This past week, Continuum CRM was proud to sponsor Primo Solutions Senior Housing Sales Training Seminar in Phoenix, AZ.
I had personally heard Mike Miller, founder of Primo Solutions, motivational speaker, and sales trainer speak before. I was very excited to be able to not only be a sponsor of the seminar, but sit in as an attendee.
He certainly did not disappoint, nor did the crowd of about 30 marketing and sales professionals from senior living communities across the country.
Team Building with a Purpose
The two and a half day event began with an opportunity to give back. Designed as a team building event, we were asked to assemble bicycles that would be given to children with cancer. Little did we all know that the children and their parents were coming that morning to the hotel so we could personally give the bikes to the kids.
It was a humbling experience to see the faces of these children light up when they saw their bikes. The room was filled with hugs, tears, smiles, and a genuine air of appreciation from the families.
One boy took the opportunity to ride his new wheels immediately. It was quite a sight watching him weave around the tables and other people in the room. I was glad he didn’t run into anyone and he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself.
As the training began, you could instantly begin to feel Mike’s contagious enthusiasm and passion for what he does. Unlike many sales training seminars, Mike’s focus is on building relationships in an authentic, caring way. No wonder “Stop Selling, Start Caring” is the title of one of his books.
The resounding theme and message is that if you truly build rapport with someone, get beyond the high level, glossy surface chit chat, and go deep with someone, you will be far more effective in your role as a sales person.
If you haven’t read “Stop Selling, Start Caring” by Michael Miller, you should make it required reading for your entire team.
You Need a CRM
Mike also really drives home the need for a robust CRM, like Continuum, to manage interactions and hold sales people accountable. His philosophy is this: “If it isn’t in the CRM, it didn’t happen.”
Mike’s training focuses on a clearly defined, repeatable sales process. That’s right in line with several of our previous blog posts.
Why insist during a sales training that you invest in a CRM? Because everyone needs a tool to manage their day, tasks, time, appointments, and interactions with prospects. As one person at the seminar said to me, “We can only have so many Post-Its.”
I love it when a sales trainer understands the value of technology tools, encourages people to use them, and the attendees make the connection.
Continuum CRM has been developed with a fully configurable workflow manager, which means it supports whatever repeatable sales process you want. Whether it’s the process learned at a sales training seminar or one you’ve created on your own, the repeatable process is the roadmap to successful prospect engagement and management.
You Don’t Know It All
One thing I always learn from attending training sessions is that someone always knows something I don’t or does something differently. I may have been in sales for 25+ years, but I still get golden nuggets of knowledge and take-aways from my peers.
There are always great sales success stories shared and new ideas to take back to your team. Use them to make your sales people better!
Try new tactics learned in training. It might increase your sales and occupancy exponentially.
Why Invest in Sales Training?
I don’t know about you, but I find sales training invigorating and highly motivating. It’s an opportunity to stop the madness of the daily grind and do a self-check. Being able to complete a self-assessment of your skills compared to others in real time is a huge benefit.
Have you been stuck in a rut? Training is fabulous way to gauge if you are excelling at selling or just going through the motions.
Gaining new perspectives from industry peers, who may or may not actually be better than you at selling, is worth the investment. Sales is tough business and we all need to take a step back occasionally and make sure we’re still following the processes and using our skills to the best of our abilities.
It’s also great feeding off the energy of another person who is passionate about what they do. For me, it just seems to recharge my batteries and renew my focus. I go back to the office with new tools in my toolbox that I can share with the team to help increase their effectiveness.
The Ultimate Takeaway
Bottom line of sales training is you can’t afford not to do it. Investing in the professional growth of your team shows them you care. Giving them tools to hold themselves accountable for a sales process shows them you are a good leader.
If you need a flexible CRM tool that helps you incorporate what you learn during sales training into your sales process, check out Continuum CRM. Go to www.continuumcrm.com today and request a free demonstration.
