This sales training starts from one promise: with the right approach, anyone can learn to sell. These are the six value principles of selling that we learned, developed, tested, stood by and still use, after 25 years in sales and two businesses built on them, in the UK and in South Africa. Now we're sharing them, step by step, and you can practise every step on our AI sales training simulator before a real call counts.
25 yearsin sales, starting with four desks and four telephones
Top 10UK foreign exchange brokerage: FC Exchange, sold to private equity
1,000+corporate clients in six years at FX Paymaster, with a small team
What is sales training?
Sales training teaches people how to sell: how to reach the person who decides, open a conversation with a stranger, show value the buyer can check, handle objections and agree a next step. Good sales training gives you a method you can explain in a sentence, then makes you practise it out loud, with feedback, until it sticks.
250 m² · 4 desks · 4 telephones
Four desks and four telephones: where this sales training comes from
I started my first business at 25, in the UK, with two English friends and my brother. All we had was a big, open 250 m² office with four desks and four telephones. That's where we learned to sell, and we built the business by creating relationships.
That business was FC Exchange. We built it into a top 10 foreign exchange brokerage in the UK, and it was sold to a private equity company.
My second business, FX Paymaster in South Africa, was built the same way. In six years we signed up more than 1,000 corporate clients with a really small team of sales agents. We could do that because we understood the principles of selling: talk to the right people, and demonstrate value. We were also very particular about which customers we wanted to deal with, and about how we serviced and looked after them. FX Paymaster was acquired by another company in the industry in 2025.
UK
FC Exchange
Built from four desks into a top 10 UK foreign exchange brokerage. Sold to a private equity company.
South Africa
FX Paymaster
More than 1,000 corporate clients in six years, with a really small sales team. Acquired in 2025.
Now
ShiftMate
The same principles, shared to help other people build their businesses and their sales teams.
Those principles aren't about foreign exchange. They work in any sale to a business, and they can be learned: with the right approach, anyone can learn to sell. These are the six value principles of selling we learned, developed, tested, stood by and deploy. Through ShiftMate I'm now sharing them, to help other people build their businesses and their sales teams. Selling has a recipe. Here it is, step by step.
The method in one paragraph
What good sales training teaches
Good sales training doesn't hand you a script. It teaches you how buyers decide, gives you a method for every part of the call, and makes you practise it until you don't have to think about it.
Here is how to sell to a business, in one paragraph. Talk to the person who decides, and earn the right to their time with a clear opening. Then show, compared with what they use now, that your offer is safer, better, easier, quicker, brings in more business or costs less: the six value principles. Their default answer is no, so you don't aim to close on the first call: you aim to earn the next step. That's the recipe. Below is every step, the way we used it to build two businesses, checked against the published research on how buyers decide.
Sales training for cold calling: earn the right to talk
A cold call is the hardest place to sell: nobody asked you to call. Most cold calling training starts with a script. This one starts with the buyer, and the first three steps are about getting a stranger to listen.
Step 1 of 8
Talk to the right person, and know what they care about
Your time is the most valuable thing you have. Before you pick up the phone, check two things. Is this company a fit: is it big enough, and does it have the problem you solve? And is this the person who decides? If you're talking to someone who can't say yes, ask who can, thank them, and move on.
Then think about their role. Each role feels a different pain, so the role decides what you lead with. It doesn't change what your offer is worth. It changes the order you say things in.
Admin and office staff
Lead with EaseSpeed
Never lead with Price: it isn't their money. Less admin and fewer hassles is what they feel every day.
Finance
Lead with PriceSafetySpeed
They see the cost, they carry the risk, and they want things done on time.
Owner
Lead with PriceVolume
It comes out of their pocket, and they want the business to grow.
Marketing and sales
Lead with VolumeQuality
More leads, and better ones.
Operations
Lead with SpeedEaseQuality
Work done faster, with less effort, and done right.
Procurement
Lead with PriceQuality
Their job is the best price for a known standard.
Example: Priya runs the office at a made-up logistics firm. Telling her you're cheaper means little: it isn't her budget. Telling her the monthly supplier statements will take ten minutes instead of her Friday morning means a lot.
Getting past the gatekeeper
Receptionists and assistants protect the decision-maker's time, and they're good at it. Be straight with them: your name, your company and what the call is about, in one sentence. Then ask for help: “Who looks after your supplier accounts?” and the best time to reach them. Never pretend you know the person, or that they're expecting your call.
Your plan for this call
The plan before the call. In Sim Studio every practice call starts with this card: the goal, what counts in this industry, what this role cares about, how to open and a reason to act now.
Step 2 of 8
Earn the right to talk: the opening checklist
A cold call is an interruption from a stranger. The buyer doesn't know you, so they start guarded: they don't yet know whether you're wasting their time or bringing them a risk. Until they do, nothing you say about your product counts.
So the opening has one job: answer the questions in their head before they ask them. There are seven, in this order. The last one, why it matters to them, is worth the most.
The opening checklistOut of 10
1. Who you are
1
2. Your company
1
3. What your company does
Must be said, but earns nothing on its own
0
4. What the call is about
2
5. How you got their details
1
6. What you want from this call
2
7. Why it matters to them
Worth the most
3
Full points
Up front, without being asked
Half
Only when they ask
None
Vague, or never said
An opening that ticks every box
“Hi Johan, it's Karin Botha1from Ridgeway Business Telecoms.2We look after phone lines and internet for small offices.3I'm calling about your move to the new office in Centurion:4I saw it on your company page.5I'd like ten minutes next week to compare what you pay now with what you'd pay with us,6because after a move you may still be paying for lines you no longer use, and that comes straight off your bottom line.7”
Example only: the people and companies are made up.
Until your opening has earned enough points, the call can't move forward: 7 of the 10 for a typical buyer, 8 or 9 for a tough one. The buyer stays guarded and gives short, vague answers: “It's fine.” “We manage.” Many push back once even after a good opening: “I don't really see how this is relevant to me.” Don't answer with another feature. Give a reason tied to them.
Keep it short: how a buyer listens
People on the phone don't say “mm-hm” while you talk. They go quiet, and a quiet buyer isn't necessarily a listening one. A rushed or irritated buyer will cut you off. If your opening takes a minute, you've lost them. Say each part in a sentence, then stop and let them answer.
Credibility comes from facts, not adjectives
“Leading”, “best-in-class” and “innovative” make a guarded buyer more suspicious, not less. Facts build trust: how long you've been trading, how many clients you have, whether you're regulated or accredited. While trust is low, every claim gets checked: “Where does that number come from?” Back it up, or don't say it.
The coach during the call. Miss a box and Sim Studio Coach tells you which one (“Tell them how you got their details”), suggests your next line, and shows the step you've earned so far. Only you see it; the prospect doesn't.
Step 3 of 8
“Convince me”: the default answer is no
Every buyer on a sales call is thinking the same thing: you need to convince me. Until you show that what you're offering is good for them, the answer is no. That isn't rudeness. It's how busy people protect their time and avoid risk.
“Good for me” has a precise meaning. You have to show at least one of the six value principles (step 4), in their terms, compared with what they use now. A claim on its own isn't enough: “we're faster” gets “Faster than what?”
And the bigger the step you ask for, the more you need to have shown. A buyer who would happily read a one-page comparison will still say no to a meeting if all they've heard is one claim.
How a buyer gets from no to yes
Start
The answer is no
Nobody asked you to call.
What you hear
“Who is this?”
Gate 1
Do I know who you are and why you're calling me?
Not yet: you hear
“Why are you calling me?”
“I don't really see how this is relevant to me.”
Through when
Opening checklist ticked
Gate 2
Is it safe?
Checked first in financial services, insurance, healthcare and software.
Not yet: you hear
“How do I know my money is protected?”
Through when
At least as safe as what they have now
Gate 3
What's in it for me, compared with what I have now?
Not yet: you hear
“Faster than what?”
“Sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?”
“So what's in this for me?”
Through when
Value shown on the value principles that matter to them
Gate 4
Is it enough for what you're asking?
A bigger ask needs more value shown.
Not yet: you hear
“Just send me something.”
Through when
Next step agreed
Result
Yes to the next step
Not the sale: the next step you earned. See step 8.
Steps 4 and 5
The six value principles of selling
Businesses buy for six reasons. These are the six value principles of selling: Safety, Quality, Ease, Speed, Volume and Price. Show at least one of them, clearly, in the buyer's terms, or you haven't shown value. This is the heart of our sales training, and the part most people skip.
Step 4 of 8
Prove value with the six value principles
Safety
1 / 6
Less risk
Certainty. Reliable, compliant, protected.
“Your client money is held in a separate account at a registered bank, never by us.”
Prove it with: Regulation and licences, how money or data is protected, track record, guarantees, references.
Quality
2 / 6
A better result
A better product, service or result.
“Our fruit is picked the day before it reaches your kitchen. Your current supplier's spends a week in cold storage.”
Prove it with: Samples, specifications, error or return rates, results for clients like them.
Ease
3 / 6
Less effort
Less effort, fewer hassles.
“You send us one spreadsheet a month. Today your team captures every invoice by hand.”
Prove it with: A before-and-after walk-through: steps saved, and who does the work.
Speed
4 / 6
Saves time
Saves time, quicker results.
“Payments land the same day, not in three to five working days.”
Prove it with: Hours saved a week, turnaround times, a live demo.
Volume
5 / 6
More business
More leads, sales, customers or capacity.
“We bring in enquiries on top of the ones your own team finds.”
Prove it with: Results for similar clients, conversion numbers, capacity added.
Price
6 / 6
Costs less
Costs less, or better value for money. Cheaper doesn't mean better.
“A fixed R250 fee per payment instead of a percentage of every payment.”
Prove it with: A side-by-side cost comparison, and the saving worked out over a year.
How much each value principle counts, by industry
The value principles don't count equally. Where a mistake is expensive (money, health, data), Safety counts most. Where products are hard to tell apart, Price counts more. In the ShiftMate method each industry gets weights out of 10. The industry tells you what each value principle is worth to buyers in that market; the person's role (step 1) tells you which one to lead with.
Your offer · industry value profile
The weights, in the simulator. Pick your industry and Sim Studio fills in the six value principles (here, office supplies). Adjust them to your market; they must add up to 10.
How much each value principle counts by industry, out of 10, and whether the safety gate is on
Industry
SafeSafety
QualQuality
EaseEase
SpeedSpeed
VolVolume
PricePrice
Gate
Financial services
4
0
3
2
0
1
On
Insurance
4
1
2
1
0
2
On
Healthcare
4
3
1
1
0
1
On
Software
2
1
3
2
1
1
On
Office supplies
1
1
3
2
0
3
Off
Fresh produce
2
4
1
1
0
2
Off
Advertising and marketing
1
2
1
1
4
1
Off
Recruitment
2
3
2
2
0
1
Off
Business telecoms
2
2
3
1
0
2
Off
Solar and energy
3
1
1
1
0
4
Off
General B2B
2
2
2
2
1
1
Off
Each row adds up to 10. Gate on: nothing else counts until the buyer is sure it's at least as safe as what they use now (for software, that means their data). These weights are ShiftMate's practitioner judgement, tuned with simulated and real calls: a starting point, not a law. Adjust them to your market.
Compare with what they use now
Value only counts when it's compared with something. Compare with what they do today: their current supplier, their own way of doing it, or doing nothing. That comparison is your value proposition: the reason this buyer should choose you over what they use now, focused on the one or two differences that matter most to them and backed with evidence. To compare, you first have to ask. How do they do it today? What does it cost them? How long does it take? What goes wrong? Then put the difference in their numbers, over a year: four payments a month at R400 less each is R19,200 a year.
One question often does more than a pitch: ask something most buyers can't answer, like “Do you know what margin you're paying on each payment?” It shows the need without criticising anyone. And talk about what you do better, not what the competitor does wrong.
Price is only an issue in the absence of value
What I learned the hard way
“Price is only a problem in the absence of value. Never sell on price as your only value. You'll just end up with a book of clients who squeeze you at every turn and drop you the second a cheaper option comes up.”
Mike Steenkamp Founder of ShiftMate, 25 years in sales
When a buyer says “it's too expensive”, they usually mean “I don't see enough value for that price yet”. Show value first, in their numbers, and then talk about price. If you really are cheaper for the same thing, frame it in their world: “Two identical products, and one costs more. Would you pay more for exactly the same thing?”
Cheaper doesn't mean better. Often it means the opposite, and buyers know it: when cheaper is the only card you play, they start wondering what you cut to get there. In most industries Price on its own is your weakest card. Lead with what you do better, then show the price.
Don't claim everything: fast, easy, cheap, pick two
Tell a sceptical buyer you're faster, easier and cheaper all at once and they'll ask, “Sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?” Lead with your strongest one or two value principles, the ones that matter most to this person, and prove those.
Step 5 of 8
Safety first in some industries: the safety gate
In some industries the buyer checks safety before anything else. In the ShiftMate method the safety gate is on for financial services, insurance, healthcare and software (where the risk is their data). Their thinking is simple: if it isn't safe, nothing else matters.
Until the buyer is sure your offer is at least as safe as what they use now, no other value counts and they won't agree to a next step. “Trust me” doesn't get you through the gate. Concrete backing does.
Show it's safer than what they use now, not just safe enough, and Safety becomes your strongest card: in these industries it carries the most weight of all six value principles.
“I don't care how fast, easy or cheap it is. If it's not safe, I'm not interested.”
Passes the gate
Who regulates you, and your registration or licence
Where their money or data is held, and who can touch it
How long you've done this, and for how many clients
What happens if something goes wrong
References they can call
“Trust me”
Steps 6 to 8
B2B sales techniques that work
Once they're listening and you've shown value, three sales techniques decide whether you get the next step: a real reason to act now, objections handled without a fight, and an ask that matches what you've earned.
Step 6 of 8
Why now? Give a real reason to act
A buyer can agree with everything you've said and still say, “Sounds fine. Maybe next quarter.” Doing nothing is always the easiest choice. So before you ask for the next step, give them a real reason to act now.
What waiting costs them
In their numbers: “At about R1,600 a month, every month you wait is money you don't get back.”
A date that's real
A contract renewal, a price change, a deadline in their industry.
A change in their business
A move, a new branch, new staff, a busy season coming.
Never invent urgency. A fake deadline destroys trust the moment it's found out. And be consistent: if you've just said every week costs them money, don't suggest meeting in three weeks.
Step 7 of 8
Objections: agree and redirect, and be honest about switching
Never argue with an objection, and never run down the competitor. Agree first, then redirect to what you do better.
Grant, financial director
“We've been with our bank for twenty years. We're happy.”
You
Agree: “That makes sense, and I respect that you've got a long relationship with them. I'm not asking you to change anything today.” Redirect: “Where we usually help is the cost of each payment. Would a side-by-side comparison against what you pay now be useful?”
Example only: the people and companies are made up.
Six objections you'll hear, and what to do
We're happy with our current supplier.
Behind it: Changing feels risky, and nothing is broken.
Do this: Agree. Say you're not asking them to change anything today, then offer a side-by-side comparison against what they have now.
Just send me some information.
Behind it: A polite way out, or real interest.
Do this: Agree, ask one question so you send what's relevant, and set a time to go through it together.
It's too expensive.
Behind it: They don't see enough value for the price yet.
Do this: Go back to value in their numbers, and compare the total over a year with what they pay now.
We're too small for this.
Behind it: They don't think it's meant for them.
Do this: Show what it means at their size, with a number.
We tried something like this before.
Behind it: A bad experience: risk.
Do this: Ask what went wrong, then show what's different, with proof.
I don't have time.
Behind it: You haven't shown why it matters to them yet.
Do this: One sentence on why it matters to them, then ask for a better time.
In most sales the buyer has to switch, and switching isn't free. It takes effort, it can cost money, and it feels risky. Pretending otherwise is the fastest way to lose their trust. Say plainly what's involved: what changes for them, who does the work, how long it takes, what it costs, and any trial or exit terms. Make it smaller only with what's true.
Then show why it's worth it: safer, better, easier, faster or cheaper, in their numbers. If your offer isn't clearly better on at least one value principle that matters to them, they won't switch, and they're right not to. If you don't know an answer, say so and offer a follow-up with someone who does. Never bluff.
Step 8 of 8
You don't close on the first call: earn the next step
Someone who has never heard of you won't buy from you on the first call. On that call you give information, gather information, establish credibility and show value. Only then can you ask for something, and what you ask for should match what you've earned.
The ask ladderEach step needs more value shown
Send information
A short follow-up call
A meeting or demo
A trial
The decision
A first call to a stranger usually earns the first rung or two. Ask for more than you've earned and the answer goes back to no.
A good first call ends like this: they know who you are and what you do, there's interest and a need, you have what you need to follow up, and you've agreed to send information with a set time to talk again.
Two kinds of call
First-contact call
1 to 2 minutes · Goal: send information and agree a follow-up
1Your name and company
2One line on why you're calling them
3ONE difference, with a number
4The ask: “Can I send you a short comparison and call you on Thursday to go through it?”
5Get the email address and the time
6Not for them? Don't take it personally. Move on.
Value call
10 to 15 minutes · Goal: the next step, after a comparison
1Refer back to the first call
2Say why you're calling: to understand how they do it today and show where you could add value
3Deal with the obvious up front: “You may be happy where you are. I'm not asking you to change anything today.”
4A conversation, not a speech: how they do it now, the value principles that matter to them, a side-by-side comparison, the saving over a year
5End with a recap email listing what's needed to start, and a set follow-up
Read the feedback
Sales training in practice: one call, scored on the method
Here is the method at work on one practice call in Sim Studio for Sales Teams. Megan, a rep at an FX company, calls Grant, a financial director who has never heard of her, to book a meeting. Below is the call, the report written straight afterwards, and the coach's feedback on it, one report section at a time. In the app the coach also reads this feedback to you, at the top of every report.
Made up for this page: the people, the companies, the call and the scores are fictional.
Coach's feedback
8 points, one report section at a time
Practice callFinancial servicesRealisticGoal: book a meeting01:25
Rep
Megan Fraser
Amberleaf FX
AI prospect
Grant Peters
Financial director, Highveld Fittings
The call
00:03 · Megan
Hi Grant, it's Megan Fraser from Amberleaf FX. We handle overseas payments for importers. I'm calling about your supplier payments to Germany: I'd like ten minutes next week to compare what you pay now with what you'd pay with us, because the margin on each payment is a cost most importers never see.
00:19 · Grant
We've used our bank for twenty years. Everyone tells me they're cheaper.
00:24 · Megan
That makes sense, and I'm not asking you to change anything today. We charge a fixed R250 a payment instead of a percentage. On a R500,000 payment, a 1% margin is R5,000.
00:39 · Grant
And how do I know my money's safe with you? I've never heard of you.
00:44 · Megan
Fair question. We're an authorised financial services provider, and your money sits in a separate client account at a registered bank, never with us. I'll send you our licence number and two clients you can call.
00:58 · Grant
Cheaper on its own isn't worth the hassle of changing.
01:02 · Megan
Agreed, price alone isn't a reason to switch. Payments land the same day instead of in two to three days, you keep your bank account, and it's much easier to use. Your next payment to Germany is due this month, so you'd see the difference straight away. Could we take twenty minutes on Thursday at ten?
01:21 · Grant
Thursday at ten works. Send me the invite.
1
The result
Coach: “Good call: seventy-eight out of a hundred. You booked a twenty-minute meeting with a financial director who'd never heard of you. On a first call, that's the win.”
78of 100
Call report · Financial services · Realistic
Meeting booked: Thursday, 20 minutes
Next step earned. Two things to fix.
Opening
9/10
7 needed
Value
7/10
3 needed
You talked
64%
they: 36%
Safety gate passedReason to act now givenTrust: Low → Earned
2
Your opening
Coach: “Your opening scored nine out of ten. You said who you are, what you wanted and why it mattered to him, without being asked. The one gap: you never said how you got his details.”
Opening checklist9/10 (7 needed to open up)
Who you are1/1
Your company1/1
What your company does0/0
What the call is about2/2
How you got their details0/1
What you want from this call2/2
Why it matters to them3/3
3
The safety gate
Coach: “When he asked if his money was safe, you didn't say trust me. You gave him facts: who regulates you, and where his money sits.”
Passed at 00:44 · gate on for financial services
“We're an authorised financial services provider”
4
Their trust in you
Coach: “That's where his trust turned.”
low · 00:00
A stranger calling: he starts guarded
building · 00:24
You agreed instead of arguing, and put a number on the price
earned · 00:44
Safety answered with facts, not “trust me”
Claim never backed: “It's much easier to use” (he let it go, but it didn't count)
5
What was in it for them
Coach: “Your value score was seven out of ten. Safety, speed and price were proven against what he uses now. But you said it's much easier to use, and never showed how. Here, ease is worth three points.”
Reading a recipe doesn't make you a cook. The method only sticks once you've used it out loud, and practising on real prospects burns real leads. That's why we built Sim Studio for Sales Teams: an AI sales training simulator that runs on this method.
Practising with a colleague first? Use these sales role play examples: each one has a buyer brief and coaching notes.
The AI prospect starts guarded and asks for whatever your opening left out. Until your opening has earned enough of the 10 points, the call doesn't move.
They don't take claims on trust: “Faster than what?” Claim fast, easy and cheap at once and they'll ask for the catch.
The value you show is scored on the six value principles, weighted for your industry. Where the safety gate is on, there's no next step until they're sure it's safe.
They raise real objections and switching fears. They soften when you agree and redirect, and harden when you argue, bluff or run down the competition.
The bigger the step you ask for, the more value you need to have shown.
Sim Studio Coach gives you a plan before the call, short tips during it, and a report afterwards with your opening score, your value score and what to say next time.
Mike Steenkamp, coaching. The method sticks with practice and feedback, call after call. The simulator gives you that feedback on every practice call.
Practise the step you find hardest
You don't have to run a whole call every time. Pick what you want to practise: a full call, getting past the gatekeeper, the opening only, discovery, showing the value, an objection drill, price and negotiation, booking a meeting, a follow-up call, a voicemail, winning back a lost customer, or one you create yourself.
Then pick how hard the prospect should be (Friendly, Realistic, Tough or Brutal) and go again until it comes naturally. Every call ends with a report like the one above.
What do you want to practise?
Practise one part at a time. Here, an objection drill: the prospect raises the objections you picked, one per round, and each answer is scored on agree and redirect, being honest about switching and putting a number on it.
South Africa first
Sales training in South Africa
We built FX Paymaster in South Africa, selling to South African businesses, so this sales training starts here. The examples on this page are in rand, and the method works the same whether you sell from Johannesburg, Durban or Cape Town.
Owners of small businesses
If you're the one who sells, the method gives you a way to open a call, show value against what a customer uses now and ask for a next step, without a sales team behind you.
Contact centres
Outbound sales campaigns live or die on the opening and on handling objections. Agents can practise those before they take live calls, on Sim Studio for contact centres, built from your own scripts.
B2B sales teams
Financial services, insurance, telecoms, software, recruitment, solar and more. B2B sales training that weights the value principles for your industry, and a shared way to coach the whole team.
Learning to sell on your own
Looking for a job in sales, or want to get better at it? Practise on your own: AI buyers, a coach during the call and a scored report after every one, on a small monthly plan.
Choosing sales training courses
Sales training courses in South Africa range from one-day workshops to longer programmes. Whichever you choose, check three things:
It's built on a method you can explain in a sentence, not a collection of tips.
You practise out loud and get feedback on every attempt, not just listen.
It fits how you sell: to businesses or consumers, on the phone or face to face, in your industry.
Selling to South African businesses
Make the safety answer concrete. In financial services and insurance that means who regulates you and your licence or registration number (for example, your FSP number), not “trust me”.
Say honestly how you got their details. It's one of the seven opening boxes, and the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) sets rules on how businesses use people's personal information, including for direct marketing. Check what applies to you.
Put value in rand, over a year. “Four payments a month at R400 less each is R19,200 a year” lands; “we're cheaper” doesn't.
South Africa first, then the world. The method isn't local: we first used it in the UK, at FC Exchange. The simulator already has AI prospects with South African, American, British, Australian, Irish and Scottish voices, so you can practise for the market you sell to.
Experience, checked against evidence
The research behind it
The method comes from practice, not from a textbook. But you shouldn't have to take my word for it, so here is the published research it lines up with.
What it found: Business buyers weigh up to 40 “elements of value”, from table stakes such as meeting specifications, an acceptable price and regulatory compliance, through functional and ease-of-doing-business value, to personal concerns such as reduced anxiety and reputational assurance.
How the method uses it: The six value principles are a short version you can use on a phone call: cost reduction sits under Price, time savings under Speed, reduced effort and fewer hassles under Ease, product quality under Quality, a bigger top line under Volume, and risk reduction and compliance under Safety. Buying the wrong thing is a personal risk for the buyer, which is part of why Safety weighs so much.
What it found: Value propositions that list every benefit, or every difference from a competitor, are weaker than a “resonating focus”: the one or two differences that matter most to the customer, shown against the customer's next best alternative and backed with evidence.
How the method uses it: Compare with what they use now, back it with a number, and lead with your strongest one or two value principles instead of claiming everything.
3. Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk”, Econometrica, 1979.
What it found: People weigh a loss more heavily than a gain of the same size: losses loom larger than gains.
How the method uses it: A change of supplier feels like a possible loss, so buyers start guarded and Safety counts heavily. What waiting costs them is a stronger reason to act now than what they might gain, as long as it's true.
4. William Samuelson and Richard Zeckhauser, “Status Quo Bias in Decision Making”, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 1988.
What it found: People stick with their current option far more often than a plain comparison of the options would predict.
How the method uses it: The default answer is no. Value has to be shown against what they use now, and switching has to be dealt with honestly, not wished away.
5. Neil Rackham, SPIN Selling (McGraw-Hill, 1988), based on research covering about 35,000 sales calls.
What it found: In larger sales, the more successful salespeople asked more questions about the buyer's problems and what those problems cost them, and successful calls ended with the buyer agreeing to a specific step forward (an “advance”) rather than a vague promise to keep talking. Classic closing techniques that can work in small sales tended to hurt in larger ones.
How the method uses it: Ask before you tell, and aim each call at an earned next step instead of pushing for the close.
What's ours, not the researchers': the six value principles as a set, the industry weights and the opening checklist's points are ShiftMate's practitioner judgement, built from 25 years of selling and tuned with simulated and real calls. They fit the research above, but they aren't the result of a controlled study. Treat them as a starting point and adjust them to your market.
About the author
Why listen to me?
Mike Steenkamp · Founder, ShiftMate · 25 years in sales
I started my first business, FC Exchange, at 25 in the UK, with two friends and my brother, four desks and four telephones. We built it into a top 10 foreign exchange brokerage in the UK, and it was sold to a private equity company. My second business, FX Paymaster in South Africa, signed up more than 1,000 corporate clients in six years with a really small team of sales agents, and was acquired by another company in the industry in 2025.
The principles on this page are the ones we built both businesses on. Through ShiftMate I'm sharing them to help other people build their businesses and their sales teams.
So you know: ShiftMate makes Sim Studio, the AI sales training simulator mentioned on this page.
Sales training teaches people how to sell: how to reach the person who decides, open a conversation with a stranger, show value the buyer can check, handle objections and agree a next step. Good sales training gives you a method you can explain in a sentence, then makes you practise it out loud, with feedback, until it sticks.
What is the best sales training in South Africa?
There's no single best course for everyone, so judge any sales training in South Africa on three things. Is it built on a method you can explain in a sentence? Do you practise out loud and get feedback on every attempt, not just listen? And does it fit how you sell: to businesses, on the phone, in your industry? This guide is free, and you can practise what it teaches on Sim Studio for Sales Teams, ShiftMate's AI sales training simulator (in beta).
How long does sales training take?
You can read this whole guide in about half an hour. Making the method stick takes longer, because selling is a skill: it comes from using the method out loud, again and again, and fixing one thing at a time. Short practice calls with feedback, spread over weeks, work better than one long workshop you never repeat.
Can anyone learn to sell?
Yes. With the right approach anyone can learn to sell. Selling has a recipe: talk to the person who decides, earn the right to their time with a clear opening, show value on the six value principles compared with what they use now, and earn the next step. Mike Steenkamp, ShiftMate's founder, learned it in an office with four desks and four telephones, and used it to build two businesses.
How do you practise sales calls?
Practise out loud against a realistic buyer before you call real prospects, and get feedback on every call. Role-play with a colleague works if they push back like a real buyer. An AI sales training simulator lets you practise any time: ShiftMate Sim Studio for Sales Teams (in beta) gives you an AI prospect who starts at no, a coach during the call, and a report afterwards with your opening and value scores.
What are the six value principles of selling?
The six reasons businesses buy: Safety (less risk: certainty, reliable, compliant, protected), Quality (a better product, service or result), Ease (less effort, fewer hassles), Speed (saves time, quicker results), Volume (more leads, sales, customers or capacity) and Price (costs less, or better value for money; cheaper doesn't mean better). How much each one counts depends on the industry, and who you're talking to decides which you lead with.
What is B2B sales training?
B2B sales training teaches you to sell to businesses rather than to consumers. The buyer is spending the company's money and carries the risk if it goes wrong, so it focuses on reaching the person who decides, showing value against what the business uses now, in its own numbers, dealing honestly with what switching involves, and earning one next step at a time instead of pushing for a sale on the first call.
How do you handle “we're happy with our current supplier”?
Agree and redirect. Agree that it makes sense and say you're not asking them to change anything today. Then redirect to the one thing you do better and offer a side-by-side comparison against what they pay or get now. Never argue, and never run down their current supplier.
How do you get past a gatekeeper?
Be straight with them. Give your name, your company and what the call is about in one sentence, then ask for help: “Who looks after your supplier accounts?” Ask for the best time to reach that person. Never pretend you know the decision-maker or that they're expecting your call.
Is AI sales training effective?
It's a good way to get practice and feedback, but it isn't magic. An AI sales training simulator lets you make many practice calls without burning real leads and tells you straight away what you missed. It doesn't replace real calls or a good manager, and how well it works depends on the method it scores you on. Sim Studio for Sales Teams is in beta: its scoring follows the method on this page, and we're still tuning it with simulated and real calls.
