As many of you already know, the development of a well-tuned sales team requires a combination of the right people with the right processes and the right tools. And some of you may have even taken the time to carefully develop and put all those elements into place. Meaning that 1) your sales team has the right combination of Hunters and Farmers for your particular product or service; 2) you've outlined a sales process to ensure each lead is filtered through the process correctly and efficiently; and 3) you've created the sales tools to make the sales team's jobs easier.

When was the last time you trained on sales processes, reviewed available materials, or even educated your team on the details of your products and services? In fact, when was the last time you infused new techniques for cold calling, giving presentations, and/or closing techniques? If you're like most, you're likely struggling to remember the last time you conducted any official sales training at all.

Consistent and regularly scheduled sales training is an extremely important element to managing sales teams, yet it is often overlooked. In truth, a good program includes 3 types of training to keep your sales team effective, efficient, and enthusiastic as they strive to be A.S.E.:

Acquire. This type of training session should be designed to help sales people acquire knowledge and information, whether it be to review existing tools and processes or learn about new products. Believe it or not, your sales team may not know the tools you've worked so hard to create even exist, or perhaps they simply aren't sure how to apply them to their process. Use these sessions to inform and arm your sales team with the knowledge they need to do their job. You might even learn a few things about what they really need or how they really use your tools that you never knew before!

Share. Sharing best practices amongst the sales and marketing team is some of the best training there is. Even seasoned team mates will benefit from this type of training. You're giving them the opportunity to share their experiences with new members of your team. And, they benefit from the enthusiasm and fresh ideas that new team members often bring to the table. Allowing your sales people to share their knowledge and experience goes a long way to building a well-integrated and highly motivated team. It also gives you the opportunity to pick your sales team's brain to find out what's new in the field. They're on the front line, so they have first hand knowledge about your competition, new objections, and market trends that are emerging.

Excite. Motivational training, presented in a way that is fun, is especially key for those tough topics, such as cold calling or presentation training. For this type of training, think of creative ways to encourage each person's participation—role-playing, cold calling blitzes with prize giveaways, product quiz scavenger hunts, etc.—to help keep their attention and increase retention of the information. Also, consider bringing in speakers for ½ or full day sessions to cover specific topics, such as pipeline management, overcoming objections, cold calling techniques, etc.

Consistent sales training is key to Achieving the Sales Edge (A.S.E.). As you outline your sales strategy, be sure to schedule one of these 3 types of training each month (3 per quarter). That way you can be sure that your team is using every advantage available to come out on top!

This article is brought to you with the permission of Go-To-Market Strategies, a sales and marketing resource center. Available on the web at www.gotomarketstrategies.com.