-provoking.

[Paul Terlemezian]

Laura, thanks for your response. It is helpful. We are at our best as teachers when we are fully engaged with our learners - listening to them and "coaching" them to competency. We are accustomed to doing this one-on-one and in the classroom (time permitting!) I wonder how to accomplish this online or ondemand?

Laura Smith Dunaief said:

I think "teacher mode" is common, whether or not you're an instructor. 

It's something that sales trainers struggle to teach salespeople, generally - to turn off the feet-first "let me tell you about what I have and how it will help you" tendency.  It's really the opposite that we should be doing: asking questions, listening, understanding, and then coaching clients toward a solution that will help resolve their problems. 

For those of us who marry coaching with training (fairly common), this should be a fairly comfortable shift.

In fact, if we think of sales as a coaching/consultative activity, it becomes much less anxiety-provoking.

[Brent Darnell]

Just read a great book called The Experience Economy where we have gone from products to services to experience. The next step is transformation.  If you can figure out a way to help your clients transform themselves for the better, you knock your competition out!

[Paul Terlemezian]

Brent, I've met Jim Gilmore and his firm is now part of the CGG Alliance that is managed by iFive, He was a speaker at the 2011 Client Advisor Awards Event last year. He is at the root of a great opportunity for the training industry - it is fantastic that you are staying ahead of the curve. I look forward to connecting with you soon.