Last week, eight members of the Blackstone Medical Services team, myself included, underwent an intense, two-day training session focused on sales and proper selling techniques. The majority of us went in not knowing what to expect and thinking that this would be a waste of our time. I mean, let’s face it. Who wants to get behind in their work to partake in a 16-hour training?
We started the training at eight on Thursday morning. The instructor went over the general rules, handed us our training packets and started the course. We were not able to take notes—the instructor stated that by the end of this course we will know everything we need to know. The first assignment was to read 30 basic definitions related to marketing and sales. We were partnered up and told to quiz and coach each other through the training. After reviewing the 30 words with our “twin”, we were individually drilled by the instructor. Sounds easy? Guess again. If you messed up or fumbled on one word, regardless of how far along you were, you were told to begin again. It was grueling and frustrating, and it was clear that some of us were losing our patience.
Despite how much we hated the process, we had to continue in order to pass the course. Once we successfully memorized all 30 definitions, we were clear to move on to the next phase. Each phase was comprised of readings, essay responses and drills. Some of the tasks required us to be cleared by the instructor before moving on. By lunch, we were exhausted. The day continued on at the same pace.
Friday morning started session two of the training. We quickly got to work and picked up from where we left off. It was another day full of reading, writing and memorizing. Most of us thought our heads were going to explode from all of the information. By the end of the day Friday, however, we knew the information. We could recite these definitions and puzzles back to each other upon command.
To our surprise, the sales training was enlightening. It went over the basic concepts of marketing and sales, how to communicate effectively to ensure a close, and the difference between hard selling and hard pressuring. We knew all about the proper communication required to build relationships and make the sale. The activities and exercises were challenging but they helped us remember the general concepts of the course. We all walked out feeling empowered and ready to apply these tactics in our work. The entire training was tailored to our work at Blackstone Medical Services, so it was easy to see how we can apply these ideas to each task we complete. Not only do we feel better equipped in our job duties but we have also developed a bond and trust with the other members of our team. So, would we do this again? Absolutely!