AT&T Teaching Small Business Selling
I'm back from my West Coast tour. Well I've been back for a while, but being out for a week really sets you back when it comes to email. Anyways, on with the show...
I am impressed with something AT&T is doing. The first impressive thing they're doing is sending a group college hires through a specific kind of sales training aimed specifically at serving the small business space. It's a five month long program that's part of the AT&T College Hire Sales Center. Another impressive thing is who AT&T put in charge of this effort - my friend Theresa Spralling. Theresa is a veteran of the telecom industry and brings so much experience and passion to this effort it can't help but be successful. And as impressive as Theresa is, the most impressive part of all of this are the new hires. I know this because I participated in one of the program events to talk to the group about what's important to small business people when they're buying technology. There were also two AT&T sales executives sharing their experiences "carrying the bag". And the new hires were attentive, curious, inquisitive and very interested in understanding how they can provide value to their future prospects.
Teaching new hires how to understand and value the challenges facing small business is a very smart move. Traditional sales training "ain't gonna" cut it when you're looking to sell to us little guys. And treating us all the same "ain't gonna" cut it either. So it's good to see AT&T teaching these folks right from the start about what small businesses need. And as a customer (because of my iPhone), I'm hopeful that this will make a positive difference.
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