Sales Training
The Real Problem?
Most companies think they need help with closing. They're wrong.
The real problem? Your salespeople love to present, but they struggle to listen. They get on calls with executives who drop breadcrumbs that could lead to bigger conversations, but instead of following the trail, your team jumps straight into a pitch about features and benefits.
We've seen this pattern hundreds of times. A salesperson will ask two or three surface-level questions, then launch into their presentation because that's what feels comfortable. It's what they can control. But here's the truth: if you're doing most of the talking, you're not selling.
Contact us to learn how we can help your team stop pitching and start having real business conversations.
Why Traditional Sales Training Falls Short
Most sales training focuses on the wrong things. Companies spend thousands teaching objection handling, closing techniques, and presentation skills. These are all too late in the process. It's like teaching a quarterback how to throw a perfect spiral but never showing them how to read a defense.
At Northwood, we work differently. We help your team develop the skills that actually matter: having curious conversations, asking the right questions, and understanding what executives really care about. Because when you can do that, closing becomes natural.
Think about it this way. Most salespeople know everything about their product but nothing about the alternatives their prospects are considering. They can't speak to the broader market or help executives think through their options. So they default to what they know: talking about features.
Our Approach to Sales Training
We don't overcomplicate things. Sales isn't rocket science, but it does require doing the right things consistently. Our training focuses on three core areas.
Conversation Skills
Learning how to have business discussions instead of product presentations. Your team will discover how to ask questions that get executives opening up about their real challenges and priorities.
Market Perspective
Most salespeople only understand their own solution. We help them develop a holistic view of all the alternatives available to their prospects. This allows them to have strategic conversations about trade-offs and business impact.
Process Discipline
Having a repeatable structure for sales conversations that keeps your team focused on listening and discovery rather than jumping to solutions.
We've worked with companies where salespeople increased their close rates by nearly 100% simply by learning to withhold their pitch until the right moment. One benefits salesperson we worked with doesn't even present anymore. She just has business conversations with CFOs and CEOs, and she's grown her sales by 20% year over year.