Today is the third and final day of the Making Money w/ Security workshop…I was talking with a sales manager this morning about today’s content.  He’s seen it work, closed business using it, but the question always comes up, “How to do I move an entire sales team away from the old product pushing habits?”

Training can’t be a once and done class – it requires repetition, reinforcement and measurement.  Even when there is success in process, change is difficult.  The unknown is scary for the rep who sees it working for someone else but hasn’t experienced it.

Here’s what I recommend:

1. First – think of training as an ongoing process built with workshops, webinars, audio programs, and coaching.  These are all inputs with motivational and instructive content.  That is what we are doing today – but if the attendees of today’s class don’t do something to reinforce what I have said, it will largely be a waste of  time.  I hope that doesn’t happen.

2. The scorecard is important – by this I mean the conversion chart that tracks the activity and milestones using the process I have outlined.  This can be any process, but there must be a way to measure success.  I was on the phone with a vendor the other day talking about filling rooms for marketing events.  Filling the room is great but if there are no conversions, it’s a failure in my mind.  So we need a way to track progress through this process.

3. We also need accountability.  It’s human nature.  Some will just do it, but most need someone to check in with.  Managers can do this, and coaches can do this.  I support the coaching model simply because it isn’t management.  Rather it is advisement and collaborative assistance, as you walk through the process over and over until it’s muscle memory.

Even a mediocre process done well, will show better results than great process poorly executed.

© 2012, David Stelzl