Some companies rely on behavior-based training to teach employees how to sell. Instead of referring to traditional written documents like safety regulations and department policies, behavior-based training asks the employees to use visual and imitation tools. It’s a show don’t tell mentality.
Hermann International research has looked into the art of behavior-based sales and has found that selling and buying are more rooted in thinking, not behavior, thus making behavior-based sales obsolete.
“Our more than 30 years of research on the brain and business performance has shown that thinking styles impact how we process information, how we buy and sell, what we pay most attention to, and how we make decisions,” said Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, CEO of Herrmann International. “Behavioral approaches can help the salesperson manage a sales conversation in an efficient way, but they don’t reflect the mental processes that actually drive sales activities or purchasing decisions, so they don’t provide the complete set of tools to be persuasive, effective and responsive. Particularly in today’s demanding world, many external factors are impacting behavior; thinking is what’s constant.”
For example, a behavior-based program involves more evaluations of the processes, practices, and procedures that relate to employees performance. The idea is to monitor employees constantly to make sure that they are producing positive results.
Hermann-Nehdi said that this type of thinking will not maximize sales, and administration should look at more effective tools, such as mapping the mental demands of sales jobs, using thinking to optimize training, and providing employees with communication techniques.
“The best part is this doesn’t require throwing out everything you’re already doing or slowing down the process,” said Orin Salas, VP of Sales at Herrmann International. “It actually helps salespeople get prepared, proficient and closing larger, more profitable deals on a faster pace. In fact, one client reduced training time from 24 months to 7 using this approach. It also allows the salesperson to focus their attention in the most high-value way, which is especially important in today’s noisy, pressure-filled environment.”
Hermann International even complied their ideas in a report called, Wired for Sales: Supercharge Sales Professionals’ Performance in a Demanding World, where they look at behavior-based training vs. the thinking approach.