There’s no be-all-end-all formula to sales training. Just like how doctors can’t give a miracle prescription for any kind of illness, you can’t get an ultimate training program for the perfect sales machine in your business.

But of course, there are best practices that we can learn from over the millions of hours people have poured over training staff across the wide spectrum of industries out there. Even in real estate alone, the potential for learning is endless. That’s why we had John Martinez on the episode in the first place! Who’s going to teach us better about real estate sales training than John Martinez, the owner of REI Sales Academy?

The points below are from the eighth episode of the Real Estate JAM. There, John Martinez talks about training people in sales, tips in talking to homeowners, getting around your prospects’ excuses. If that sounds interesting, and developing your pitch. You can listen to it on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

Salespeople: Born or Made?
In the podcast, JD asks an interesting question: are sales people born or made? Well, John looks at sales as a process that anyone can learn. But he also says that some people seem to have the inborn “DNA” to follow the process. As long as your sales process is working well, all it takes is a little push and they’re already flying. They may still be leagues behind from your skills, but that’s why you’re there to train them. Some would even have no problems with the execution of the process!

However, some would have a little resistance to sales initially. Whether that’s conscious or unconscious, you as the trainer would have to adapt your methods in order to cater to the needs of your people. Yes, it may take time to nurture them, but the end result would still be the same.

Remember, it’s not only the skill you’re looking for, but the attitude and behavior are just as (if not more) important.

Working Your Way Backwards
When trying to coach your team one on one, it might be a good idea to start from the end result and work your way back to the start. This way, you’re going to be able to address each of the mistakes and see where improvements could be made. For example, if you’re trying to help someone from your team who couldn’t get a signed contract on the first go (or even a total rejection), you could try to see how the conversation fell apart. Was there any point in the call that the process was not followed? Perhaps there were some steps skipped. Were there certain words used that might not have sounded right in the ears of the prospect? Identifying those can make it easier for you to know what kind of advice and coaching you need to give. What would have been better to say? How could wed have made this part of the conversation better?

And don’t limit yourself to only providing coaching for errors! Even with successful calls, there may still be areas your team members could work on. Who knows? They might have just hit a lucky break despite a terrible conversation!

Want to learn more? Listen to the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

Outline of the Episode:
[01:27] Why is JD, a man who isn’t so easily excited, elated about John Martinez being on the show?
[02:36] John’s 20 years compressed into a quick minute.
[03:29] Is a salesperson made or born?
[04:34] Developing a program that ensures consistent growth among your people.
[08:41] How do you know if someone’s trainable and if someone’s a lost cause?
[12:38] The secrets to getting down to the root of your prospect’s problems. Get your notebooks ready!
[15:00] While it’s not as good as the real thing, how can roleplaying prepare your team for the real deal?
[19:18] The universal fact that people want to be heard and understood.
[20:35] Deal killers and how you can go past these doubts during conversations.
[25:36] Picking apart “excuses” from a homeowner the same way you would have if you were in their situation.
[31:28] Developing your pitch the way you want it to be. Don’t say what others want you to say, but attract the right people.
[36:14] Selling doesn’t have to be a dirty word.
[38:18] Working with a spouse or getting a spouse on board in the real estate journey.

Resources Mentioned in the Episode:
John Martinez Website
John Martinez LinkedIn
John Martinez Instagram
John Martinez Facebook
The REI Sales Academy
The REI Sales Academy YouTube
Don Costa

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Email: jd@shorefront-investments.com or info@shorefront-investments.com