The Difference Between Sales Training and Sales Coaching - and Why You Need Both by Niraj Kapur (Guest Author)
The fastest way to grow your business is to increase sales.
If you work for somebody else then the fastest way to earn six figures a year is to smash your sales targets.
There’s 3 ways to do this.
Let’s set aside the obvious ones first.
1. The more you learn, the more you earn. Every day you should be learning for 30 minutes; that can be a sales book, Audible, podcast or Youtube videos. This will help you make small improvements although it will only take you so far.
Then there’s things not enough people consider, the things that will make a MASSIVE difference to your career.
2. Sales training.
3. Sales coaching.
Saying you don’t have a budget is no longer valid in this competitive world. Covid-19 is not an excuse for you not to invest in yourself.
Steve Jobs launched iPod in 2001 when times were tough because he knew Sony, his biggest potential competitor at the time, were cutting back. Companies from Disney to IBM to Microsoft were launched in tough times. More millionaires are created during tough times than when times are prosperous.
Why?
They invest in themselves. They don’t wait to see what’s going to happen. It’s okay to be scared, it’s not okay to do nothing about it. You put in the good work now, you reap the benefits later. Successful people go after their dreams regardless of the times of year or economy.
So should you.
What’s the difference between sales training and coaching? That’s like going online for dietary advice. There’s a LOT of answers.
Here’s what I know from 23 years in sales in London including 8 years coaching sales teams.
Sales training
Focuses on the broad picture. You want to learn how to maximise Linkedin, here’s LinkedIn training. You want to you learn how to overcome objections, here’s a list of 20 objections. Let’s discuss solutions.
Involved a large group and is ideal for new starters
This tends to be at the beginning of your financial year.
PS once a year training is not enough.
Doctors, teachers, plumbers, most people spend years learning their craft. Salespeople are given a few hours to a day of training from their boss or the HR department. It’s not enough.
Sales Coaching
This is more 121 focused and based on your individual needs.
Since it’s more personal you often develop a closer bond with the person you’re coaching.
You can go deep into a potential problem like mindset or pipeline.
Every businessperson you admire has a coach, that why you should be investing in group sales training and 121 coaching.
Whether you have coaching and training:
You make mistakes in a safe environment
You gain more confidence
You learn more so you can help your clients more
Clients trust you when you know what you're talking about. When those relationships strengthen, they invest more with you.You enjoy sales more. This is important since most people don’t enjoy selling. The more you enjoy you work, the more revenue you can generate.
When teams know more, they develop stronger bonds which help you make more sales.
Most important to the FD and CEO, it’s about getting results. Always have ROI in place you can measure and always keep yourself and your staff accountable.
Niraj Kapur is an expert sales trainer, 121 coach and author of the Amazon bestsellers, Everybody Works in Sales and The Easy Guide to Sales for Business Owners.
He’s trained 190 clients from small businesses to SMEs to corporates like Google, Barclays and Sainsbury’s. He can be reached on
+ 44 7733179854 niraj@everybodyworksinsales.com or https://uk.linkedin.com/in/nkapur
