A good salesperson is a student for life, always committed
to learning. Great salespeople are self aware; just
when they you think they know it all, they admit that there
is always more to learn. They invest time and energy to getting
better. They understand that learning from others and their
past experiences gives them new skills—and an ability
to adapt and prepare better to meet their customer's needs.
It's this awareness and dedication that truly sets a superior
salesperson apart from the pack.
A good sales leader is a constant teacher, one who
is willing to teach and adapt regularly. Great sales
leaders are aware of their team's strengths and weaknesses
and they take conscious steps to address these. Great sales
leaders create one-on-one opportunities to help their team
members nurture their personal growth and skill sets. They
take the time to lead the team with new learning opportunities.
They bring fresh ideas about sales to their teams regularly.
They understand that teaching new skills takes commitment—a
worthwhile investment in creating great salespeople.
Nationally, we found that training is an afterthought
for most. In our 2008 National Best Practices survey, results
show that a majority of programs infuse training only once
a year or through national conferences. Don't let yourself
or your team become a part of this statistic. Use this month's
newsletter to help you find new ways to become a student and
teacher. |
Training
Trends
Source: CHG
2008 Physician Sales and Service Best Practices Survey |
|
| Best
practice is building in continual learning mechanisms in many
different formats. Check out these articles and make a commitment—either
to learn, if you're a salesperson, or to teach, if you're a
sales leader.
|
| Becoming
a Learner for Life |
 |
Tips on how to continually learn, grow and develop in your field.
Challenge yourself to be a lifetime learner in your field. At any stage, whether you are new to sales, new to healthcare sales, or a veteran, keep up with your skills and stretch your learning constantly. It takes a plan and daily commitment, but you will be surprised with how much new knowledge you can gain. And remember to enjoy and share these new discoveries along the way.
Read the complete article >>
|
Get
Off to the Right Start:
Focusing on Orientation and Onboarding |
 |
Once you've made the right hire, the next big step is to orient and onboard them correctly, or you stand the chance of losing them. Think back to your own orientation. Were you inspired and excited to be a part of the organization that you just joined, or were you instead fighting to stay awake as you learned about infection control and where the bathrooms are located? Your orientation and onboarding process are part of the continuum of opportunity you have to reinforce the organization's culture with the new employee and make sure they continue to feel that they've made a smart decision in joining your organization. Read the complete article >> |
A Growth Strategy:
Making Training Work Within Your Organization |
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Cost containment is a predominant theme in healthcare organizations across the country. Having accomplished many of the goals for reducing costs, organizations are realizing that future profitability will not be gained simply by cutting costs. So healthcare systems are beginning to define growth strategies in order to increase revenue opportunities. Through a business or retail approach to working with customers, organizations are investing in growth strategies to build better services, deliver the service as promised and manage customer trust and loyalty. Read the complete article >> |
| No More Warm Bodies: Recruiting, Retaining, and Training the Right Customer Relations Staff |
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It's a dilemma every hiring manager faces: Hire a "warm body" to have someone in place quickly before the position is frozen - or worse, eliminated - or take the time to find, train, and appropriately compensate the right individual for the job. In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins says successful companies "first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it." All too often initiatives frail not because of poor strategy but because of the wrong people behind the project. The desire is strong to have the right people, the right road map, and the right results. The deeper challenge is in taking the time to develop a culture with a road map for recruiting and training the right people, and then giving them a clear focus and strategy that enables them to grow and advance in their work. Read the complete article >> |
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| Announcements |
Coming
Soon
The 2010 CHG Physician Sales and Service
Survey will
be available online in September and October.
If you participate in the survey
you will receive a complimentary copy of the
results and learn about what is happening nationally.
To receive the online link to complete the survey fill
out our contact form today!
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| Training Pays |
Did
you know the average cost of sending a salesperson
on a sales call is $285? When
you consider the number of calls it takes to
make the sale, that can add up. So invest wisely;
invest in ongoing training.
Training is more than an annual conference. Consider
incorporating these ideas into your team's training:
| Vary the types of training to include: |
| • |
Self Study by giving them articles, newsletters
and books; many of which are free and available
on-line |
| • |
Listen to experts on a topic via webinar
offered by many professional organizations |
| • |
Bring experts on-site for workshops and training |
| • |
Develop your own in-house training for monthly team activities to practice the various sales skills and techniques |
| • |
Team retreats |
| • |
In the field ride along coaching |
| Topics should include organizational, operational, clinical and sales subjects. Sales training should include: |
| • |
Relationship/Consultative Sales Process |
| • |
Sales skills and techniques |
| |
◊Planning |
| |
◊Building Trust |
| |
◊Getting Past the
Gatekeeper/ Getting
the Appointment |
| |
◊The Appointment/
Effective Questioning |
| |
◊Differentiation |
| |
◊Asking for Commitment
and Objections |
| |
◊Issue Management |
| |
◊Servicing the Sale |
| |
◊Team Selling |
| |
◊Internal Selling |
| • |
Sales Planning |
| • |
Sales Management |
| |
◊Time Management |
| |
◊Performance Standards |
| |
◊Reporting (CRM) |
Visit our web
page about training. For a free one-hour
consultation about training options and ideas,
contact us at corporatehealthgroup.com/
contact or
1-888-334-2500.
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|
 Question
and Answer Forum |
|
What
is a creative way to add sales training concepts
to my team meetings?
| • |
Start each team meeting with a sales
tip. Ask the team if they have mastered
this skill or if they find that they
struggle with it. |
| • |
Ask your team members to select a training
topic of choice; read an article related
to the topic and share key points at
the team meeting. |
| • |
Select areas of interest and create
scenarios for the team to role-play with
the group. Share feedback with one another. |
| • |
At the end of the meeting, ask each
of your team members to share a recent
win. Take the time to discuss and reinforce
the skill they used to accomplish the
win. |
| • |
Dissect chapters of a good sales book
or guide and use these to influence your
sales messages once a month. |
CHG wants to hear from you. For
answers about ongoing sales learning and training,
please submit
your question here. Every quarter, we'll
draw from the entries for a prize! |
|
|
Looking
Forward to Our Next Issue:
In October, you, the Physician
Relations team member will learn:
- Day-to-day sales tips to enhance
your effectiveness in the field
- Sales messaging—a way to broaden
your approach with your customers
- How to turn prospect meetings into
relationships and referrals
|
|
Looking for a training
session or speaker for your hospital? CHG has a team
of specialists for customer service and experience,
sales and business development and organizational strategic
thinking. Visit www.corporatehealthgroup.com or
call 1-888-334-2500.
To
view all CHG newsletters, please click here
Share your feedback with
us. What do you want to know more about? What are
some of the issues you're facing? Your comments will
help us zone in on the physician topics of interest
to you as we prepare our next issue. |
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