Putting the wind back in your Sales

Lean manufacturing is an important topic right now. A lot of sign companies are focusing hard on the productivity of their wide-format printers and workflows, employing significant time and resources in trying to cut minutes and even seconds off production and other operations. It is a vital part of making sure that your company is working as efficiently as possible. This sort of activity can also have a big effect on profit levels. It is undoubtedly time well spent.

However, just like the performance of your printer, the efficiency of your sales team can have a major effect on the bottom line of your company. It is vital to make sure that the team is working as effectively as it could be. That’s why it is important to invest in your sales team. You want them achieving their maximum potential.


It is a truth universally acknowledged that training a sales team is the best way to improve their performance. Good training helps sales teams form profitable customer relationships, ensures that they have a better chance of controlling their customer relationships and sales pipelines, and means they have the best opportunity of achieving both their targets and your company goals.

Sales teams that are not regularly trained are more likely to under-perform. They are also more likely to fail at their tasks and miss their goals. And without coherent training, sales will be a much more hit or miss affair.

On that note, here are three training topics that should be considered for all print sales people. The first one goes right to the heart of what sales is all about.

How do you create the right kind of sales message?

I still see many print sales people focusing on service, quality and price but these are hardly going to inspire today’s buyer. It is important for all sales teams to regularly review their sales messaging, process, and strategy. A good training session can bring significant changes to the response behaviour from prospects. However, having a great sales message and winning a prospect over may not be enough. 

How can you avoid being beaten down on price?

Negotiation training should be a vital part of a training programme. The right negotiation strategies can make huge improvements to your profit margins. Indeed, when I run negotiation work-shops, I often hear that delegates have improved their profit margins soon after. The training can pay for itself the very next day.


How do you win sales more consistently with social media?

Social media is now my number one channel for new business. However, many people waste a lot of time and resources on this channel. Done correctly, social media can win key clients and it’s a great way to win new printing business. However, it is also important to understand how to achieve this.

The three training subjects that we have just covered can make a big difference to a sales persons’ performance, but not everybody agrees that training is worth the investment. Indeed, a widely held belief is often that training can be a waste of important sales time. Many people cannot see the advantages of training because they have a big objection about training itself, arguing that time spent training is time lost selling. Considering the potential advantages, I would argue that this is not the case. A good one-day workshop can improve your prospect conversion rates or your profit margins.

For smaller companies, it is true that time out of the office for a key staff member can be a significant issue. If this is an issue for you, consider some form of distance learning. Other options include learning by webinar or mentoring by phone or Skype. Whatever form of training you decide is right for your company, in order to save time and money, it is vital to carefully plan a training programme.

Plan your training

The first step to creating a training programme is to sit down with your staff as it is well worth finding out what they feel their training needs are. It is also important to explain to them why you are suggesting certain training. Also, make sure you set aside a budget for training your sales team, as you may wish to hire a training company with particular expertise.

If you choose to use an external training company, it is important to consider the knowledge of the trainers. For example, ask what knowledge the company has of this sector, has it worked with other sign companies and do their trainers have any background in the industry?

This is not the only area worth researching about training companies. It is also worth finding out about how they train. Will delegates be lectured, or will they be involved in the learning process, and how will the trainer make sure that the delegates engage and remember what has been learned on the day?

I would always recommend that you look out for ‘brain-friendly’ training. This style of training ensures that the maximum number of different learning styles are covered. A good training company will let you talk to the trainer directly as you can learn more about their skills and question them as to what will be covered on the day.

This brings up the often asked direct question: How can training benefit you in the long term?


From my own personal experience there is always a boost in morale and productivity after a good training session. However, the initial good effects of training can wear off quickly if the right follow-up activity is not undertaken.

All training should include the setting of an action plan for participants and this action plan should be followed up regularly. A good trainer will also be able to help with following up action plans and even one-to-one mentoring where necessary.

The right training programme can have staggering results. Just as a two-minute reduction in production time can make a huge difference to company productivity, similarly, a seemingly small change to sales team processes can have an equally big effect upon your company.

Key actions:

• Plan your sales training meticulously: involving your sales team from the outset will help identify areas in which they feel they need support
• Investigate any incoming sales trainers thoroughly. Ask them about their experiences with the sector, and how they will deliver their training to your sales team
• Renew sales training regularly.
• A boost from a day-long training session is great in the short-term, but can wear off quickly without follow-up training sessions

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