Michael Giudicissi ( MG to his friends) is Vice President of Busines Development for Heritate Home Care in Albuquerque, NM. A talented speaker and experienced home care sales manager, Michael gave the group some hands-on , down-to-earth tips on how to train sales professionals in home care.
Do You Know Who is Representing You? Most customers will judge your company by your representative. They make their initial judgement in 15 – 20 seconds, their long term judgement in the first 2 minutes, and it can take up to 20 “touches” to reverse an initial impression.
You cannot execute an effective sales training plan unless you know what training your staff needs. Spend time in the field with your sales force. Assist in making calls but don’t do it for them. Evaluate each call after it’s over and decide on training needs.
You NEED an IBS. Not Irritable Bowel Syndrome … but an Initial Benefit Statement. This is a 15 – 20 second statement that sets the stage for the call and gets the sales rep 2 minutes to present your program. The IBS is concise, confident, informational and talks about why a referral sources is likely to be interested in what you are selling. It needs to be well prepared and flawlessly practiced.
Role Playing is a valuable training tool. In most cases, role playing is harder than the actual sales call. It involves drawing up realistic sales scenarios and giving your sales reps the opportunity to “play the roles” as they learn to think on their feet, respond to difficult questions, and handle rejection. Michael suggests having your sales reps practice by presenting to clinicians to get feedback on their presentaitons. He also recommends videotaping the sessions and providing instant self-review.
In closing, Michael shared “The Final Secret.”
- Show up
- Be courteous and professional
- Be ready to do business
- 80% of your success in just being there
- The other 20% is in the training
- and Finally … Ask For The Business!!!
You learn more about Heritage Home Healthcare & Hospice at http://www.heritagehomehealthcare.com/
