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Most companies do a decent job of training their employees in the skills they need for their specific jobs and of teaching them the rules of the workplace. And most companies stop there.
Those that do are overlooking a critical training opportunity every single employee should be required to take: sales training.
Not every employee has the title of “salesperson.” At some companies, no employees have that title.
Still, all employees have regular opportunities to bring business into the company. Without proper training, those employees are leaving that business on the table.
For example, a troubleshooter who works on the help desk can suggest that a caller invest in a product to prevent a recurrence of the problem that prompted the call. A repair tech can request that a homeowner refer the company to the neighbors or to write a positive Yelp review about the business. Lawyers and accountants can ask each client what else the company can do to help.
These employees don’t think of themselves as salespeople, though, so they usually don’t ask for that business. If they did, their customers and clients would buy more products, suggest that friends hire the company and open additional orders in response to the prompts.
In a way, every employee is a salesperson—or should be. First, however, they need to embrace the fact that every job—including theirs—is a sales job, at least some of the time.
The best way to do that is through training.
The vast majority of non-sales employees don’t want to sell or don’t believe they know how. Some believe sales is “icky” and salespeople are dishonest and manipulative. A few might rather find another job than incorporate any kind of sales into the jobs they have.
Trainers must address all of that before they can teach non-sales employees the skills they need to make the sale. In short, trainers have a big sales job of their own: They have to convince employees that they can, should, and, in fact, already do sell nearly every day.
5 Tips to Follow
Here are five ways to help employees embrace their role as unofficial salespeople for their company:
1. Change the corporate mindset. During every interview with a job applicant, during every onboarding session, and during every staff meeting, managers should make it clear the company expects every employee to take advantage of the opportunity to make a sale if it arises.
Not only will this give employees permission to ask for additional orders or for references, it will put them in the frame of mind to recognize every opportunity to do that.
Managers can help their staffs make the transition to unofficial salespeople by creating checklists and requiring employees to follow them.
2. Show employees they already sell. Every time an employee offers excellent customer service, the chance the customer will return increases. Every time an employee asks a customer, “Is there something else I can do for you?” that’s a potential sale.
Some employees do this as a matter of routine; it’s courteous and professional. But if someone told them this a form of selling, they might balk.
The fact is that everyone sells. Every time an employee invites a client to lunch, signs a contract, or asks for a favor, that’s a potential sale.
Why not train employees to sell on purpose rather than unknowingly?
3. Teach employees how to spot opportunities. They are everywhere. For example, employees who visit customers in their homes or workplaces can be coached to listen carefully for clues the client has another problem the tech can solve—and to offer to write up a ticket for the service then and there. They can be required to hand each client a card with the Web addresses for Yelp, the company’s own Website, or Angie’s List, for example, for posting reviews.
Every employee who works on projects with outside professionals has the opportunity to ask those pros to team up again. Lawyers who work with real estate agents on property settlements, for example, can ask those agents to recommend the law firm to future buyers and sellers.
4. Train employees in sales techniques. The most successful salespeople plan for their sales by doing research on their products and their potential customers. They look for opportunities. They listen more than they talk so they will hear when a customer has a problem the company can solve. They ask for the sale. And they follow up by saying, “Thank you,” by delivering what they promise, and by keeping in touch.
5. Convince employees that learning sales skills will help them succeed. Non-sales employees might resist sales training. Once they understand they can use the skills of the sales pro to sell themselves, however, they’re more likely to embrace the change. Sales skills come in handy when an employee asks for a raise or a promotion, needs to swap shifts with a co-worker, has a favor to ask, or applies for a different job.
Understanding the skills of the sales professional can help employees help the company and themselves. Incorporate those skills into all non-sales employees’ training, and watch how much extra business they bring in.
Dr. Cindy McGovern is known as the “First Lady of Sales.” She speaks and consults internationally on sales, interpersonal communication, and leadership, and is the author of “Every Job Is a Sales Job: How to Use the Art of Selling to Win at Work.” Dr. McGovern is the CEO of Orange Leaf Consulting, a sales management and consulting firm in San Francisco.