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[R288]Return On Training Investment

by Henry Sailles, Hen

Investing in your own skills development is the worldwide catch cry of today. Everyone wants to maximise their efforts in the short, medium and long term by acquiring a good return for that investment.

People will invest in the stock exchange, real estate and government bonds as a means of maximising the return on their investments or efforts.

Many Governments worldwide require that each one of us makes provision for our future by investing in some type of social security scheme.

Why do farmers plant crops, water them, nourish them, tend them and care for them without immediate rewards?

A farmer does this without immediate rewards because they know that sooner or later their effort will return to them great dividends in the form of a bountiful harvest.

Why do students study at colleges and other tertiary institutions for several years? They know the effort they invest in learning will reward them in great abundance.

However, they MUST put in the effort first and keep putting in the effort until such times as it is reward time, but when the harvest finally comes it will come in amounts out of all proportion to the effort!

A salesperson who invests in themselves in the form of their own ongoing sales training will outperform those who do not, in every arena, every time.

Every true professional invests either time or money or both on their own skills education.

However, when it comes to the profession of sales, some in our industry do not seem to have the same outlook.

They seem to go through their sales careers with the minimum of professional sales training development. Some claim that they have been involved with many sales training sessions over their careers. However, this training has been almost exclusively product skills driven rather than true sales training driven.

A professional sales person understands the need to balance product knowledge and the power of sale skills education, pure sales training, in order to produce their best their sales results. Those who have achieved this always outperform those who do not have this important balance.

As with any investment some sales training will be better than some other. Truly professional sales training will usually pay the best dividends but unfortunately there is so little true sales training development material available. This means you should carefully choose the right sales training for you.

This may seem like an inconsequential point but how you view your services has a tremendous impact on how you build a customer relationship. If you continue to think you are quoting a fee when talking about your training you may feel awkward quoting your prices. When you aren't confident in your approach to sales you make it difficult for the prospect to have confidence in you. Most likely they will "have to think about it" and you've just lost the sale.

Another point to consider when refering to your personal training services and using the word "fee", to the buyer it sounds like they are incurring an expense. As such, you may feel like you have to validate why you charge a certain rate. In my ears fee is synonymous with the word tax. I know I have to pay taxes but I don't particularly like it.

On the other hand, when you refer to your personal training rates as an investment it takes on a whole different meaning. Think about it. What does an investment mean to you? Typically when you invest in something you receive a return. You expect to receive a benefit like for example investing in your education or building a retirement savings plan. You add to your wealth or your personal growth with an investment. That's exactly what your client or prospects need to understand when they chose to train with you. It's an investment in their health and wellbeing.

I no longer refer to any of my services as fees. When you book a business coaching session with me you have made an investment in the growth your business. I work with you to help you build your business and together we ensure your success. Every dollar you invest in business coaching to grow your business is valuable. As your business coach I work to earn that value during every session so you feel you have invested wisely in your decision to do business with me. I strive to bring value to every coaching call. I'm so passionate about this that if your business doesn't grow then I will refund 100% of your investment.

Did you sense the passion and commitment in the paragraph above regarding my business coaching services? This is exactly what I communicate to my prospects and I firmly believe they are investing wisely in themselves and their businesses.

As a personal trainer you can do exactly the same thing. When a client invests in you as their trainer they trust you to help them achieve their goals and help them get results. You invest your time and energy to make that happen and they invest their money. Your clients aren't spending money but investing in themselves and towards achieving a specific goal.

So it's not just about whether to use the word fee or investment. It's about what those words say and communicate to you and to a prospect.

Article Source : Training for Sales

About Author

Both Henry Sailles & Donna Hutchinson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Henry Sailles has sinced written about articles on various topics from Sales Training. . Henry Sailles's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.

Donna Hutchinson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Online Marketing, Personal Trainer and Health. Donna Hutchinson is the author of the How to Guide to Starting Your Own Personal Training Business. She is a fitness business coach with over eighteen years industry experience. Donna travels around the world speaking at fitness conferences on how to grow. Donna Hutchinson's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.