Training Is an Investment-Not an Expense

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Often times in both small and large business, the first thing business owners want to cut back on during a rough patch are unfortunately things that should NEVER go… sales, marketing, and TRAINING.

I say this; actually, many of people say this, but my here is my opinion: these are the driving forces behind a company getting THROUGH a tough time. If you do not have your sales team, you’re losing money. If you are not marketing, you’re losing sight. (Or I should you’re your losing exposure.) If you are not training your staff on how to do both of these things, look out, you may be in for a crash landing. And I will add one more to this: If you have not yet opened up to other means of marketing such as social media, Facebook/Twitter/etc, well, that’s just silly.

I know that there are other things to consider, but let me tell you how these things can help in this type of economy. I will lump sales and training together.

Salespeople in general usually work pretty hard. Great salespeople work hard, but also work SMART. Let’s face it, there is no more low-lying fruit right now. You need a sharpened sales team with sharpened swords in order to set yourself apart. If everyone out there looks the same and dresses the same, that is when you are susceptible to price shopping. Have you seen this with your company?

Bottom line, if your salespeople know how to work smart, you will be keeping your business above water, but most importantly, you will be accurately taking care of your customers’ needs. This takes time, money, and practice, but most importantly, this takes committment. Training is not an expense, it is an investment. I am partial Lushin and Associates because a) I am a client, and b) have seen and heard Lushin’s clients’ before and after stories and all I can say is who can afford NOT to invest in training?

As for marketing: Smart marketing gets you in front of people. With so many options to choose from, you will quickly be forgotten if you turn this one down. I do believe Kyle Lacy posted a blog not too long ago about not only getting his attention, but keeping it. You have to market, and you have to market smart. I want to pull in Raquel Richardson’s great post on Tuesday about pulling print ads. If you haven’t read this, you should. Way to go, Raquel!

I will leave with a quote that I think is quite appropriate: “If you think training your salespeople and having them leave is expensive, try NOT training them and having them stay.”