It's time for change

Sales training needs to reflect selling in a recession

The recession is real. The challenges are real. Selling is inevitably going to get tougher and sales training needs to reflect this.

Selling in a recession is new territory for most salespeople, following a decade of economic growth. Despite squeezing budgets, most clubs appear to accept the need to implement sales training. However, the training on offer may not be in tune with the changed behaviour of potential members. I'm finding that companies are putting more emphasis on ensuring a return on investment, even though demand for sales staff and bespoke sales training is increasing more than demand for off-the-shelf packages.

Some reactions to selling in a recession have been to drive the sales team to make more calls, chase every scrap of potential memberships or sell customer solutions without understanding what their needs and wants are. These approaches are unlikely to work. The best approach is to spend time planning effective sales activity, promotional and marketing strategies, and getting the best value out of interaction with prospects.

Marketing specialist, Jarrod Lupson, from Coconut Solutions warns against complacency: “What we do never changes but HOW we do it should always be changing.”

Have you recognised that you need to sell your product well? Sales skills drop off very quickly and need constant topping up. For example, Trafford Leisure and Greens Health and Fitness regularly top up their sales training, which impacts positively on their sales performance.

You can choose the easy route and do what you have always done, or you can choose to change your selling approach in a recession and prevail. Experience shows that taking the easy route is the most costly of the two. Which do you prefer?

Lesley Aitken
International Business Consultant
Mobile: +44 (0)7815 800 939
www.fitpro.com/business/training