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Today is “Wednesday Workshop!”
By Dr. Jack Singer
Licensed Sport Psychologist
Professional Sales Team Speaker/Trainer
This is part 3 of a 5 part series.
In my first two articles about a week long Game Plan for Sales Success, I discussed kicking the week off with “Magic Monday,” involving strategies to develop group cohesion among your sales team. The second training day, which I referred to as “Triumphant Tales Tuesday,” has the goal of successful team members sharing the elements of their successes with their colleagues, in the form of case studies. This day includes role playing exercises, so that team members can practice the skills that have already been shown by their peers to be successful.
Now, we are at mid week, where I suggest a workshop format, Workshop Wednesday.
Recall that this training week mirrors that of a sports team. Wednesday is typically the day for the team’s game plan for their next opponent is introduced. In this case, sales managers can introduce specifics about a new sales push, new products, services, sales strategies etc. Workshop Wednesday is more of a didactic format, so that attendees can be exposed to power-point, video programs, handouts, etc., teaching them all they need to know about these products and services.
As on Tuesday, role playing exercises can be very helpful in practicing these new strategies.
Because many sales professionals internally resist change, the introduction of new or different products, services or sales strategies may raise this resistance. Consequently, this is a wonderful opportunity to discuss methods of overcoming resistance to change. In such a discussion, I include such topics as “Overcoming Imposter Fear,” “Taking Charge of Your Internal Critic,” and “Taking Charge of Your Attitudes and Emotions.” All of these topics (addressed in other articles I have written) address the issue of resistance to change.
Like all training days, I recommend ending with a fun exercise. There are many manuals offering team building closing exercises and some are directed specifically for sales professionals. An example is “Superspy.” In this sales training game, attendees pair up in teams to discover the most critical information they need about a fictitious company that is a prospective buyer of your product or service. The team with the most creative ideas for uncovering critical information about the prospective buyer wins a fun prize. All of these exercises serve multiple purposes: having fun together, developing a competitive spirit between small teams, and brainstorming to develop creative ideas to sell your products.
Stay tuned for the next installment: (Mental) Toughness Thursday.
About the Author:
Dr. Jack Singer is a professional speaker, trainer and psychologist. He has been speaking for and training Fortune 1000 companies, associations, CEO’s and elite athletes for 34 years. Among the association conventions which Dr. Jack has keynoted are those which serve financial planners.
Dr. Jack is a frequent guest on CNN, MSNBC, FOX SPORTS and countless radio talk shows across the U.S. and Canada. He is the author of “The Teacher’s Ultimate Stress Mastery Guide,” and several series of hypnotic audio programs, some specifically for athletes and some for anyone wanting to raise their self-confidence and esteem. To learn more about Dr. Singer’s speaking and consulting services, please visit DrJackSinger.com and FunSpeaker.com or call him in the U.S. at (800) 497-9880.