Episode 90
Training is a Waste of Time and Money
Dennis Collins, Leah Bumphrey, and Paul Boomer tackle the pervasive disappointment founders feel after spending thousands on sales training that yields no evidence of success. The hosts deconstruct why training often fails and how owners can move from "massive disappointment" to a measurable return on investment.
The featured confession comes from an owner who has hired reputable trainers but never saw the "massive transformation" promised.
In this episode:
[02:32] The Core Confession: "Training Is a Waste of Time and Money" — an owner who has hired reputable trainers but never saw the transformation promised
[04:31] Enthusiasm Spikes, Habits Remain — why teams feel a temporary boost in excitement, only for old habits to return because the training was never "installed" into the daily workflow
[05:00] Why Training Fails: Delivery vs. Integration — Paul identifies a fundamental flaw in the training industry: most programs are designed for delivery (the show) rather than integration (the change in behavior)
[11:18] The Missing Ingredient — Dennis argues owners often fail to ask trainers how they will actually integrate the material into the specific business, comparing it to buying a software disk but never installing it on the computer
Resources Mentioned
The Sales Trust Playbook — a free guide for founders to find clarity and empower their teams. Download it at ConnectAndConvertPodcast.com
Connect With Us
Website: ConnectAndConvertPodcast.com
Got a "true confession" or a question you want us to cover? Email connectandconvert@wizardofads.com
Transcript
(Upbeat Music)
Speaker:It does.
Speaker:What are you putting on your collar?
Speaker:You a priest?
Speaker:Well, we're gonna be hearing confessions.
Speaker:No, no, women can't be priests.
Speaker:But if we're hearing confessions, there.
Speaker:Look at that.
Speaker:All right, now I feel-- Bless
Speaker:me sister for I have sinned.
Speaker:Hey, hey, there we go.
Speaker:Remind me, I have a story to tell you
Speaker:about this, gents, but it's not today.
Speaker:Oh, will you tell it on
Speaker:a podcast or privately?
Speaker:Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker:You can't actually make a point without
Speaker:risking offending people.
Speaker:Father Leah.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Archbishop Leah.
Speaker:Oh, I like that.
Speaker:I like that.
Speaker:Archbishop, Pope Leah.
Speaker:I'm coming up, Grand Puba.
Speaker:I like Grand Puba.
Speaker:Grand Puba.
Speaker:Grand Puba, okay.
Speaker:Hi guys, it's Leah, the beautiful one on
Speaker:the screen, Paul, the smart one on the
Speaker:screen, and me, I just hang out, Dennis.
Speaker:I'm just here for the--
Speaker:Dennis is the wrangler.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:He's the wrangler.
Speaker:He's the really smart
Speaker:one who just doesn't--
Speaker:I've been called worse than that, so.
Speaker:(Laughs)
Speaker:But thank you, anyway.
Speaker:Here we are.
Speaker:We're doing confessions.
Speaker:Yes, confe-- Leah was pretending to be a
Speaker:priest there because we're gonna hear,
Speaker:we're gonna hear confessions from small
Speaker:business owners, business founders.
Speaker:These are things they don't tell anybody,
Speaker:not their spouse,
Speaker:certainly not their team.
Speaker:These are the quiet moments when they
Speaker:say, "I am a smart, capable guy or gal,
Speaker:"but I haven't figured this
Speaker:out yet, "and I don't know why."
Speaker:So that's why you're here.
Speaker:That's what we try to do.
Speaker:We've had a combined hundred plus years
Speaker:of experience working
Speaker:with small business owners.
Speaker:Yes, 97% of that, 97 of those
Speaker:were mine, but no, not really.
Speaker:But
Speaker:we wanna share real confessions, real
Speaker:stories about real people so that you get
Speaker:the impression you're not alone.
Speaker:Okay, it isn't just you.
Speaker:Don't think it's just you that has these
Speaker:feelings, these confessions.
Speaker:So let's do
Speaker:confession, the next confession.
Speaker:Are you guys ready for this confession?
Speaker:We're here.
Speaker:Okay, I need you.
Speaker:Hit me.
Speaker:I need your support on this one.
Speaker:This one hits close to home, okay?
Speaker:Okay, small business owner, confession.
Speaker:I have spent untold thousands
Speaker:of dollars on sales training.
Speaker:I see no evidence that it's worked.
Speaker:You know, I think I've hired some pretty
Speaker:good sales trainers.
Speaker:I mean, the material looks good to me.
Speaker:I'm not a sales guy,
Speaker:but it looked good to me.
Speaker:But you know what?
Speaker:I never see the massive
Speaker:transformation that was promised.
Speaker:I don't know if that's my fault or their
Speaker:fault, but it doesn't happen.
Speaker:So now I question the
Speaker:value of any training.
Speaker:I'm very gun shy and I
Speaker:know I get a lot of advice.
Speaker:Well, you know, you can't be perfect and
Speaker:do everything yourself.
Speaker:You gotta hire trainers occasionally.
Speaker:Ah, too bad.
Speaker:I am not in that space right now.
Speaker:I don't see an ROI. I
Speaker:don't think training works.
Speaker:I can't see spending
Speaker:another dollar on it.
Speaker:I'm probably, I admit, I could be seeing
Speaker:this all wrong, but my evidence says it's
Speaker:a waste of time and money.
Speaker:So I guess my question to myself is, am I
Speaker:seeing this all wrong?
Speaker:No one has really shown me a better way.
Speaker:Okay, panel, it's your turn.
Speaker:Analyze that confession.
Speaker:What are we hearing?
Speaker:Go for it, Paul.
Speaker:Well, to me, that confession just comes
Speaker:from, I mean, it's clear,
Speaker:it comes from disappointment.
Speaker:Not ignorance.
Speaker:Oh, yes.
Speaker:It's just massive disappointment.
Speaker:Yeah, pure disappointment.
Speaker:And you know, it's not anti-training.
Speaker:It's anti-wasted effort
Speaker:and time and resources.
Speaker:And you know, it's
Speaker:frustrating.
Speaker:Well, it's directed at training because
Speaker:that's the tangible
Speaker:thing that I spent money on.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And I don't see the results.
Speaker:And it's common that the money spent,
Speaker:enthusiasm spikes, yahoo, but old habits
Speaker:keep returning quickly and there's
Speaker:no visible-- But I thought that was what
Speaker:training was supposed to do, Paul.
Speaker:I thought training was supposed to get
Speaker:rid of those old habits.
Speaker:That's why I paid all that money to bring
Speaker:in those highfalutin sales trainers.
Speaker:And that's common.
Speaker:Well, it's common, but I don't like it.
Speaker:But it's because
Speaker:most trainers are designed for delivery
Speaker:and not integration.
Speaker:Ooh, another boomerism.
Speaker:Delivery but not integrate.
Speaker:What's the difference?
Speaker:It's a show.
Speaker:I'm here to show, I'm here to deliver
Speaker:this thing that I have packaged for this
Speaker:company and I'm going to do it well and
Speaker:it's gonna come across great.
Speaker:But it's not actually designed to say,
Speaker:okay, how is what I'm going to deliver
Speaker:actually going to help somebody change
Speaker:the way they act and behave?
Speaker:That sounds pretty difficult to me.
Speaker:I mean, I was told at one time in my
Speaker:career, if someone gives you an
Speaker:assignment to change somebody, refuse the
Speaker:assignment, because
Speaker:it ain't gonna happen.
Speaker:So how am I gonna, I mean, even if I hire
Speaker:a great sales trainer, how the hell am I
Speaker:gonna get them to change anything?
Speaker:I am so jaded right now
Speaker:that I just can't see it.
Speaker:Leah, don't jump in Leah, just jump in.
Speaker:Is Leah, is she chomping at the bit?
Speaker:Well, no one can change anybody.
Speaker:Nobody can.
Speaker:We can't even change
Speaker:ourselves unless we-- Sometimes.
Speaker:Well, we can't unless we decide to.
Speaker:I've got a girlfriend, she's fantastic,
Speaker:wonderful, active, brilliant woman.
Speaker:And she,
Speaker:it's impossible for her to lose weight.
Speaker:She's told me, she's done all the things.
Speaker:She's joined the gym, she's gone to the
Speaker:gym, she's changed her diet, she tracks
Speaker:her calories, she drinks more water, she
Speaker:visualizes, she limits her TV watching,
Speaker:she does all the things.
Speaker:And her weight won't budge.
Speaker:Her weight has not budged.
Speaker:So what's really going on here?
Speaker:There may be
Speaker:a thyroid issue, like a
Speaker:fundamental physical issue.
Speaker:Could be a physical problem, yeah.
Speaker:Could be a physical problem.
Speaker:Or what she thinks she's doing
Speaker:is not what she's doing.
Speaker:She's like, I
Speaker:couldn't add anything, right?
Speaker:She's saying all the things.
Speaker:So what is the first step as a
Speaker:coach that we have people do?
Speaker:I want you to write down everything
Speaker:you're doing, right?
Speaker:And we've taken it outside the sales
Speaker:arena, we're talking about weight loss.
Speaker:You take it outside, you have real
Speaker:information, you're honest with yourself.
Speaker:You're actually showing because we always
Speaker:overestimate what we're doing.
Speaker:We always underestimate.
Speaker:And the critical thing is we stop.
Speaker:We chicken out just before we get to the
Speaker:point that it's all gonna happen.
Speaker:We had one episode where we were talking
Speaker:about leg indicators and lead indicators.
Speaker:Legging and leading, yeah.
Speaker:So we've got this ultimate leg indicator
Speaker:here of, she does, she
Speaker:wants to drop 50 pounds.
Speaker:And her lead indicators, what are they?
Speaker:But are they valid?
Speaker:Are they valid?
Speaker:And if they are,
Speaker:eventually it will catch up.
Speaker:So with sales training.
Speaker:So I hear you saying, Leah, that
Speaker:sometimes we lie to
Speaker:ourselves about what we're doing.
Speaker:Is that what I'm hearing?
Speaker:You gotta know.
Speaker:And sometimes it's
Speaker:garbage what we're doing, right?
Speaker:Sometimes it's not
Speaker:enough what we're doing.
Speaker:Sometimes we totally misrepresent it.
Speaker:We say, oh, we're doing, you know, I've
Speaker:had people say, sir, I'm
Speaker:doing everything possible.
Speaker:I cannot do anymore.
Speaker:I am doing all the things to get to that.
Speaker:The activities should lead to that goal
Speaker:and it's not working.
Speaker:And then you check up and find out what.
Speaker:What do you find out, Leah?
Speaker:They weren't doing it.
Speaker:They actually weren't doing, oh, well on
Speaker:that day I couldn't.
Speaker:Oh, well, there was no
Speaker:way I was going that person.
Speaker:So how does this relate
Speaker:back to hiring a trainer?
Speaker:What do you want them to do?
Speaker:Why are you hiring this trainer?
Speaker:What kind of track record do they have?
Speaker:What is it that you need them to do?
Speaker:Have you talked to your people?
Speaker:There's a whole bunch of things to make
Speaker:sure you hire the right
Speaker:trainer and stick with it.
Speaker:Plus ask them, what
Speaker:are they promising you?
Speaker:If you hire a sales trainer that's
Speaker:telling you that they will absolutely
Speaker:guarantee that you're gonna be, your
Speaker:measurement of success is to double your
Speaker:sales, yeah, I can do that.
Speaker:Save your money.
Speaker:Save your money.
Speaker:Come on.
Speaker:That sounds appealing to
Speaker:me, Leah, I don't know.
Speaker:There's one more thing that I think they
Speaker:need to ask and it's
Speaker:not about the trainer.
Speaker:Well, it's for the trainer.
Speaker:It's what do I as the business owner need
Speaker:to do to help this stick?
Speaker:What things do I need to do?
Speaker:To prepare the ground.
Speaker:Information doesn't
Speaker:change behavior by itself, but the
Speaker:environment around that information does.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:So let me summarize what I'm hearing you
Speaker:guys say because this is really
Speaker:important, I think, to this topic.
Speaker:And
Speaker:I'm maybe the only one here who's
Speaker:actually spent hundreds of thousands of
Speaker:dollars on sales trading.
Speaker:Yes, hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Speaker:And before I figured it out,
Speaker:I was missing something that was critical
Speaker:that I didn't ask them to do, okay?
Speaker:And I paid the price for that.
Speaker:Anybody guess what that was?
Speaker:Paul knows what that is.
Speaker:What didn't I ask them to do?
Speaker:I'm sorry, I said it again.
Speaker:I was distracted and drinking.
Speaker:Oh, I'm sorry.
Speaker:Oh,
Speaker:drinking water.
Speaker:I should have whiskey
Speaker:in my hand, but okay.
Speaker:What did I not ask my sales trainers to
Speaker:do that made those
Speaker:experiences so painful for me?
Speaker:There was a missing ingredient that I
Speaker:learned later in my career,
Speaker:and I now teach, and I
Speaker:am total advocate of this.
Speaker:What is that missing ingredient?
Speaker:You said it earlier.
Speaker:Integration.
Speaker:How are you going to
Speaker:help integrate this into
Speaker:our business?
Speaker:And what do I need to do?
Speaker:You said it a minute ago.
Speaker:Two questions.
Speaker:How are you, the trainer, going to
Speaker:integrate this i.e. install it?
Speaker:I always compare it to a piece of
Speaker:software for your computer.
Speaker:Nowadays, we don't use floppy disks and
Speaker:all that crap, but remember in the day we
Speaker:would buy a disk and
Speaker:install a program on our computer?
Speaker:What if you went out and bought the disk
Speaker:and never installed it?
Speaker:Well, I bought the disk.
Speaker:I did what I was told to do.
Speaker:I bought the disk.
Speaker:Well, did you install it?
Speaker:Oh, no, no, I just
Speaker:didn't get around to it.
Speaker:That's sales training that doesn't work.
Speaker:And that's, I hate to say it.
Speaker:I love you all out
Speaker:there who do sales training.
Speaker:It's tough work, but for me as a buyer of
Speaker:sales training, you better show me how
Speaker:you're going to integrate it.
Speaker:It better be installed
Speaker:or I'm not interested.
Speaker:That to me is the missing ingredient.
Speaker:Thoughts?
Speaker:Well, it's like you have to
Speaker:look at it as a tool, right?
Speaker:This is a tool to help
Speaker:you get where you're going.
Speaker:You need to know what you're using the
Speaker:tool for, you need to know how to use the
Speaker:tool and then you
Speaker:actually have to use it.
Speaker:Yeah, and that's the
Speaker:installation part, right?
Speaker:That's the integration part.
Speaker:You know what kind of
Speaker:sales training I hate?
Speaker:Yes, yes, we are doing,
Speaker:no, I love sales training.
Speaker:I absolutely love sales training.
Speaker:I actually have
Speaker:applied for sales position.
Speaker:About a hundred years ago, I applied for
Speaker:sales training jobs and I was told that,
Speaker:you know what, I just didn't have the
Speaker:experience, which that's
Speaker:a whole other story, but
Speaker:I hate sales training that is hype.
Speaker:I hate sales training
Speaker:that is-- What is hype?
Speaker:Okay, now you gotta define
Speaker:your terms here, come on.
Speaker:Because it's not about
Speaker:just motivating the team.
Speaker:Let's go, we work for the best vacuum
Speaker:cleaners manufacturer in the world.
Speaker:We're gonna hit those doors.
Speaker:We're going door to door and we're going
Speaker:to do it after we do it,
Speaker:now we are gonna just shine.
Speaker:Sing it with me.
Speaker:I hate that part.
Speaker:Do you know who Zig Ziglar is?
Speaker:Oh, absolutely, that guy's classic.
Speaker:Absolutely classic.
Speaker:Is he the classic of that breed that
Speaker:you're talking about?
Speaker:You know what though?
Speaker:But he backed it up with tangible things.
Speaker:Because I do think that energy matters,
Speaker:self-talk matters, what we say to
Speaker:ourselves, these things all matter, but
Speaker:they cannot exist in a vacuum.
Speaker:So Leah, let me ask you this question.
Speaker:You know a lot about sales.
Speaker:Tell me a training program that you have
Speaker:been subjected to, or no, I shouldn't say
Speaker:subjected to, participated in, that
Speaker:actually changed your behavior.
Speaker:Can you name one that actually allowed
Speaker:you to change your behavior to a
Speaker:different way of doing
Speaker:things that was a better way?
Speaker:Well, I can't think of one where it
Speaker:didn't if I implemented specifics.
Speaker:I think of Brian Tracy, okay, you'll
Speaker:remember Brian Tracy,
Speaker:right, think of Tony Robbins.
Speaker:He's my father, Brian Tracy.
Speaker:Right, yeah, I love Brian Tracy.
Speaker:Look at Tony Robbins, he went away for a
Speaker:long time and then he came
Speaker:back, that's a nice story.
Speaker:All these books back here and all these,
Speaker:I had every video, every tape, every book
Speaker:that Brian Tracy ever wrote.
Speaker:Absolutely, I took multiple and fabulous.
Speaker:What behavioral change did you see as a
Speaker:result of those trainings?
Speaker:Okay, we've talked about the word
Speaker:accountability, right?
Speaker:A way to frame personal accountability
Speaker:because when it comes down to it, when
Speaker:you are early in your sales career,
Speaker:if you're not accountable to yourself, if
Speaker:you don't have the personal desire to
Speaker:implement tools, and
Speaker:you're sitting in training,
Speaker:don't be a conference
Speaker:goer, be a conference doer.
Speaker:You
Speaker:have to make that decision, right?
Speaker:It's not a wish, it's a decision.
Speaker:So when I was able to
Speaker:listen to a Brian Tracy book on cassette
Speaker:and push into it and then get certified
Speaker:in his methods and actually do it,
Speaker:that was impressive change.
Speaker:You actually did the
Speaker:things that Brian Tracy taught.
Speaker:Absolutely, there's another one that I-
Speaker:What caused you to do that?
Speaker:Why did you do that?
Speaker:Because nobody else was doing it for me.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:And I knew, and I knew- Do you
Speaker:believe that he would lead you, that he
Speaker:was leading you in the right direction?
Speaker:Someone, and again, someone that I
Speaker:trusted recommended him to me.
Speaker:So hold on for a second.
Speaker:Did you seek out this training or did
Speaker:this training come to you?
Speaker:Oh, I sought it out.
Speaker:Okay, so- And I paid for it.
Speaker:Okay, so I've done the same thing.
Speaker:I sought it out and paid for it.
Speaker:Here's the difference that in this
Speaker:conversation and in this
Speaker:confession- That's right.
Speaker:Excellent Paul.
Speaker:It's you wanting to go out and you wanted
Speaker:to seek it out and do the thing.
Speaker:What about if it's you're in your office
Speaker:and you're being told, "Hey,
Speaker:you need to do this training."
Speaker:Interesting point.
Speaker:What then?
Speaker:I wanna know what it's gonna do,
Speaker:right?
Speaker:Well say it's Brian Tracy.
Speaker:Let's say it's Brian Tracy.
Speaker:Let's say whoever you were working for
Speaker:said, "We're gonna all go
Speaker:to this Brian Tracy seminar.
Speaker:"He's a good Canadian boy.
Speaker:"We're gonna make you
Speaker:all go to this seminar."
Speaker:Okay?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Well- How would you feel about that?
Speaker:Oh, again.
Speaker:It's not your choice.
Speaker:Depends on who's telling you.
Speaker:If you really trust the organization
Speaker:you're working for and the-
Speaker:Man, it's that word again, trust.
Speaker:Yeah, and understand
Speaker:why they're sending you.
Speaker:Have you guys ever heard, he's Canadian
Speaker:author, the wealthy barber?
Speaker:No.
Speaker:Chilton, Brian
Speaker:Chilton I think is his name.
Speaker:I could have the first name wrong.
Speaker:Brilliant, brilliant.
Speaker:I would have been early 20s.
Speaker:I had never seen someone speak on
Speaker:personal finance before.
Speaker:And I was sent by the group
Speaker:that I worked for to see him.
Speaker:And he was part of a,
Speaker:there was a group, a
Speaker:whole group of trainers.
Speaker:And he was the keynote address.
Speaker:I had no idea who he was.
Speaker:I hadn't read his book.
Speaker:I was mesmerized by him.
Speaker:I've given away more of his books to
Speaker:people getting married and to people
Speaker:graduating from high school than I can
Speaker:count because he took concepts and made
Speaker:it really simple and a how to.
Speaker:Now I wouldn't have ever been sitting in
Speaker:front of him except
Speaker:someone told me I had to.
Speaker:Wasn't a bad thing.
Speaker:Now a lot of people sneered at it.
Speaker:Maybe because they
Speaker:already knew this stuff.
Speaker:For me at 22, I didn't
Speaker:know any of this stuff.
Speaker:I didn't even know it was
Speaker:possible to do half this stuff.
Speaker:Well, I think it's an interesting
Speaker:distinction between stuff that we chose
Speaker:personally to do on our own
Speaker:and stuff we were forced to do.
Speaker:You're giving an example of where it
Speaker:worked out, but I'm gonna postulate that
Speaker:most people who are
Speaker:forced to go to a training,
Speaker:50-50.
Speaker:I don't know, Paul.
Speaker:What do you think?
Speaker:Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker:I can even put a number or two it.
Speaker:But my question is for this person who's
Speaker:confessing is, do I spend money?
Speaker:Why do I, because I haven't seen it help.
Speaker:So do I continue to go down
Speaker:this path and why or why not?
Speaker:And it really does for me come down to
Speaker:you have to, the word again, have clear
Speaker:expectations, clarity of what you want
Speaker:from this and communicate that not only
Speaker:to this trainer or organization or
Speaker:whatever, but also to your staff.
Speaker:What are you hoping
Speaker:that they get out of it?
Speaker:And therefore-- Set the expectation.
Speaker:Exactly, for everybody.
Speaker:And only then, and if the instructor
Speaker:trainer comes back and says, well, I
Speaker:don't know how to do that and what gives
Speaker:you vague answers, then
Speaker:they're not gonna be the one.
Speaker:And you should move on.
Speaker:Yeah, I think sometimes I've noticed
Speaker:some business owners
Speaker:wanna check the box.
Speaker:Training, check, okay?
Speaker:And there's no real deep
Speaker:dive into the credentials.
Speaker:And again, my new,
Speaker:without fail, my new requirement is if
Speaker:you're not going to help me install this
Speaker:training, we're not gonna do it.
Speaker:It has to become a skillset for my team.
Speaker:And there's a big difference between lip
Speaker:service and actually doing that, Dennis.
Speaker:We're sponsored by WizardAcademy.org.
Speaker:I was introduced to Wizard Academy by
Speaker:decades ago, three decades ago by a
Speaker:company I was working with and for.
Speaker:And they did a brilliant job taking
Speaker:training and actually sending people for
Speaker:training and incorporating it.
Speaker:But I've also seen companies that were
Speaker:just as invested that
Speaker:stopped doing that, right?
Speaker:Why?
Speaker:Well, how do you
Speaker:leave your people feeling?
Speaker:They started gung-ho, then they pulled
Speaker:back because, well, it's expensive.
Speaker:Well, we can do this internally.
Speaker:What we don't need to, and what it sounds
Speaker:to people is you don't need to invest.
Speaker:And then there's a mixed message because
Speaker:you're saying that this is a really good
Speaker:process, but now you're not any longer
Speaker:wanting to formally train people on it.
Speaker:So it can be done differently, but
Speaker:salespeople aren't
Speaker:stupid, staff isn't stupid.
Speaker:They're gonna believe what you do, not
Speaker:what you say, about
Speaker:the training you pick.
Speaker:That's true.
Speaker:And again, there's also a factor here
Speaker:that some people do not
Speaker:have a growth mindset.
Speaker:They have a fixed mindset and they don't
Speaker:respond well to training because they
Speaker:think they know everything.
Speaker:I don't need any training.
Speaker:I already know what I need to know.
Speaker:That's a whole nother topic, a confession
Speaker:that we can maybe deal with someday.
Speaker:But so what's our bottom line on this?
Speaker:Let's summarize what we've talked about.
Speaker:What advice, what thoughts do we wanna
Speaker:share with our super-l
Speaker:and our own questions?
Speaker:Put those in the comments and we'll be
Speaker:glad to have that conversation.
Speaker:But make sure you add your
Speaker:comments to this podcast.
Speaker:In addition,
Speaker:if you want something also tangible that
Speaker:you can take with you is in the show
Speaker:notes of this podcast and all the other
Speaker:podcasts of Connect and Convert, go to
Speaker:connectandconvertpodcast.com
Speaker:and in the show notes, you'll find a form
Speaker:that you can download.
Speaker:It's the Founder Small Business Owner
Speaker:Sales Trust Playbook which will help you
Speaker:guide through some of these things that
Speaker:we're talking about today.
Speaker:So now hit the pause button, go add your
Speaker:comment, go download the thing.
Speaker:Now, okay, one.
Speaker:You come back?
Speaker:Okay, you're back.
Speaker:Okay, now they're back.
Speaker:Now let's go ahead and recap.
Speaker:Okay, Leah, what did you
Speaker:hear of our discussion?
Speaker:What comes out?
Speaker:People want a return on
Speaker:investment in anything you do.
Speaker:If I buy a new truck, if I'm buying cell
Speaker:phones and laptops for my staff, if we're
Speaker:doing, we're changing the carpet and the
Speaker:desk, we want to return it on investment.
Speaker:We want to be able to capitalize that.
Speaker:So when you are doing training, if you're
Speaker:not getting the return on
Speaker:investment, stop doing that.
Speaker:Stop doing what you're doing and look at
Speaker:what is your long-term
Speaker:thoughts?
Speaker:What are your people
Speaker:needing and who can do that?
Speaker:If you're not sure who, there's ways of
Speaker:figuring that out and there's many
Speaker:peoples and organizations
Speaker:you can talk to, including us.
Speaker:But always it comes down to communication
Speaker:because you don't want to throw money
Speaker:away and you don't want
Speaker:something that is sugar.
Speaker:You don't want the syrup.
Speaker:You, I want a ribeye.
Speaker:Are you guys with me?
Speaker:Like when I'm hungry, I want a ribeye.
Speaker:I want to dig in there,
Speaker:maybe a glass of nice red wine.
Speaker:If you are content with pulling in a fast
Speaker:food, bit of a French fries and a pop,
Speaker:that's what you're gonna get.
Speaker:So, you know, we've done a series of
Speaker:these confession podcasts
Speaker:and I keep, I hear a theme.
Speaker:There are a couple of words
Speaker:that we use a lot, clarity.
Speaker:Define your terms.
Speaker:Leah started this whole
Speaker:series weeks ago, months ago.
Speaker:Define your terms.
Speaker:And isn't that really
Speaker:kind of right for all this?
Speaker:What is it you expect
Speaker:from a sales trainer?
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:And in no uncertain terms, you know, I'm
Speaker:a big guy on making
Speaker:agreements, not expectations.
Speaker:You know, what used to be an expectation
Speaker:for me, I turn into an agreement.
Speaker:So we agree that this sales training is
Speaker:gonna do the five
Speaker:following things, ABCDE, right?
Speaker:We agree on that.
Speaker:Agree on that upfront.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:No expectations.
Speaker:Expectations are for losers.
Speaker:Agreements are for winners.
Speaker:Agree on what is going to deliver upfront
Speaker:and hold your trainer
Speaker:accountable to that.
Speaker:I would say that the fault of faulty
Speaker:training, of flawed training is not so
Speaker:much on the trainer as it is on the
Speaker:person who hired the trainer.
Speaker:What criteria did you use to hire them?
Speaker:What expectations, what
Speaker:agreements did you make with them?
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:And I think that's the
Speaker:step that's missing a lot.
Speaker:So yeah, do training for sure do
Speaker:training, but understand very clearly
Speaker:what you expect, what you agree with the
Speaker:trainer to do and hold them accountable
Speaker:to deliver on the agreement.
Speaker:I'm gonna leave this here.
Speaker:Transformation requires design.
Speaker:Hmm, boy.
Speaker:Paul, you gotta write
Speaker:a book of boomerisms.
Speaker:Those are good.
Speaker:Transformation requires design.
Speaker:Meaning without
Speaker:design, you cannot transform.
Speaker:No, you can't.
Speaker:And you know what?
Speaker:Expect training to do
Speaker:transformation, don't we?
Speaker:When you purchase training, at least,
Speaker:unless you're just checking the box, when
Speaker:you purchase training,
Speaker:you're expecting transformation.
Speaker:What is the transforma-
Speaker:Define that in the agreement.
Speaker:Here's the transformation I'm expecting
Speaker:with this training.
Speaker:This is what I need to have done.
Speaker:How are we gonna do that?
Speaker:And if you can't do that, then you're
Speaker:probably not the right trainer for me.
Speaker:Make sense?
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:Okay, guys, I think
Speaker:we have exhausted another episode of
Speaker:Connect and Convert.
Speaker:Oh, oh, one more thing I wanna say.
Speaker:Oh, she's here.
Speaker:I wanna say, sorry, I wanna say, if
Speaker:you've had crappy
Speaker:training, go to the trainer.
Speaker:Tell them.
Speaker:Tell them you're not getting what you
Speaker:paid for and see their reaction.
Speaker:They may not know that
Speaker:they're- That's a good point, yeah.
Speaker:That's what they're offering you is crap.
Speaker:They may not recognize it.
Speaker:They may go, "Oh, I
Speaker:thought you wanted this."
Speaker:Again, communication.
Speaker:Tell them.
Speaker:When you're at a restaurant and the food
Speaker:is crappy, let them
Speaker:know so they can fix it.
Speaker:You're not doing anything
Speaker:if you just sort of buy it.
Speaker:I'll bet you let them know.
Speaker:Oh.
Speaker:(Laughs)
Speaker:Sometimes my kids go,
Speaker:"Mom, just nevermind."
Speaker:Mom, just, yeah, I have family members
Speaker:who embarrass me in restaurants.
Speaker:(Laughs)
Speaker:Anyway, it's okay.
Speaker:That's who you are.
Speaker:Okay, I had to say that.
Speaker:I had to say that.
Speaker:We love it when you are you.
Speaker:You be you, okay?
Speaker:Okay, guys.
Speaker:Well, again, I'm glad you joined us on
Speaker:this episode of Connect and Convert.
Speaker:I am Dennis.
Speaker:The lovely one there is Miss Lia.
Speaker:And the smart one is Mr.
Speaker:Paul Boomer.
Speaker:We are Connect and Convert.
Speaker:We've spent decades listening to the
Speaker:confessions of small business owners, and
Speaker:we bring you those
Speaker:discussions right here, okay?
Speaker:We connect you to the thoughts that
Speaker:founders and owners have,
Speaker:but they don't say out loud.
Speaker:And we convert you to honest information.
Speaker:We name it so that you can make better
Speaker:decisions, have more clarity, clarity,
Speaker:and add momentum to your business, okay?
Speaker:We'll see you next time
Speaker:on Connect and Convert.
Speaker:Remember this, most
Speaker:founders don't need more advice.
Speaker:They need a place to be heard.
Speaker:This is Connect and Convert.
Speaker:This is where you will be heard.
Speaker:We'll see you next time
Speaker:on Connect and Convert.
Speaker:(Upbeat Music)
