When I wrote my blog in September titled “Sales Training Doesn’t Work”, I had no idea that the emotional reaction from readers would rival the debate over Roe vs. Wade.  The article (http://zthree.com/blog/sales/sales-training-doesnt-work/) inspired vigorous debate among thousands of responders.

For some reason, the topic ignited a firestorm of responses ranging from “Joe–You are an idiot and have no idea what you are talking about”, to “I couldn’t agree more…”  Some respondents reacted only to the title and used their comments as an opportunity for self-promotion.  Some accused me of attempting to promote my own business.  Fortunately, most of you who took the time to read the article (versus reacting to the title) engaged in an extensive, on-going, interesting (and hopefully beneficial) commentary regarding:

* rational approaches that any business leader or sales executive can use to upgrade their sales.

* decision criteria to consider before investing in sales development.

* strategies and tactics to avoid wasting money in anticipation of ROI.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am actually a huge proponent of sales training.  In fact, training is an essential component of any program designed to increase sales.  However, an investment in training will only reap dramatic, sustainable results if supplemented by a holistic program designed to take salespeople out of their comfort zones by transforming their thinking, resulting in productive, consistent behaviors.

I expect that this article will inspire additional ideas and suggestions.  So if you’ve been considering taking your sales to the next level, I would strongly encourage you to peruse the comments of the many professionals who have responded to both this blog and the original.  Doing so will likely save you lots of frustration and many thousands of dollars.

As always, thanks for sharing….

Copyright ©   Joe Zente  2010.   All Rights Reserved.

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