Recently I read an article in Speaker Magazine, The Value of Soft Skills in a Hard World by David Ryback.  I am a big advocate of soft skills training, so I found this article particularly interesting.

Especially important for firms are the documented results other companies have experienced, results they credit to soft skills improvement after investing in training:

• Sanofi-Aventis, an Australian pharmaceutical firm, enjoyed a 12 percent increase in sales after training its sales force in soft skills. • According to the Hay/McBer Group, insurance agents trained in soft skills sold policies averaging $114,000 compared to less trained associates who sold policies averaging $54,000.

• At L’Oreal, sales agents with soft skills training sold $91,370 more than their less trained counterparts, resulting in increased revenue of $2,558,360.

• Recruiters trained in soft skills save the U.S. Air Force $3 million per year, according to a General Accounting Office report. What soft skills account for these successes? Soft skills deal with three main factors: awareness, performance and outcome.

While the term “soft skills” may sound lightweight, the impact on your business and the results derived are anything but light! I’d be happy to talk with you about soft skills training, the courses I offer and how we can customize a program to best benefit your firm.