It all starts when your salesperson presents you with a notice of an all-day sales seminar soon to be held in your city and asked if you would pay to have him or her attend. The seminar speakers are well known in sales circles and have been around several years. If you say "Yes" you will lose one day's production for each sales person as well as the sky-high admission; but if sales productivity increases, it could be worth the cost. Your question is, "Will my sales force really improve as a result of attending these meetings or am I wasting my money?"

THE SHORT-TERM ANSWER
Attendance at a rah-rah sales seminar is a little like pumping air into a tire with a slow leak. It might get you to your immediate destination, but it won't fix the real problem. Most of these sales seminar speakers are charismatic motivational speakers, meaning they are very good at appealing to the gut-level emotional side of their audience. They are excellent presenters, but because there is little or no long-term reinforcement, the effects they have are usually short-lived.

On the other side, there are some sales people who respond well to the charismatic motivator, and actually gain long term benefits that cause an increase in their productivity that can astound both of you! So you again ask, "Well, what should I do?" Here are some alternatives to think over.

PERFORM A MARKET STUDY
Hire a marketing consultant to analyze your selling strategies. You already know the market for your goods and services is changing dramatically, and you know you are probably way behind the selling curve. A marketing consultant has knowledge of selling/buying trends that can help you better focus your money and energy into sales tactics that work today. For example, you may discover your sales staff is excellent, and the real problem is the way you approach your markets that needs work.

ATTEND A SALES SCHOOL
Call your industry group contact. Chances are they have experience with one or more professional educational organizations presenting modern sales courses which provide long-term benefits to their graduates. Call each and request sales literature. Look for a firm that stresses the art of discovering and satisfying customer wants and needs, not just improving selling skills. Ask if there is an annual or semi-annual refresher course available. Be sure to ask for both current and one-year-old references, and check them out. It's your future we're talking about!

HIRE A SALES CONSULTANT
A sales consultant is not a marketing consultant. A sales consultant works within your marketing structure and concentrates on improving your sales programs and your sales staff. Bringing a sales consultant on-board can be effective, but is also very expensive. Although a good consultant can obtain excellent results in as little as a few weeks or months, they have to remain on-board for 9 to 12 months to be really effective. Even then you will want them back for semi-annual or annual refreshers.

DEVELOP SALES MANAGEMENT TOOLS
Sales people know how to sell. Most have learned how to unearth customer 'hot buttons'. When you talk with them about performance goals, they use the skills they have learned to find your 'hot button', and you will have difficulty in knowing whether they are listening to you or just satisfying you! You need sales management tools!

Define what it is you expect from your sales force, and don't just say, "Sell!" It's not enough these days to just sell your product. You have to interface with your customer to discover what it is they need, satisfy that need with your product, and then make sure it continues to satisfy. This means you probably need to re-define what your sales people should be doing. Follow up on your program by making periodic owner/manager calls on your customers and ask if you are helping them meet their business goals.

ATTEND RAH-RAH MEETINGS
Yes, attending motivational meetings can be beneficial, but only if it is to reinforce normal, expected behavior. You could start your long-term sales improvement course by sending your sales staff to one of these meetings (and possibly even attending one yourself), but the effect will quickly wear off unless you back it up with a sound, effective, and long-term program.

To answer the original question, Yes, sales seminars can increase sales, and yes, they will work for your dot com business; but they have to be backed-up with solid marketing and sales programs and training packages that support today's customer.