3 Steps to Creating a $1 Billion Sales Training Program

A lot of people misunderstand how I’ve been able to make seven figures or more for my entire career. They think the secret is that I am just the most masterful salesperson who has ever lived. And while I am a world-class closer, the truth is even that has its limits. There are only so many calls you can make in a day, so scaling yourself beyond a certain point can be very difficult no matter how good you are.

The real reason why I have been so successful is my ability to construct sales training programs that transfer my skills to others. True, a good salesperson is worth millions. But a good sales training program can be worth BILLIONS once you factor in the commissions that dozens or hundreds of top producers can create.

Now, the specifics of the ideal sales training program are going to vary from company-to-company, but there are three core elements that every program should have.

First, a good sales training program begins with recruiting. If you pick the wrong building blocks, then you’ll never have a strong house.

So, I came up with some key metrics that I like to see in a salesperson. These metrics are embedded in a test I use called the Jordan Belfort Sales Competency Index (JBSCI). The JBSCI helps me measure candidates’ aptitude for sales in a very objective way, and it ensures consistency at the top of my recruiting funnel by letting me compare recruits in an apples-to-apples way.

The bottom line is, you need to know what you’re looking for in a salesperson; and you need to know what kind of traits signal that a candidate might have those abilities.

Second, your sales training program needs to take into account both the OUTER GAME and INNER GAME of sales.

Everyone knows that salespeople need to be good on the phone and understand their products, their prospects, and the marketplace. That’s the Outer Game.

But what too many sales training programs forget to teach is the Inner Game, which is really all about how you stay focused and motivated, and avoid losing your cool after getting hung-up on by 100 straight prospects.  

Do not forget to devote significant time and energy to training new hires in the Inner Game. It’s absolutely indispensable.

Third, your sales training program can’t end on graduation day.

Ramping-up can take a while, and you need to support your reps very vigorously throughout their first 90 days. This means that ongoing support and training are key, because it’s a virtual guarantee that your new salespeople are going to get theirs noses bloodied the instant they go out into the field.

Having a good team and organizational structure behind your salesforce can be the difference between suffering massive, costly attrition with new hires; and cultivating a steady supply of closers who just need a little help to get started.

So really, it’s very simple. Your training program needs to have a very specific idea of what type of candidate it wants; it needs to devote time to both the Inner Game and Outer Game of sales; and it needs to support salespeople throughout the crucial early months of their career.

Tackle that and you’ll be producing million dollar producers – and that’s how you create a billion dollar company.