Ep. 208 6 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Sales Trainer

Joe Pici helps you identify the what, when and why behind making the decision to receive sales training and how to get the most out of it.

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Get ready for an unfair advantage over your competition. This is The Sales Edge podcast. Where globally recognized sales expert and trainer Joe Pici helps you sharpen your skills for booking more appointments and closing more deals. And now here’s your host Joe Pici.

Joe Pici (JP):

This is Joe Pici of The Sales Edge. As more and more companies and individuals are beginning to want to re-engage in training and coaching. How would you like the process of procedure of what, why, how, and when to utilize training or coaching? Fortunately for Pici and Pici, We have been able to train and Coach throughout covid but as companies are re-engaging they’re starting to figure out you know, what should we train? Why should we train, how, and when? Welcome to the sales edge podcast. This is podcast number 208 and your host Joe Pici is here to help you make some serious decisions about your training needs. You know, we want to thank our sponsors Pici and Pici which is the speaking, coaching, training, consulting company and sell more virtually.com our web-based membership platform where every Thursday night. I’m out there live doing speaking coaching and training.

Moving forward I can honestly tell you for the past 46 years. That’s a long time. I’ve either been in an audience being trained, being coached, or I’ve been to coach the trainer the speaker. I believe I know what I’m talking about when it comes to the area of coaching and training and speaking, you know, so what we did was we had to create a process, you know, everything as you know,

Is generated through processes here at Pici and Pici. So let’s look at a few ways to answer those questions. Let’s look at the question the first set of questions of, What is it number one the what what skills knowledge tactics strategies Do I want to improve or Master? You know, let’s go back a couple weeks. I worked with you on SWOT analysis and the SWOT analysis is a perfect thing to do as you’re making a decision on these things. a SWOT analysis is going to help you determine what your corporate strengths are what your personal strengths are. So so this podcast is for companies.

It’s for individuals it’s for people that make those decisions on should we engage in training and coaching or should we not? So the first thing you want to assess is our strengths. What are we good at? What are we absolutely good at? The second is where our weaknesses? Because where the weaknesses lie, That’s where you’re going to want to consider training and coaching. What are the Potential opportunities which areas you can take advantage of if you’re ready. If you’re skilled, if you have the right strategy and what are the possible threats? And so I would recommend you revisit the podcasts on SWOT analysis. I’ve done two, I’ve done a SWOT analysis. I’ve done a reverse SWOT analysis. So the first question is what skills, knowledge, tactics, and strategies who I want to master or improve the second question is, When?

You know, I mean just moments ago before I’m doing this podcast. I was on the phone with the gentleman who’s considering our business of speaking training coaching and Consulting and so I just said to him first you have to determine when you want to start making money? When you want to master these skills and strategies. And then you’ll know when to invest the time and money and learning those things. So the wind become very important story.

Third Question is why do I want to invest my Time and my money and improving and it’s it these areas? I mean what’s important to you? You know for Joe and Dawn Pici when we determine, you know, potential investing. Why are we going to do that? Why are we going to take our time and our money and let me just say this. Don’t believe that free training doesn’t cost you anything. Free training costs you time and I see people all the time all I’m going to watch a webinar today. Well is the webinar what you need? Well no but, it doesn’t cost me anything. Well, what are you worth an hour? Also as we talk about vetting, your time is worth something your brain is were subject don’t fall into the Trap of thinking free doesn’t cost you anything. So you want to know why what’s important to you?

What Is the very Catalyst and reason that you would take your hard-earned money and your time and invested taking your business to the next level. Number four. Do I have to financial ability to invest? Now I will tell you remember investment is for the future spending is for the present going to Disney has no return on investment other than you feel good that day and there’s nothing wrong with that. But investing in education training coaching that is an investment that will pay large dividends for the future. So as we’re looking at our money, if we have the money, it’s amazing that people will put a Disney Trip, they will put a vacation on a credit card. But if they don’t have discretionary money, they may not invest in training or coaching remember training or coaching has return on investment. Okay, and so don’t Make the mistake of thinking investing is the same as spending.

Number five. Who is the expert? Who am I going to hire? Who am I going to be trained by? Who am I going to sit at the feet of in learn from? This is where you as a company you as an individual want to get into learning how to vet those people. This is not based on price. This is based on the expertise of the person you’re working with And the results that they deliver. Number six, how do I want to access this training or coaching or Consulting? Here at Pici and Pici. We actually have nine silos by which we can deliver content training coaching Consulting. Some People Want it virtually, Some People Want it live, some people want me to go into Corporation, some people want to come to the boot camp. We like to be able to deliver at the discretion of the clients. So when you’re looking for training, coaching, do you have the ability to determine how you are getting this? So once you’ve decided that you’re going to move forward, once you’ve decided you’re going to make the investment.

Once you’ve decided okay, I’m going to hire this company. I’m going to go to their boot camp. I’m going to hire them as a coach. Here’s the next step some more questions. We want to begin to answer. Number one. When I get to the training, when I when I work with the coach, what is the most important things, three to five things, that I’m going to master? I’m going to get Mastery over and can I apply these things? I always tell people please don’t come to a Pici and Pici training to learn. Come with the intent Of mastering skills and strategies and Communications and so we can then apply. Number two. How am I going to measure my ROI? In other words return on investment as ROI. Do you have metrics that you’re going to say when these benchmarks are hit when these metrics are hit then the training and coaching paid for itself. It was worth the investment, never go into a training without metrics, never go into a training without ways to measure is this a successful?

Was my time, was it worth my money? See that’s the important thing. You know, I always tell people when we’re signing a contract, when somebody’s handed me a credit card, when somebody is signing up for something we do. I want to know how are you going to measure a successful training or coaching. Number three, does this training coaching speaking line up with our methodology and strategy? An example we’re consultative in sales, not transactional. I had a company that called me and wanted me to work with a foreign country. They wanted me to work with a call center where they were trying to get large investment dollars on a one call close. That does not match our methodology. We believe that 85 percent of all sales happens between the six and the 15 contact.

We do not believe One call close Works in finding investors. So it wasn’t a match. Okay now next. Am I willing now to invest the time and money to get the training but then in my also willing to invest the time to execute what I learned? That’s very important and you want to know this before you walk into that train room before you get on that Zoom coaching before you get on the phone with your coach

Number 5. This is an important one. What are the consequences of not training? In other words, What is at risk that if I don’t receive the training or coaching that we could lose? Lost clients high-conflict that creates lost clients and employees. So so many times people look at well, that’s what that cost what they may not factor in if I don’t invest If I don’t receive coaching if I don’t receive the training, what are the Lost revenues? Now We have a very very high success factor when we go into corporate training, or people come to our training or coaching people usually pay for their training within one week. Okay, it happens. But what if they don’t come and they don’t gain ground look at the lost Revenue. The next question do I have a list of questions to take into the training to be answered? In other words, whether people, you know, we’re two weeks from our boot camps not so fired up. We sold out of our sales boot camp we’re sold out of our speaker boot camp and we’re telling people right now make sure when you get there we’re going to start the day with what are three or four things. You most want to take out of this training. But we want to make sure people bring their questions so they don’t get back on their plane. They don’t drive out of there and not have their questions answered.

Next. Am I allowed to vet the trainer the coach the speaker? Am I allowed to call their past clients? I always tell people call anybody you want go my LinkedIn profile call anyone you want and vet us and if they don’t tell you that we Have surpassed our expectations and we delivered more than we promised and they gain quantifiable results. Don’t hire us. And so do you have the ability to vet The trainer? Now let me side note before I talked about free training be careful that you don’t vet. That if you don’t vet free speakers and trainers you’re giving them your brain folks. You’re giving them your time, even though it doesn’t cost you dollars, it cost you time. They may be telling you the wrong thing

Next. Is Part of the training experiential. So that’s number eight. In other words. Is there anything inside the training You’re actually going to execute your new trainee, as you know, as you’ve heard and our sales training, we do live outbound calls to book real appointments. When I do account management. I work with some companies on collections. We do real quote calls to collect real money. In our speaker boot camp We developed a standing Core story, whereby people have to deliver real a real talk on delivering a core Story. We Believe experiential coaching and training is having people do in the training room during a coaching what they’re going to be doing in real life. Now. Here’s some action items. Once you’ve decided okay, I’m training. I’m going I paid my money we’re bringing this guy in, we’re bringing this woman and we’re going into their training room. We’re doing coaching. Here are some action items. Number one do the homework do the pre-work. If you’re asked to do a personality assessment. Please do it. If you’re asked to to get homework work in our sales boot camp. We ask people to bring 40 or 50 names and numbers of people they Want to get in front of.

Do the homework. Preparation is key. Number two have a date of completion to get your prep work done, by this day All my prep work is going to be done. Number three. Okay. If you have a question about what’s going to happen in the training things you could do to be better prepared reach out to the trainer in some cases. You might get to their company, ask those questions. You’re making an investment here its your right to ask those questions

Number four. After each training module after each coaching session, answer these questions. What did I learn? And how will I apply it? What did I learn? And how do I apply it? If you’ve been in the training room with Pici and Pici, after every module I will say what are the key things you put in your toolbox. How are you going to apply them? These are important questions. You have to ask yourself. Now number five your post training plan. You’ve left the training you finished a coaching session. Number one complete the action items if your coach has given you a list of to dos complete them. If you’ve been a training room and they give you to dos, complete them. Number two execute the strategy tactics and skills. You learned in that room. And number three review the material you’ve invested time and money. Undoubtedly, you’re taking materials with you, review them. Number six list any potential obstacles that could possibly get in the way of your execution. This is something you wait may want to revisit before you leave with the trainer. You may say, you know in two weeks. I’m going away on a vacation. I’m concerned about losing momentum wouldn’t you think so make sure you’re looking down the road at potential obstacles just like in the SWOT analysis, potential threats. Number seven have a strategy for navigating those obstacles. What am I going to do to get around those challenges? Have a strategy. This is where you may want to talk to the trainer or the coach because they’ve experienced a lot of this stuff.

Next create accountability that can be with a coach. You can be with a peer in the training room, but have accountability in place. We like to create accountability on our priority Management program. Next Consider post training coaching. That’s not for everybody. And I’m no way if you’ll come to our training you will not see me do a hard upsell but I am available for people if they want to get into regular coaching with me, it’s available. Consider that, keep the iron hot. Number 10 measure results on actions taken. So when you leave the training and you actually take action measure those results, but if you don’t take the action folks, there’s nothing to measure. So therefore we have to measure action. And number 11 create a relationship with the trainer, you know, whether people get on my coaching program or not. They know they can call me and they know I will call Them.

And we develop a very strong Relationship. I had a lady ask me this morning, you know, you know I’ve come to your training but I really never invested your coaching. Why do you call me? And why are you investing time in me? It’s very important to develop that relationship with the coach with the mentor with the trainer. So now as we work through this and you take your SWOT analysis out and you measure, okay now you revisit your strengths. Your possible weakness, your potential opportunities, and your threats. And you say look I know there’s opportunities out there and I know there’s some challenges our weaknesses. That’s where I’m going to get the training. That’s where I’m going to get the coaching. So as we bring this to a close if you’re coming to our boot camp in a couple weeks or if you have training on the calendar with Joe or coaching, make sure you’re going through this checklist, make sure we’re better prepared to gain ground.

But understand you will get better results If you have high expectations, a plan, and a process for investing in training and coaching. Folks We are living in a time right now where to gain an unfair advantage over your competition, It’s by improving your strategies, your skills, your messaging, and your communication. This has been So peachy of these sales as thank you so much.

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Thanks for listening. New episodes will air each Tuesday and Thursday. So make sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and give us a five star review. The Sales Edge is sponsored by Pici and Pici Incorporated. A firm which provides training, consulting, and keynote presentations. Empowering corporations and individuals to attract and retain quality clients, for higher revenues and growth. Make more money in sales, speak with Joe in person by calling 407 947 2590 or visit www.piciandpici.com