Sales Training Seminars

Sales training seminars come in all sizes and deliverables. Sales training seminars are usually modularized training deliverables that focus on a specific aspect of selling. They differ from sales training courses in that they don't function as workshops, but are more like information and knowledge transfer vehicles.

There are thousands of commercially available seminars on the market today. Choosing one that is right for you or your company is important, but it can also be overwhelming.

Sales training seminars typically are very topic specific. They are usually not tailored for your specific needs though, and what you buy is what you get. It is then up to you to apply the learning to your business or operations.

Selecting The Right Seminar

Start your search for the proper program by doing an assessment of what is important for your team to help them sell to your customer base. Then compare that information to the areas where your team needs additional training or skills. This helps you identify areas where your team needs training the most and gets you focused on the type of seminar you should look for.

Here are some sales skills areas where you will find seminars available are:

People Skills

• Conversation capabilities
• Questioning techniques
• Presentations
• Team building and leadership
• Management
• Negotiations
• Objection handling

Selling Skills

• Prospecting
• Qualifying
• Solution development
• Closing

Business And Product Knowledge

• Business acumen
• Product information
• Customer knowledge
• Market knowledge
• Industry training

How Sales Training Seminars Are Delivered

There are multiple ways to deliver sales training seminars. The standard convention has been to have a presenter delivering to a group of people. This is probably the most effective way to deliver training seminars and often the most enjoyable. Many seminars are held in nice hotels located in warm sunny climates. Much of the appeal of the seminar is the location and the surrounding amenities.

Live seminars allow for the sharing of best practices, for direct feedback, emphasis from the facilitator, and you have the ability meet and talk with other participants. It also provides for better control of the delivery because the participants are together in a classroom and not distracted during the delivery. The problem with in person seminars is that due to travel, lodging, meals, and venue expenses associated with the training, it is also the most expensive option.

There are also many virtual seminars that are delivered via web casting or other conferencing method. Web casts use a live facilitator to deliver the training via an internet based delivery. Virtual delivery can be an effective way to deliver the training. However, it is often difficult to keep participants attention for more than one or two hours at a time when delivering in that manner. As a result, virtual delivery is often broken down into smaller modules delivered over a longer period of time.

A third method for delivering sales training seminars is pre-recorded, self-paced e-learning. E-learning is instruction delivered on a computer via internet, or prerecorded media like a CD-ROM. It is self-paced and includes media in the form of text, video, and audio and builds participant sales skill and knowledge. The advantages of e-learning is it is usually less expensive, can be viewed at the participant's discretion, can be viewed multiple times, and is standardized. The major problem with it is getting proper feedback from participants and measuring consumption of the course is difficult.

Conclusion

There are many sales training seminars available in today's marketplace. Some are very good, and some are not so good. The key is to find the course that is best for your needs. Ask around to your customers and other sales organizations for ideas and references. Once you find what you need, consider how to integrate the best ideas into your sales organization, processes, and methodologies.

Related Articles

• Sales Training Overview
• Sales Training Accountability
• Sales Training Coursese

Return From Sales Training Seminars to Home