Is Your Sales Team Certifiable?

Members of the Faustson sales team recently completed Certified Sales Professional (CSP) training through the Manufacturers' Representatives Educational Research Foundation (MRERF). The comprehensive, three-day program benefits anyone involved in professional sales of any type, whether they sell products or services, hard goods or soft goods. And when these trained salespeople return to the field, customers benefit too.

For participants who complete the program and pass rigorous written and oral exams, the CSP program provides a thorough understanding of consultative selling. Whereas the old-school sales model was about presenting a product, answering questions and overcoming any objections the prospect might have, the CSP program teaches an approach that lets the prospect tell the sales professional about his or her needs and problems. The sales pro works to present a solution to address the prospect's needs and fix problems.

In addition to giving salespeople a new perspective on the selling process, CSP training also covers understanding and managing yourself, as well as keeping customers and building business.

Faustson decided to send its salespeople through the certification course to help them improve their performance, better relate to their clients and become better sales professionals. The sales team and its manager, Heidi Hostetter, soon discovered how challenging those goals were. After a grueling week of classes and intensive study, the team faced a 12-page written essay exam and a 2-hour oral consultative selling review. The exams are pass/fail, so there is no margin for error.

The team's hard work paid off: Faustson's  people all passed. The tools they acquired through the CSP program have made them better at their jobs, and, more importantly, they are better at working to help solve each customer's unique problems.

The cynical reader might have doubts about the benefit the customer realizes as a result of working with a sales professional who has had this training. But the consultative sales approach is not about coercing customers to buy something they don't want or need. It's about educating salespeople so that they can present you with products that meet your needs and solve your problems.

The result, in most cases, is a win-win situation — a more successful, happier salesperson who sees higher sales and better margins, and customers who are happier and who trust their sales representatives, turning to them for advice and as an expert resource. Customers who work with a CSP-certified salesperson know the rep won't waste their time and will provide good, useful, accurate, timely information.

To work with salespeople who will take the time to understand your needs, contact the professionals at Faustson at 303-420-7422, or visit www.faustson.com.