I robot?! -Training Human Sales Staff

Unless you’re an undertaker or a florist, I am pretty sure the words, we have just had a death, are NOT an invitation for a sales pitch! And yet that is exactly what happened to me this month whilst simply trying to pay my credit card bill in a high street bank.

At the time I was gob-smacked and thought the young woman outrageous, which just resulted in the 2 of us getting upset. But later I realised what had happened; the cashier had been reading her prompt questions, as instructed , and clearly there was no response to we have just had a death , so after a moment’s hesitation she just carried on with the sales pitch!

Losing our humanity

Whilst she could have used her common sense, it was not this poor girls fault; she was just reading from the questions given to her by the sales management. With the pressure on to hit targets and make a sale she lost her humanity.

I know these lists are useful and I know many companies that use them, but they are just meant to be reminders and prompts, not an unwavering script to be completed at any cost. Who ever had trained her had given her no room for listening or building rapport, just hard sell.

Robots on the front desk

So if, as it seems, her humanity has been trained out of her (and I presume she is not a one off), we are left with robot like sales staff.

Now we all know very well that people buy from people they know like and trust, and so it would seem that there is something deeply fundamental getting lost in this training process. In this new business era of transparency and accountability, the need for good customer engagement is crucial. And in this industry in particular, with more people using online banking etc, the need for good face to face engagement, when that opportunity arises, is even more important. So why do I usually end up feeling mobbed when I go to the bank or post office now? – harangued by desperate sales staff who insist that I need a new credit card/ phone provider and won’t take no for an answer, when all I want is a passport form!

For sure, ask, and certainly let people know what else you offer, but don’t forget that we are intelligent beings please.

Your company’s front line staff are the face of your business and need the most, not the least, training in sales and people skills. Today pushy and aggressive sales techniques are not acceptable. Sales skills now are about building relationships, understanding your customers, and selling them the right thing for them. If you build relationships and market your products well, people will remember you when the time is right for them. But if you are aggressive with people, we will just give you a wide berth.

So, unless your strategy includes excellent sales training, you will lose more customers than you gain. I know that it will be a long time before I set foot in that particular branch again.

What is your experience?

I would like to hear your experiences of sales training, as a sales professional or as a customer on the receiving end of their training.