From reading online forums on business and selling, it's apparent to me that some salespeople resist sales training because they want to sell with their own style and not copy somebody else's selling style.
I wholeheartedly agree with these individuals. Salespeople should sell with their own style. But sales training doesn't shape style nearly as much as it shapes substance. Substance is content; it's saying the right things; it's using proper timing and process; it's knowledge about human nature and buying psychology and interpersonal communication skills. It's technical expertise and human expertise.Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Depp are both great actors (they're two of my personal favorites, too). But their acting styles are very different.
We might be intrigued with their respective styles of acting, but it is their acting substance that allows them to convincingly and even movingly play a great variety of characters. Acting substance trumps acting style. As a sales trainer, I help the salespeople I work with to maintain their individual selling style while improving their selling substance. I don't want everyone to sell like me, or to sell like anyone, but I do want every professional salesperson to sell in a way that will allow them to experience more sales success.
Be yourself when you sell. People can spot a fake a mile away. And improve the substance of your selling and you'll sell more. If you like this post (or don't!), please consider leaving a comment. Subscribe to our free sales tips newsletter to read more sales tips and commentary about selling and sales. Skip Anderson is the Founder of Selling to Consumers Sales Training, a B2C and retail sales training and management consulting company. Skip is mad about helping companies and individuals sell more.
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