Sales managers and experienced producers often have training responsibilities that require them to manage this process, helping people do their best by:

• Assessing individual training needs. • Setting training goals and making plans to meet them. • Selecting and organizing training methods and resources. • Prescribing field activities, coaching, critiquing, reinforcing and follow-up.

Training is not one-sided, however. A trainer’s or sales manager’s responsibility may be to make training available, but it is sales person’s responsibility to make most of it. The ultimate responsibility for learning is learners, so manager/trainer’s role will be more of a "coach" than a "doer”.

A good trainer is a leader and coach. Michael Beck of Leadership Coaching, Inc. (www.leaders-coach.com) maintains that all leadership is by example. “The people who follow usually duplicate half of good things their leader/coach does and twice poor things, say Beck. “To be dynamic, a leader must practice self-discipline, be a perpetual student, become efficient, prioritize tasks well, determine materiality, and practice delayed gratification.”

In other words, coaches usually do not get out on field and play game, but they must know how to help their players become winners. Sales trainers must be convincing in demonstrating successful sales techniques. This makes them responsible for being "player-coach," that is, someone who can play a good game, not just talk about it.

Trainers Can Kill With Kindness

Marty Nemzow, best-selling author and marketing expert, says that not only does gaining a new customer cost much more than retaining an existing customer, but also that every lost customer costs money to replace.

According to USA Today, it costs 40 times as much to acquire a customer and is does to keep a current one. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says that for typical transaction-based business, each new customer costs roughly $800.

The Insurance Pro Shop, which offers marketing tips for insurance professionals, suggests implementing annual reviews, client appreciation nights, and client workshops, which they say are some of most profitable of all prospecting activities. They say meeting with your existing clients regularly cements relationships, retains business, creates repeat sales and generates high quality referred leads.