Definition: Sales Trainer

There are plenty of reasons why you would want to hire a sales consultant or trainer for your company. Perhaps you have a new product line coming out and want to enter the market with a big splash? Or your sales force has not been meeting their quota? Or you want to improve your sales team's cold calling techniques? Or the closing ratio of your salespeople could use some improvement? Whatever the reason, you must hire the right sales trainer. There are certain things you must look for when making the decision on hiring a sales trainer:

What can the sales trainer do for your organization? Ask for specifics. What exactly will he do? Ask him to be specific about numbers. Ask for specifics on what percentage he will be able to increase sales by. Does he guarantee his work? What will he do if sales numbers don’t increase as promised?

Interview the sales consultant just as you would interview any new employee: One of the best questions to ask a sales training candidate is to ask him how will he go about his job. This is important. You must hire someone that is likeable. In particular, how will he interact with the sales force? This is a slippery slope because your sales team may think that they are being punished if they don’t like the new trainer; he must be able to make a great first impression, empathetic, and likeable. He should be able to demonstrate having these traits in the interview.

Ask for references: You need to speak with past clients. Ask them if they had received the same promises that you are receiving. And, did the trainer come through as promised? Or was he short on the results? Don't ever hire someone that does not offer references. He should not have anything to hide.

Scrutinize his resume: The trainer that you hire should have a spectacular resume. It should include stints in sales jobs, even better if it was for Fortune 500 companies. Do not hire a sales consultant that has not had a great sales career. He cannot teach people unless he has, himself, done the job. And, check that his claims are true. Call his prior employers to see whether he was, in fact, a great salesman. Only a real sales pro can teach other salespeople.