How to Sell More: Tools and Techniques from Harvard Business Review

What’s Wrong with Your Sales Training Program

By Steve W. Martin 

Steve W. Martin teaches sales strategy at the USC Marshall School of Business. His new book is titled Heavy Hitter Sales Linguistics: 101 Advanced Sales Call Strategies for Senior Salespeople.

Somehow, “successful” sales training has become associated with a thick binder of material the salesperson lugs home from the class (never to open again). The classroom experience is based mainly upon rote memorization of facts. There is little in the way of interaction, practical exercises, or meaningful conversation about the difficult “real-world” obstacles that need to be overcome. The training classes are pre-packaged sessions that are taught the same way over and ...