Clever Geek Handbook
16 September 2025

Evaluating Training Programs

Recommendation

Donald L. Kirkpatrick presents a system for evaluating the effectiveness of a training program. The system assesses four types of information: the reactions of the participants, the learning they achieved, changes in their behavior, and the final business results (such as increased production, improved quality, decreased costs, or higher profits). This solid, organized approach to evaluation includes guidelines, sample questionnaires, charts and formulas, as well as case studies of companies using this approach. However, because it is fairly dry and technical, this book primarily will interest those who run or rely upon training programs. The summaries of the first chapters - covering the evaluation system - can provide managers and executives with a general idea of this approach and the research involved. But BooksInShort particularly recommends this book to those leading training programs, because they can use its specific material as a reference when undertaking evaluations.

Take-Aways

  • Evaluate training programs to determine how effective they have been.
  • When planning and implementing a training program, start by determining needs and setting objectives.
  • Planning includes determining content, selecting participants, setting the schedule, and selecting facilities and instructors.
  • Evaluation starts with fundamentals and progresses to a deeper analysis.
  • The four levels of evaluation measure reaction, learning, behavior and results.
  • Measuring reaction essentially means assessing customer (that is, learner) satisfaction.
  • Measuring learning means assessing the extent to which participants changed their attitudes, or gained greater skills or knowledge.
  • Measuring behavior means evaluating how participants’ behavior changes in the workplace.
  • Measuring results means evaluating organizational results, such as increases in production, improved quality, or decreased costs.
  • You can use surveys or interviews to help you evaluate at each level.

Summary

The Ten-Step Evaluation Process

You need the ability to evaluate training programs to determine their effectiveness. Upper-level executives and training managers must be able to make decisions based on whether or not a program worked. To end up with a solid training program, consider these 10 factors when you are planning and implementing training:

  • Determine needs - Using interviews or a survey, ask potential participants, their bosses and others familiar with the job what they need to know. Test the participants, or analyze their performance appraisal forms. With a survey, participants can quickly indicate their level of need for training on a particular subject. Compile these sums and create a weighted score for each category. Use this data to help you decide what training programs to establish. An advisory committee can help you decide what to cover. Keep them posted on evaluation results to deepen their knowledge and ability to help you.
  • Set objectives - Once you know what the needs are, establish objectives for the program according to the results you want, such as improvements in production, sales, quality, turnover, absenteeism, morale, quality of work life, profits, or return on investment. Determine what knowledge, skills and attitudes you want participants to learn and what new behavior you want them to adopt as a result.
  • Determine the subject - You or the trainer should decide what topics to present to meet the stated needs and to accomplish the objectives. Based on the subject and on your objectives, determine how to provide the training.
  • Select the participants - To choose participants, ask four key questions. 1) Who will benefit? 2) What training programs do various regulations require you to provide? 3) Should training be voluntary or compulsory? 4) Should you offer the training to participants at different levels of the organization, or combine organizational levels in the same training sessions?
  • Determine the schedule - Consider the convenience of the trainees and their bosses, and the best conditions for learning. Consider whether to set up a concentrated program - such as a solid week or weekend of training - or, to spread training over several weeks or months as an ongoing program. Generally, an ongoing program - such as a monthly three-hour session - is preferable. A three-hour session provides enough time to include various kinds of instruction, group participation, and videotapes or other materials.
  • Select the facilities - Choose facilities that are appropriate, comfortable, and convenient. Avoid rooms that are too small, noisy, or stuffy, or have uncomfortable furniture. Avoid places that are too hot or cold, or that have inconvenient locations.
  • Select the instructors - Instructors should know the subject, enjoy teaching, communicate well, and be effective at getting people to participate. Seek "learner-oriented" instructors who are focused on meeting the needs of your trainees.
  • Select and prepare audio-visual aids - Audio-visual aids help participants stay interested and encourage communication.
  • Coordinate the program - In some cases, an outside trainer will handle the coordination details and will teach. In other cases, you or others in your organization will assist with the details of coordination, such as arranging for meals and for materials such as flip charts, handouts, and reaction surveys.
  • Evaluate the program - Plan your approach to evaluating the program’s effectiveness.

Reasons to Evaluate Programs

You want to evaluate training programs to determine how effective they have been and how you might further improve them. Other reasons for evaluating programs might include determining whether or not to continue a program and to assess the importance (or continuation) of a training department by showing how it contributes to the company’s objectives and goals.

“By demonstrating to top management that training has tangible, positive results, trainers will find that their job is more secure, even if and when downsizing occurs.”

To improve a training program, focus on eight key areas when you conduct an evaluation:

  1. How well does the subject matter meets the needs of attendees?
  2. Is the current leader the best-qualified person to teach the program?
  3. Does the leader use the most effective methods for maintaining interest and teaching the content you want taught?
  4. Are the facilities satisfactory?
  5. Is the schedule appropriate for participants?
  6. Are the teaching aids (audio-visuals, etc.) effective in holding participants’ interest and improving communication?
  7. Was the program was coordinated effectively?
  8. What can you or the trainer do to improve the program?

Four Levels of Evaluation

The four levels of evaluation represent four ways to assess programs, starting with the most fundamental level and progressing to a deeper analysis. Start with the first level and then look at each subsequent level, since each on is important and has an impact on the next. The four levels are: Reaction, Learning, Behavior and Results.

  • Level One: Reaction. This is essentially a measure of "customer satisfaction" in that it measures how program participants respond to a program. You are hoping for a positive reaction, since participants generally must respond favorably to be in a frame of mind in which they to want to learn. If they react to a program negatively, they are less likely to learn from it.
  • Level Two: Learning. Measure the extent to which participants changed their attitudes or gained greater knowledge or skills as a result of the training program. Some programs are set up to change knowledge, skills, and attitudes; others focus on one particular element. For instance, programs on diversity are designed primarily to change attitudes; technical programs are designed to improve skills, and programs on leadership, motivation, or communication are designed to cover all three objectives.
  • Level Three: Behavior. Did the participants’ behavior change due to the program? Four conditions must be met for behavioral change to occur. The person being trained must want to change, must know what to do, must know how to do it, and must work in a climate that rewards change. These last two conditions are critical, since even if a person seeks change and has been taught what to do and how to do it, behavioral change won’t occur without a favorable climate and a supportive boss. The workplace climate should encourage change, not prevent it, discourage it, require it, or be neutral about it. An encouraging climate offers participants intrinsic or extrinsic rewards for changing. An intrinsic reward might be a sense of pride or achievement; an extrinsic reward could be praise, recognition, or even extra money.
  • Level Four: Results. Look at the final results of the training from the organizational perspective. You might measure increased production, improved quality, decreased costs, reduced frequency or severity of accidents, increased sales, reduced turnover, heightened regulatory compliance, or higher profits. Often these results are why your company wanted training programs in the first place, so you state training’s final objectives in these terms, based on corporate priorities. These results can be more difficult to measure, since many other internal (i.e. turnover, etc.) and external influences (i.e. market pressures, etc.) can affect them. However, link what happened in training to these broader organizational goals as much as you can.

Evaluating Reaction

Most trainers use reaction sheets, which come in dozens of formats. Determine what you want to find out and design a survey form and scoring sheet to quantify reactions specifically along those lines. Encourage participants to write down their comments and suggestions. Strive for a 100% immediate response. Encourage an honest response by telling participants not to write their names on their evaluation forms. You can develop acceptable standards several ways, such as tabulating responses to get a baseline rating. Then, measure your reactions against these standards, and act accordingly to improve the program if necessary. Finally, communicate these reactions as appropriate to the program trainer or top management, so the program can be modified or continued based on these results.

Evaluating Learning

Develop measures to assess what knowledge was learned, what skills were developed or improved, and what attitudes were changed. You can evaluate the levels of knowledge, skills, or attitudes before training, and again afterwards. If practical, use a control group of people who have not yet received training so you can measure changes in the people who participated in the training (called the "experimental group"), compared to those who did not. You can use a paper and pencil test, such as a multiple-choice test, to measure knowledge and attitudes. However, when you measure skills, use a performance test to see how well the participants perform after the training compared to their performance before training. Again, seek a 100% response and then use the results to take the appropriate action.

Evaluating Behavior

First, you need to allow some time after training for the behavior to take place. You can’t predict exactly when a change in behavior will occur, since a trainee may not immediately need to apply the learning he or she has gained. It could take some time for the new behavior to occur, or it may never happen. However, the way to promote behavioral change is to provide the trainee with help, encouragement, and either intrinsic or extrinsic rewards. If feasible, evaluate the behavior before and after the training, and use a control group for comparison. You can also survey or interview trainees, their immediate supervisors, their subordinates, or anyone else who observes their behavior. Get a 100% response if you can, or use sampling. Repeat the evaluation at appropriate intervals, considering the costs of the program compared to the benefits. Sample interviews or survey questionnaires might be helpful when you design your evaluation.

Evaluating Results

Use a control group and measure before and after the program if you can. Allow time for participants to achieve results. Consider the cost of the training program versus its specific benefits for your organization. You may not be able to prove the results of the training positively, since the results you are measuring (such as profits or turnover) are affected by so many other factors. In that case, try to obtain the best possible evidence of the results in making your assessment.

Effective Evaluation

This four-level approach has proved effective for many different companies, thus providing case studies to help you design your own program. These include programs on: 1) performance appraisal and coaching, 2) leadership training, 3) creative management, 4) problem solving, 5) corporate performance improvement, 6) outdoor-based training, 7) safety training, and 8) stress management. You can apply this evaluation approach to any type of training program.

About the Author

Donald L. Kirkpatrick is a former national president of the American Society for Training and Development. He regularly conducts evaluation workshops. He has consulted on management training and development for companies including Blockbuster, Coca-Cola, Eastman Kodak, GE, and IBM. His previous books include How to Train and Develop Supervisors and How to Manage Change Effectively.

Read summary...
Evaluating Training Programs

Book Evaluating Training Programs

The Four Levels

Berrett-Koehler,
 


16 September 2025

The New Experts

Recommendation

Today’s customers hold vast power, and they know it. They can choose from an endless array of products and services. The Internet keeps them informed about companies and their offerings and enables them to purchase items from virtually anywhere across the globe. How do firms survive in this challenging buyer-centric market? Business growth maven Robert H. Bloom offers some expert ideas. Through numerous valuable, informative case histories of successful and unsuccessful businesses, he shows how to win even the toughest customers. Though his book is easy to read, some of its points – for example, offer great service after the sale, be likable, think like the customer – are fairly pedestrian precepts any responsible company tries to meet. Still, Bloom offers useful sales guidance and interesting vignettes of companies that work hard to exceed customer expectations. BooksInShort recommends his book to corporate leaders, as well as to marketing, sales, and operations and customer-service managers.

Take-Aways

  • Sellers used to control what buyers knew about goods, where they bought them and how.
  • Now buyers are in charge due to their increased access to product information, a broader array of choices, and the recession economy, which has weakened sellers.
  • Buyers no longer feel much loyalty to companies. They follow the best deals.
  • However, their wants and fears put them at a psychological disadvantage.
  • Sellers who are aware of this can use this knowledge to make sales at four “Decisive Customer Moments.”
  • These pivot points are the “Now-or-Never moment,” the “Make-or-Break moment,” the “Keep-or-Lose moment” and the “Highly Profitable Multiplier moment.”
  • Develop “Customer Preference” at each stage of the purchase process.
  • Offer sales prospects unique benefits that fit their needs.
  • Salespeople who perform well at every stage develop “personal equity” with their customers, equity they can use to generate more sales and referrals.
  • To succeed in the modern marketplace, sellers must think like buyers.

Summary

Buyers Call the Shots

Sellers once controlled commercial transactions, but now buyers are firmly in charge. Today’s consumers can choose from a vast array of worldwide, competitive offerings. Since the 2008-09 recession, buyers have learned they can capitalize on sellers’ weakened economic positions. At the same time, their devotion to businesses they previously patronized has seriously diminished. In fact, research shows that only 20% of those who purchased cars in 2009 acted on brand loyalty, compared to 80% during the 1980s. Buyers want the best deal.

“Customer loyalty will not rise from the grave that was dug by a robust economy, abundant choice and seller apathy.”

The Internet and other technologies also have empowered buyers in unprecedented ways. Before the web, consumers had to go to retailers and manufacturers for first-hand information on products. Businesses could decide to share this information or not, according to their own interests. Before credit emerged, retailers controlled credit terms; they could choose to extend it or refuse it. And before debit cards and ATMs, banks shaped consumers’ financial decisions, including how and when clients could access their own funds. Thus, consumers did not possess the predominant buying power – sellers did.

“Buyers no longer care which seller they buy from – which gives buyers all the power.”

Not anymore. Now credit is easily available. Technology empowers buyers and enables them to become the “new experts,” secure comprehensive information about whatever they want to buy, choose from a vast array of options and make immediate cost comparisons. Sellers offer shoppers countless products in every size and color, plus multiple delivery and service options, and 24-hour-a-day buying, over the phone or through websites. Search engines let customers instantly compare prices. Consumers can connect with each other on Twitter and Facebook to discuss the best products and the best deals. Now, buyers hold all the cards.

“Technology and choice changed every aspect of commerce, but the transformation in the marketplace went largely unnoticed.”

Ironically, for many years, sellers did not see that buyers were gaining the upper hand. This is understandable. Business was pretty much uniformly excellent due to a growing, optimistic middle class with money to spend, and a quickly expanding, robust economy. Companies had exceptionally strong sustained sales. Buyers would line up to purchase whatever they needed. Contented sellers did not notice that their world was undergoing a radical change. Technology and other market factors were shifting the purchase process advantage to buyers.

Smart Sellers Can Still Do Well

Sellers have finally woken up. They know the road forward has changed, putting buyers in the driver’s seat. Nevertheless, savvy sellers can continue to do well if they know how to speak to consumers’ psychological vulnerabilities. All “buyers have...wants, needs and aspirations, as well as apprehensions, concerns and fears.” Address the concerns of these typical buyers:

  • The husband and wife who have worked hard and now want a beautiful car.
  • The construction firm leader who needs a huge crane to be competitive on project bids.
  • The parents who aspire to help their child obtain the right piano and training to become a great pianist.
  • The engaged pair who feels apprehensive about selecting a good diamond ring.
  • The bosses who fear the technology they’re buying will cost too much or age too quickly.
  • The project manager who is afraid that his new heavy equipment will arrive late.
“Far too often, we, as sellers, think like a seller and act like a seller.”

At such pressure-filled moments, sellers can influence buyers. Unfortunately, many sellers are not aware of these exploitable turning points, featuring “emotionally driven purchasing events.” At such pivot points, you can get people to buy your products or services instead of your competitors’ products. First, start to “think like buyers.” As Walmart vice chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright explains, “Think about the way that you yourself would act...as a customer.” Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, agrees: “We start with customers, figure out what they want and figure out how to get it to them.”

“Preference...is deliberately making a choice to obtain a real or perceived benefit – a benefit the customer values enough to let it influence the decision about where and from whom to purchase.”

To that end, sellers must abandon their own mistaken ideas about typical consumer attitudes. Don’t expect your clients to adhere to old, conventional marketing paradigms. People will not:

  • Loyally go to your website instead of your competition’s.
  • Keep your location in mind.
  • Admire your brand and use your goods or services exclusively.
  • Believe strongly that you provide a far better value than your competitors.
“At each of these crucial moments, you can make your business first choice.”

Maybe these expectations were once realistic, but they aren’t any more. Contemporary buyers don’t focus on a seller’s characteristics. Pitching to their sense of loyalty will not work. It’s gone with the economic times. Customers now prioritize “the seller’s quality, reliability and responsiveness.” Set aside your “buyer’s brain” and plug in your “seller’s brain” to put yourself in position to motivate consumers “when they are most vulnerable and impulsive.” If you meet their wishes they will buy from you. However, counteracting the “revolution in buyer behavior” requires making yourself into the customer’s preferred supplier based on the benefits you provide. Your customers want you to offer:

  • “Likeability” – Shoppers will not buy from people they dislike.
  • “Trust” – If you treat purchasers badly, you will lose their trust forever.
  • “Guarantee” – Your product or service guarantee must be easy to read and understand.
  • “Ease of navigating a vendor’s website” – Customers will abandon your website quickly if they cannot immediately find what they want.
  • “Best option” – The best way to win customers is to be the best choice in the market.
  • “Reflection of what a brand says about the buyer” – Consumers feel that they gain status from buying quality brands.
“The Keep-or-Lose Moment is your least expensive and most valuable opportunity to retain customers, generate repeat purchases, and motivate advocacy and referral.”

Every buyer is empowered to select one purchase option instead of another, so becoming a consumer’s first choice has many advantages. A buyer who comes to prefer buying from you will make an effort to obtain your goods, will pay a premium price, will not require bid submissions, will buy frequently and will even tolerate your mistakes. To achieve that status with customers, you must leverage the four “Decisive Customer Moments” to your advantage:

1: “Now-or-Never – Your First Brief Contact”

The consumer’s first encounter with your company is a vital step in the way a transaction progresses. At this stage, you want to convert prospects into customers. When salespeople fail to win new contacts and customers, they rationalize their failures with such excuses as “You can’t win them all” and “Initial contacts are unpredictable.” “Customer preference” makes all the difference at this decisive moment. You need prospective buyers to like you. First, learn all you can about your prospects. Ask how much time they have to spend with you and don’t exceed that limit. Pay attention to what people say and how they act. Ask intelligent questions. Determine if the prospects can make purchase decisions or if they need someone else’s approval.

“Personal equity with a customer is built on the aggregate investments you made throughout the customer’s prolonged purchase progression.”

Since your website often will be a prospect’s first point of contact, make sure it offers a positive experience. Amazon’s welcoming website offers fully intuitive searching and is easy to navigate. The “Where’s My Stuff?” and “Need Help?” buttons make visitors feel as if Amazon cares about them. An effective website must draw consumers in, help them find the information they want, communicate your product’s benefits and earn customer preference by meeting all their shopping needs.

2: “Make-or-Break – The Lengthy Transaction Process”

This is the transaction period, a time for “consideration, negotiation and decision.” This is when buyers commit or get cold feet, when deals culminate or crumble. To make sales, thoroughly engage with your prospective buyers. Stanley Marcus, a founder of high-end retailer Neiman Marcus, would roam through his elegant department store, a super salesman ready to help close deals. When a customer tried on an expensive fur coat or a pricey necklace, his salespeople would secretly summon Marcus to the scene. He would apparently pop “out of nowhere,” to tell the shopper how great she looked with her new coat or jewelry. “It looks like it was made for you,” Marcus would tell the impressed customer. Often, this “grand master of customer engagement” would persuade clients to make numerous expensive purchases at the same time.

“Every purchaser buys on emotion.”

To close more sales, satisfy these customer concerns:

  • Deliver the product precisely when the customer wants it.
  • Customize the product to meet the buyer’s particular desires.
  • Include a “free” extra to close the sale.
  • Cover a repair at no cost – even if the warranty is out of date..
  • In commercial sales be sure to meet the bid’s “respond by” date and agree to the customer’s proposed payment terms.

3: “Keep-or-Lose – The Customer’s Continued Usage”

By this stage, the company has made the sale and the buyer is using the product or the service. Often, sellers stop paying attention to the customer at this point so they can focus on closing more prospects. This is a big mistake. To keep your customers fully satisfied, make sure they receive the benefits and service that you promised, and that they enjoy a positive experience. Stay in touch and work hard to turn the customer into a “repeat buyer.” Just to keep clients happy and win the “battle to reduce customer churn,” your firm must perform at a high level long after the time of purchase.

“Customer churn is the most common and most destructive cause of bottom-line shrinkage.”

In 2001, Volvo tried to gain a foothold in India’s “luxury bus market.” The automaker provided nearly 20 “trial” buses to Indian operators. Volvo stressed its rock-solid commitment to service, even after the sale was set. When something went wrong, Volvo immediately dispatched a service unit to get the bus quickly back on the road. As Volvo demonstrates, to build sales you should:

  • Adopt a “customer-centric” attitude.
  • Pay close attention to how the customer describes the specific problem.
  • Offer sincere apologies for any problems.
  • Tell the customer you will work hard to do better in the future.
  • Ask the customer to tell you what will make him or her fully satisfied – then do everything to exceed those expectations.

4: “The Multiplier – Repeat Purchase, Advocacy and Referral”

This is the pivotal opportunity to transform a “one-time customer into a repeat customer” and perhaps even a booster for your company who will refer more business to you. To secure more purchases as well as new client recommendations from your current customers, meet four goals:

  1. Deliver superior performance at all times.
  2. Stay in close touch with your customers so you can build “top-of-mind awareness.”
  3. Leverage the “personal equity” you have established with your clients to secure more sales from them.
  4. Using this personal equity, motivate your buyers to become enthusiastic advocates for your company and to refer other business to you.
“Performance must be the paramount mission of your company.”

Every investment you make in superior service during each stage of the purchase progression builds all-important personal equity. Carrying out the necessary steps to “make your business first choice” may require substantial internal change, in keeping with the massive shift of power from sellers to buyers. Organizations that are unwilling to make the necessary alterations will find it difficult to remain competitive. To succeed, “think like a buyer and act like a seller.” A customer-centric approach is your only viable option.

About the Author

Robert H. Bloom is the former US chairman and CEO of Publicis Worldwide. He wrote The Inside Advantage: The Strategy That Unlocks the Hidden Growth in Your Business.

Read summary...
The New Experts

Book The New Experts

Win Today's Newly Empowered Customers at Their 4 Decisive Moments

Greenleaf Book Group,
 


16 September 2025

Soft Sell

Recommendation

This business classic is now in its twentieth printing and third revised edition for good reason: It helps salespeople sell. This precise guide covers every aspect of sales, from the nuts-and-bolts of prospecting and closing to the inspiration and motivation that keeps you fired up and excited about your work and goals. BooksInShort recommends this book to all sales professionals, including managers. But we also encourage all non-sales professionals to spend some time with this book, since whether you like it or not, selling is an important skill in your career and your daily life.

Take-Aways

  • Control and direct your thinking and you can control and direct your prospect’s thinking.
  • Your prospect’s enthusiasm for your product or service is based on your enthusiasm.
  • Your success in sales depends upon high new-prospect awareness.
  • You must become a master prospector.
  • You’ll sell more by listening than talking.
  • Determine what your prospects want, not what they need.
  • To close a sale you must have a will to win and the ability to visualize a successful close.
  • Welcome, encourage and answer sales objections.
  • Keep, analyze and learn from your sales records.
  • A service attitude gets and keeps customers.

Summary

Selling As an Opportunity

Selling means something different to each person. What does it mean to you? Why are you in the selling profession? Success stories in selling are as plentiful and varied as sales people, but selling is an obligation you can’t take lightly if you want to succeed. You owe it to yourself and your company to be the best you can be. If you’re not yet where you want to be, you can take steps to get there.

“Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” [Vince Lombardi]

Begin with self-analysis. Are you satisfied with your professional progress? Are you satisfied with your financial progress? Why or why not? List your personal, non-material assets and liabilities. What are your strongest assets and greatest weaknesses? Do you have the full support of your family as you move toward your goals? Why or why not? Do you have the full support of your company manager, associates and colleagues as you move toward your goals? Why or why not? State your belief in yourself, your profession and your product or service. Then ask yourself if you have complete and up-to-date knowledge of your business. Are you delivering better results every day?

“I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was.” [Muhammad Ali]

Are other people putting more energy into their work than you are? Do you think and plan as much as you should? Are you as enthusiastic as you should be? Are you developing rapidly enough to keep up with the company’s progress? Ask yourself if you are using the successful salesperson’s key attributes:

  • 10% professional knowledge.
  • 15% selling skills.
  • 25% people skills.
  • 50% proper attitude.
“Would you be interested to know the major cause of failure in sales? It’s the fear of rejection.”

Are you maintaining those percentages, especially that all-important kicker: attitude?

Rules of the Road

The fundamentals of selling can be summarized in 10 basic rules:

  1. Your ability to control and direct your prospect’s thinking is directly related to your ability to control and direct your own thinking.
  2. Your prospect’s enthusiasm for your product or service is a product of your enthusiasm for your product or service.
  3. Your ultimate success in sales depends on your ability to maintain a high new-prospect awareness consistently.
  4. If you can only master one skill in selling, become a master prospector. Being great at prospecting will guarantee your future success.
  5. Judge your ability to give a good presentation by your ability to listen. You’ll sell more by listening than by talking.
  6. Determine what your prospects want, not what they need. Needs are logical; wants and desires are emotional.
  7. Closing a sale requires only one attitude, the will to win, and only one skill, the ability to visualize your prospect as buying before you close.
  8. Sales objections are as important to a successful sale as having a product or service to sell. Welcome them, encourage them and answer them.
  9. Sales records are a must - keep, analyze and learn from your records.
  10. Only one attitude separates winners from losers in sales - a service attitude. Your customer expects and deserves it. If he doesn’t get it, he’ll buy from your competitor.

Motivation

Motivation is a simple concept: goal-directed action. This is similar to the definition of success as moving toward a predetermined, personal goal. You can’t have success without motivation. Your ultimate success depends upon your ability to maintain a high degree of internal motivation, that is, to have both motives and actions every day. One common misconception states that you can motivate others. You cannot motivate anyone but yourself. You can show other people how to motivate themselves, but you can’t do it for them. When you go to a seminar, read a motivational book or listen to a motivational cassette, it can give you a boost that lets you increase your sales activity temporarily, but can you make the motivation last? Can you continue to motivate yourself from inside?

“Motivation is not an external factor, but an internal one. Parents don’t motivate their children, sales managers don’t motivate their salespeople; people motivate themselves.”

The most common methods of external motivation are fear and incentive. Since both are external, they have a tendency to be temporary. Only internal motivation is lasting and consistent. Fear motivation is effective for many people, but it doesn’t work all the time on everyone. That’s because it’s based on do-it-or-else punishment. Fear motivation is not particularly effective with people who are willing to tolerate the punishment.

“What can you offer your client other than your products or services? You can provide a continuous flow of ideas. You can be an idea gold mine.”

Incentive motivation is the opposite, offering reward instead of punishment. While more effective than fear motivation, incentive motivation also tends to be temporary. Since incentive motivation is based on a want, once the want is satisfied, it no longer serves as a motivator. To continue to motivate the individual, you have to raise the "want level." For instance, if a sales contest’s first prize is a color TV, and everyone participating in the contest already has two color TV’s, the contest won’t work. If the reward is a four-week vacation around the world, you’ll see increased enthusiasm for the contest and temporarily increased productivity, but just for the period of the contest. Productivity is directly related to the reward or the desire for the reward.

“Peak performance salespeople study their clients’ business, their industry, their competition and are walking encyclopedias of information on their own products and services.”

One of the inherent problems in sales is that so many companies motivate their sales professionals with a combination of fear and incentives. This approach has only been moderately effective and results in only average productivity. The best motivational method isn’t external - it’s purely internal. Let’s get the donkey to pull the cart because he wants to pull the cart, not because we threaten him or because we reward him with carrots.

Why Salespeople Fail

Poor selling performance can stem from many different roots. To succeed, you must understand your strengths and weaknesses. Ben Franklin once said, "Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn." Consider this diagnostic list of weaknesses behind poor performance and see if you need to work on any of them: lack of continuous training, poor planning, poor attitude, poor use of time, lack of specific goals, lack of self-discipline, procrastination, lack of concentration, neglecting self-evaluation, inability to cope with rejection, inability to keep trying after a failure and lack of creative imagination. No one sells everything every time. The most successful sales professionals still have to endure rejection and failed attempts. The key is to keep going to the next prospect and the next.

Why Salespeople Succeed

Successful sales professionals generally have the following qualities. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on each one to see where you stand and where you need improvement.

  • Definiteness of purpose
  • Desire
  • Enthusiasm
  • Use of knowledge
  • Self-confidence
  • Pleasing personality
  • Faith and belief
  • Going the extra mile
  • Persistence
  • Goal-oriented
  • Self-discipline
  • Personal initiative
  • Imagination
  • Concentration
  • Positive self-image
  • Learning from defeat
  • Sound health
  • Budget your time and money
  • Accurate thinking: seeing things as they really are
  • Empathy

Prospecting and Closing

Prospecting, as defined by Webster’s dictionary, is exploring for gold. Prospectors research and then go digging. In sales, effective prospecting relies on your ability and willingness to do your homework and to ask enough of the right questions until you believe you have a bona fide prospect. Most sales professionals are either reluctant to ask probing questions or simply don’t know how or what to ask. Before you even begin asking questions, decide what kind of information you need to determine whether you have a prospect. Each prospect has different needs, wants and problems.

  • Listen when the prospective client answers your questions.
  • Your questions and their answers help you identify their styles, opinions, their current understanding and awareness of their own needs and your product or service.
  • Questions help you avoid rejection. If the prospect isn’t ready to buy, your questions will help reveal that and you can move on.
  • Questions build trust and rapport. You demonstrate your interest in what the prospect has to say.
  • Questions get the prospect involved and thinking.
  • Intelligent questions make you look competent and knowledgeable.
“Many people over-learn from experience. Mark Twain tells a story about a cat that sat on a hot stove. That cat never sat on another hot stove again. He never sat on a cold one either. He just got out of the business of sitting on stoves. He over-learned from experience.”

The mind of the prospect must go through four stages: you must get attention, create interest, cause a desire and get action. To guide the prospect through these stages you must develop people-reading skills and understand different behavioral styles. Everyone falls into one or more of these behavioral style categories: amiable, analytic, expressive and driver.

“Success is first a personal thing. It is different things to different people. What are you after? What’s important to you?”

Everyone also has one or more of the following action personalities: fatalist, exasperator, appraiser and relator.

Selling isn’t a numbers game, it’s a quality numbers game. Just seeing enough people won’t make you a successful sales professional. The people you contact must be good prospects. To sell, you must control the selling situation with tact and skill. Remember, the most successful closers are also the most successful prospectors. Closing isn’t getting your prospect to make a buying decision, but getting him to agree with the buying decision you’ve made for him. Closing isn’t something you suddenly begin doing at the end of your presentation. You actually begin your close at the beginning of your presentation. Realize that you are there to sell, not to visit. The close is your responsibility, not the prospect’s. You are, or should be, in the best position to make the best decision for your client. The moment of closing should be the time that the client is the most enthusiastic about you and your product or service. But that doesn’t mean that the close won’t be followed later by a nervous change of heart and a cancellation. So, after the close, provide plenty of reassurance regarding the client’s wise buying decision and the product or service. Leave behind a positive, confident, self-assured customer who believes that he or she has just made a brilliant decision.

About the Author

Tim Connor,  CSP, is the president of the Connor Resource Group, Inc. He has been a full-time speaker, trainer and consultant since 1974, and has given thousands of presentations worldwide. He is the author of The Voyage and other books, audio and video learning systems, and the popular newsletter, Life Balance. He has been a member of the National Speakers Association since 1978 and received his CSP (certified speaking professional) designation in 1990. Soft Sell, now in its twentieth printing and third edition, has become an inspirational classic. He lives in Davidson, North Carolina.

Read summary...
Soft Sell

Book Soft Sell

The New Art of Selling, Self-Empowerment and Persuasion, Third Edition

Sourcebooks,
First Edition:1998
 



All Articles
Load More