Do You Need to Rehab Your Sales Teams’ Skills? …Sales Training and Physical Therapy: Unlikely Parallels
Sales training and physical therapy may seem worlds apart but share surprising similarities. Both processes aim to improve performance through structured exercises, and both can involve challenging tasks that push individuals beyond their comfort zones. Just as physical therapy helps individuals regain strength and mobility, sales training hones the skills necessary for effective selling. Let’s explore these parallels and look at some top sales training exercises that, much like physical therapy routines, can lead to remarkable improvements.
If you follow my content, I am focused on getting healthier with weight loss, more exercise, and better food choices. Recently I injured my left shoulder weightlifting. ( Discovered I’m not in my 20s anymore) I was convinced, based on the pain, that I would need surgery. The doctor, however, conducted X-rays, an MRI, and various exercises to determine my range of motion. Luckily, I did not tear anything inside my shoulder, and with medications and Physical Therapy, I should be better than new in six weeks.
I assumed the exercises and stretching physical therapy would include…but I was very wrong. Based on their assessment, they prescribed exercises as captured in the picture that build the muscles in my back and shoulders. They taught me new stretches I have never experienced to help heal my shoulder. I felt so uncomfortable and was surprised at how weak my muscles were in completing the exercise sets.
As I left physical training this morning, I thought about how PT is a lot like when I work with sales teams. Companies want more sales, higher gross profit margins, growth market share, growth of their large strategic accounts, and so on. Often, they assume what it will take in terms of training, coaching, and tools to accomplish this, but they are often surprised during our training to fill the skills and belief gaps we discovered in the sales effectiveness and improvement assessment.
For example, often, we find that a sales team needs to improve in closing the sale. Often, business owners want me to teach closing techniques to close this skills gap quickly. However, to improve closing, we need to start with calling on ideal customers, following a formal sales process, conducting discovery, and qualifying, consultative selling, negotiating skills, and closing.( this often surprises my clients)
In this post, I will share the similarities between sales training and physical therapy and close with the top 10 sales exercises for rehab for your sales team. My goal is to help you avoid common sales training mistakes.
The Surprising Similarities
1. Personalized Plans: Just as physical therapists design personalized rehabilitation plans based on individual needs and injuries, sales trainers create tailored training programs that address specific skills and knowledge gaps. We train teams and coach individuals. Salespeople must apply the training to their daily sales to make their sales results stronger.
2. Consistency is Key: In both fields, consistency and regular practice are essential. Just as missing therapy sessions can hinder recovery, skipping sales training exercises can slow skill development. Not trying to use a new sales skill from a recent training will hurt retention and the recovery of your sales numbers.
3. Stepping Out of Comfort Zones: Both physical therapy and sales training often involve doing things that may be uncomfortable or unfamiliar. These challenges are necessary to foster growth and improvement.
One of my clients surveyed their salespeople about the one-day boot camp we completed. Overall, the team shared that the training was interesting, but they wanted to avoid the role-playing. They gave me low scores because I made them feel uncomfortable. I asked the CRO if he was concerned, and he said ..
” No, Mark, I’m not concerned; I attended your sessions, and they were what we needed. I have led sales teams for over 30 years, and I have yet to meet a salesperson who wants to hear if they need training. Although role-playing and making the training authentically their own is critical to getting an ROI from your sales training and coaching investment, most salespeople feel uncomfortable attempting new skills in front of their peers.”
We discussed how we would prefer the salespeople feel uncomfortable in a safe learning environment with their peers than possibly feeling uncomfortable while they practice on customers.
4. Tracking Progress: Progress in physical therapy is measured through increased mobility and reduced pain. In sales training, progress is tracked through improved sales numbers and enhanced skill proficiency. I train sales managers to improve their sales management skills, ask them to coach their salespeople, and observe them using the new sales skills. I use sales assessment instruments early in the engagement, but sales manager coaching, and observation are critical to making sales training stick.
5. Feedback and Adjustment: Continuous feedback and adjustments are crucial. Therapists and sales trainers both provide regular evaluations and tweak programs to ensure optimal outcomes.
In sales training, I ask everyone to complete application exercises, and we often share what the sales team provides. This helps facilitate peer-to-peer learning and helps people who needed help to completely grasp the key learning objectives of our session.
6. Long-Term Benefits: While both processes can be tough, the long-term benefits are significant. Successful therapy leads to better physical health, and effective sales training results in higher sales and professional growth. Sales teams grow large strategic accounts, open new customers, and increase gross profit margins.
What are the Top 10 Sales Training Exercises we often prescribe for sales teams?
1. Role-Playing Scenarios: Similar to how physical therapy might involve simulated movements to strengthen specific muscles, role-playing allows salespeople to practice and refine their responses to various sales situations.
I often take a hit in my training evaluation for making salespeople feel uncomfortable. My goal, however, is to deliver training that delivers the impacts the business leaders desire. Do I want everyone to like me and respect me? …Yes. However, more importantly, I want to improve the sales teams’ results.
As an aside, when I received training on how to train salespeople, I was told that 10% of the team would not want to be there and were not coachable. 10% will not like the pace and delivery, and 80% will value and apply what I am training if they practice the skills, adjust their limiting beliefs, and see increased sales at higher margins. The sales assessment instrument I use predicts the people who are not coachable, and the company leaders and I know who the un-coachable people are before the training begins. So, as a sales growth consultant, sales trainer, and sales coach, I must have thick skin and focus on the 80% of the bell curve to deliver impact to the companies that hire me.
2. Cold Calling Drills: Much like repetitive physical therapy exercises, repetitive cold calling helps salespeople become more comfortable and skilled at initiating conversations with potential clients.
During a professional prospecting class, I surprised the sales team. We covered the various ways to engage with current customers and prospects then we had everyone make 10 cold calls.
As the sales leader and I walked around the room, we listened and coached.
Are they using the training we just delivered?
Do their conversations sound authentic or canned?
Who jumped right in, and who struggled to get started?
When were they asked to leave a voice mail, did they use their voicemail messages based on decision-maker personas we developed, or did they stammer and leave messages no one would return?
After the exercise, we regroup.
How did we do?
How did it feel?
What part was easy?
What part did you find difficult?
How many people scheduled future meetings?
This exercise often takes about 60-90 minutes.
We want to build sales muscle memory.
The outcomes help the sales leaders and me understand what skills we need to reinforce and possibly review.
The exercise also helps salespeople who have the mindset… they could never complete 10 prospecting calls per day they are way too busy…we just did 10 in 90 minutes!
In the class, I shared that they needed to eat the frog first. If you put off tasks you do not want to do or enjoy, there never seems to be enough time. We coach salespeople to do their prospecting at a specific time every day.
3. Objection Handling Workshops: These sessions help salespeople anticipate and effectively respond to objections, akin to how physical therapy prepares individuals to manage and overcome physical challenges.
One thing we can count on in sales is friction, objections holding our decision makers back from buying.
Our job in sales is to uncover objections early and handle them…NOT overcome them. ( Like we were taught in the 1990’s)
I teach handling objections mythology. I was taught years ago, which has always helped me, then we capture the 3-5 objections the team hears most often, and as a team, we create how to handle those common objections. Then we break off into teams, and they practice. We want the discussions to feel calm, conversational, and authentic, and the only way we can accomplish this is by practicing.
4. Product Knowledge Quizzes: Regular testing of product knowledge ensures salespeople can confidently answer questions, like how regular assessments in therapy track patient progress.
In the training, we conduct learning checks throughout, and if a team struggles with a training skill, we spend more time and revisit the skill in future training sessions.
When we conduct voice-of-customer interviews, we find what decision-makers are hungry for, which is product and application information they could not find on their own.
We train salespeople to have these discussions.
5. Presentation Practice: Just as physical therapists work on improving patients’ range of motion, sales trainers help improve presentation skills, ensuring clear and persuasive communication.
I have found some salespeople are more afraid of speaking with strangers than being bitten by a great white shark.
We teach a consultative sales approach and how to build a business case based on the value the decision-makers will realize. We have sales teams practice in front of their peers, and we ask sales managers to practice important presentations with salespeople one-on-one.
6. Listening Exercises: Active listening is crucial in sales. Exercises that improve listening skills are like therapy routines that enhance coordination and responsiveness. In this training, we also reinforce note-taking skills.
7. Time Management Drills: Efficient use of time is vital for success in sales, much like the efficient use of muscles and energy in physical activities. Time is a salesperson’s greatest asset. We focus on time management skills and teach them how to be the CEO of their region. We often ask them to segment their customers into A, B, and C customers and share their service expectations by segment.
8. Customer Persona Development and Messaging: Understanding customer personas helps salespeople tailor their approach, like how therapists tailor exercises to individual patient needs. If someone is a golfer going through rehab, their exercises are much different from those of a football player. We often ask marketing to work with us and share conversations that lead to revenue for our top 3-5 decision-making personas.
9. Sales Funnel Analysis: Regular analysis of sales funnels can identify areas for improvement, akin to periodic evaluations in physical therapy that adjust treatment plans for better outcomes. Here, we train sales managers on how to have one-on-one sales pipeline coaching sessions and train the salespeople on what to prepare to discuss at each session.
10. Motivational Workshops: Staying motivated is essential for both sales success and physical recovery. Workshops that inspire and motivate can be compared to therapy sessions that encourage patients to stay committed to their recovery goals.
One of the training sessions we deliver for sales managers is to help them coach and motivate their associates based on whether they are intrinsic, extrinsic, or some combination of both. Sales is a difficult role, and we must motivate our teams to drive explosive growth.
While sales training and physical therapy may operate in different domains, the underlying principles of structured improvement, consistent practice, and personalized plans are strikingly similar.
Embracing these parallels can help sales professionals appreciate the value of their training exercises, much like patients recognize the importance of their therapeutic routines.
By committing to these practices, individuals in both fields can achieve remarkable progress and long-term success.
Do you know if your salespeople need Physical Sales Skills Therapy?
Would you like to rehab your sales results?
Have you assessed sales teams’ skill levels?
Would you like to give training and coaching that will have the most impact in the shortest time to improve team performance to goals?
Are you willing to commit to training that may make your salespeople uncomfortable at first?
Are you willing to train your sales managers in skills like motivation and coaching?
Does your sales team need sales training?
How effective is your sales team today?
How much more effective could they be?
Let’s schedule a call if you want to improve your sales teams’ performance and learn more about sales training. Feel free to download my free whitepaper, Sales Training Reimagined.