communicated to. For example, one set of social-style labels might be Driver, Expressive, Amiable, and Analytic. Lets say a buyer is an Analytic. The social-style approach suggests that the sales consultant communicate with the Analytic in detail and present thorough and footnoted proposals. If the buyer happens to be a Driver, the consultant would be advised to avoid detail and provide executive summaries. The point is that this category of sales skill approach highlights the idea that people differ and that you need to adapt your style of communication based on the particular social type you are interacting with. Programs in this category attempt to achieve three basic objectives:

1. Be able to recognize each of the social style types

2. Be able to identify each of the types

3. Be able to adapt your communication style based upon social type

Again, the content, architecture, and exercises will differ among different programs, but the essence of this category remains the same: People are different; therefore, treat them the way they want to be treated, not the way you want to be treated.

Perhaps the single drawback to this approach lies in the difficulty of correctly assessing an individuals social style.4 For example, an Analytic who might usually be considered a low reactor type might be perceived as a Driver when under pressure by his or her boss to perform. The adaptive or social-style approach is an interesting approach that is usually received well by salespeople.5 Jim Cotterill, president of jcotterill.com, demonstrated the Driver social style when he said, Consultants visit with me and believe they should spend considerable time developing a high trust relationship with me. I want to say to them, Ive got enough friends

and acquaintances; I dont need any more. What I need is someone who can solve my key business problems.

learning-style approach. This category suggests that each person will learn in one of three ways: visually, auditorily, or kinesthetically. For example, if the buyer is primarily a visual learner, a sales consultant might want to appeal to this persons learning style by using graphs, charts, and pictures in the presentation. If a person is an auditory learner, then the consultant might want to focus his or her efforts on articulating solutions or implementation processes effectively. And if an individual learns better kinesthetically-by touch and feel-then the consultant might invite the person to participate in the demonstration of the product or service.

As with the social-style category, its hard for the sales consultant to accurately identify the particular learning style a buyer predominantly uses. Continued observations regarding eye and body movements are necessary to help pinpoint a persons particular style.

needs-based approach. Needs-based programs are arguably the most popular type of training program. This approach basically suggests that customers have two types of needs: those associated with a problem they are willing to live with and those associated with a problem they want to solve. A customer is more likely to be receptive to a sales solution when he or she perceives a problem that is serious enough for him or her to solve. (See also Sales Trap 3, Its Best to Offer Solutions to Problems You See. ) A salesperson uncovers problems in the first category and develops them into the second category by asking particular types of questions.6

The drawback to this approach is that its a big challenge to get salespeople to ask the right type of questions. (It isnt that difficult to identify which types of questions salespeople should ask; whats difficult is getting salespeople to ask them.) Asking the right kind of questions naturally and smoothly takes a lot of practice and feedback.

COACHING AND FEEDBACK

Heres the rub: No matter what course salespeople take, it wont help them sell better unless the sales skills are reinforced afterward. The idea that sales skill training works without reinforcement is a fallacy. In 1979, a study at Xerox revealed that thirty days after sales-skill-based training, the participants had lost 87 percent of the behaviors that they had learned unless those behaviors were rein-forced.7 That means for each $1 that Xerox invested in sales skill training, it received only 13 cents back. In other words, coaching and feedback is worth about 87 cents on each dollar spent. With a return like this, why would anyone emphasize the content of the courses over coaching and reinforcement?

More than the content of courses, its coaching, feedback, reinforcement, and implementation that are the keys to behavior changes that increase sales effectiveness. Managers from senior management all the way down to first-line management (with support from the sales training department) should see to it that coaching is taking place.

Karen Thor, executive vice president and CIO of National Commerce Bancorporation, put it succinctly: We purchased the best content program in our opinion that money could buy, but it became clear that our training dollar investment totally hinged upon our ability to get our people to act differently on sales calls. In the end, coaching is where its at. No program is better than another without coaching. You coach an average program and you will get more out of it than if you have an outstanding program that is not coached at all.

ACTION POINTS

4Make sure coaching happens. Develop a coaching process to achieve behavioral change. (See also Sales Trap 22, Sales Managers Are Good Coaches ). Secure the commitment of managers from