Telecommunications Sales Training

Few industries represent the level of competition seen in telecommunications sales. Increasingly, the OTT (over-the-top) providers are occupying the high ground on the battlefield. These agile industry players provide numerous communication services across an IP network. Today, only a handful of OTT providers represent over 80 percent of all messaging traffic. Contenders like Skype provide more than one-third of all international voice traffic minutes. The result: telecom carriers are feeling the pressure as revenues from SMS messaging, international voice, and roaming all decline. These decreases are seen in the falling average revenue per user across all geographic regions.

With a changing landscape comes opportunities. Telecommunications sales training that prepares sales professionals and leaders to be aware of these challenges will help their organisations become well-positioned to capitalise on a growing consumer base in the coming years. Researchers at Forrester project that global smartphone users will reach 3.8 billion as early as 2022 representing a 22 percent increase over 2013. The market for growth is present if telecom sales professionals can engage customers.

Telecom Sales Training Programme Focus

Richardson Sales Performance’s telecom sales training programmes focus on three characteristics of selling challenges in the industry today.

Focus on Needs Not Features

Research from EY shows a striking disconnect between the value proposition messaging from telecommunication sales companies and customer needs. That is, many providers promote speed as a key feature of their offering while customers are in fact more interested in the reliability of service. The gap is widening as communications technology becomes more sophisticated. The list of features and benefits have become longer leaving many customers confused. The solution to this challenge is simplicity. Our sales training for telecom professionals emphasises clear, concise messaging that connects with customers’ core needs.

Telecom sales reps accomplish this goal in their training by learning to understand before seeking to be understood. Our modules begin by exploring customer needs with a questioning strategy. This form of training provides the sales professional with the details they need to craft a message that resonates. Customers are becoming more segmented and anchored to their specific needs. Questions reveal the lines dividing these segments and help the sales professional win.

Using More Meaningful Metrics

Richardson Sales Performance’s telecom sales training uses a customer-centric model to help organisations achieve long-term success. Too often the performance metrics in play don’t match this strategy. For example, research from IBM reflects a pervasive sales culture in which sales professionals are incentivised to sell a bundle of offers. This practise runs counter to serving the customer’s central need. This problem feeds into the issue discussed above in which features and benefits are prioritised above the customer’s needs. This shortsighted approach alienates customers.

Sales leaders need to be customer-centric in both an outward and inward manner. That is, they need to commit to customer needs at all levels of the operation including internal measurements. For example, a measurement like sales cycle is an effective gauge of the sales team’s effectiveness in connecting with customer needs. Our training modules help telecom sales leaders adopt a truly customer-centric model with the right selling metrics.

Data privacy is of more concern to consumers today than ever before. In one international study researchers found that an astounding 78 percent of consumers feel that it is “hard to trust companies when it comes to the way they use consumer personal data.” Meanwhile, 70 percent of consumers believe that there are few, if any, ways to get a clear picture of their provider’s data management practises. Sales professionals need to take these clear results into account when engaging with customers.

Our sales training for telecommunications companies teaches professionals to build trust. This approach is important not only to ease the customer’s anxieties, but trust is also necessary when earning the right to ask the in-depth questions that equip telecommunication sales professionals to position a solution. Customers today are savvy and well-informed. They are aware of their options and have access to more information than ever before. Therefore, they are entering the conversation with strong preconceived notions and biases. Sales professionals need to take the time to understand what the customer knows. They need to work through the customer’s concerns and get the complete picture before jumping to positioning a solution too soon.