Sales Training FAQ — Chicago & Northbrook, IL | Sandler Keystone

Sales Training FAQ — Sandler Keystone in Chicago & Northbrook, Illinois

Sandler Keystone is a certified & award winning Sandler training center located in Northbrook, Illinois, serving businesses across the greater Chicago metropolitan area and the Midwest. For nearly 30 years, we have helped sales teams in manufacturing, packaging, financial services, technology, and professional services build the skills, habits, and accountability systems they need to sell more effectively and more consistently.

Below are answers to the questions we hear most often from business owners, VPs of sales, and sales leaders evaluating sales training options for their teams.

What is Sandler Training and how is it different from other sales training programs?

Sandler Training is one of the largest and most established sales training organizations in the world, with over 50 years of proven methodology and more than 250 training centers globally. Unlike traditional sales training programs that focus on techniques, scripts, or motivational one-day workshops, Sandler uses a systematic, behavior-based approach that addresses the psychology of selling — helping salespeople have honest, pressure-free conversations with prospects.

What makes Sandler fundamentally different is the reinforcement model. Research on adult learning consistently shows that skills learned in a single training event are largely forgotten within 30 days without ongoing practice and reinforcement. Most sales training companies deliver a workshop, hand out a binder, and hope it sticks. The Sandler model is built on the opposite premise — that real behavior change requires repetition, coaching, accountability, and practice over months and years.

Sandler Keystone in Chicago and Northbrook, Illinois delivers this methodology through ongoing weekly training sessions, one-on-one coaching, role-play practice, and reinforcement tools so that new selling behaviors become permanent habits — not temporary inspiration that fades after the workshop ends.

Who is Sandler Keystone and where are you located?

Sandler Keystone is a locally owned Sandler center in Northbrook, Illinois, serving the greater Chicago area and the Midwest for nearly 30 years. We are part of the global Sandler network, which means our clients get a world-class, proven sales methodology delivered by experienced local trainers who understand the Chicago-area business landscape as well as global or channel sales landscapes.

Our team includes certified Sandler trainers with real-world sales leadership experience across multiple industries. We work directly with business owners, VPs of sales, sales managers, and their teams — typically companies with 15 to 50 salespeople — in manufacturing, packaging, financial services, technology, and professional services. We specialize in helping mid-market companies build scalable, repeatable sales processes that drive predictable revenue growth.

What is the Sandler Selling System?

The Sandler Selling System is a buyer-focused sales methodology built on the principle that selling should be a mutually respectful, pressure-free process where both sides qualify each other. Developed by David Sandler in 1967, it is structured around what is known as the Sandler Submarine — seven distinct stages that guide a salesperson through the entire sales process.

The seven stages are:

1. Bonding and Rapport — Establish trust and a peer-level relationship with the buyer
2. Up-Front Contracts — Set mutual expectations for every interaction so nothing is left to chance
3. Pain — Uncover the real problems and emotional drivers behind the buying decision
4. Budget — Determine financial capacity and willingness early, before investing time in proposals
5. Decision — Identify all decision-makers and understand exactly how the buying decision will be made
6. Fulfillment — Present your solution only after you have fully qualified the pain, budget, and decision process
7. Post-Sell — Reinforce the buying decision and prevent buyer's remorse

The core philosophy is consultative, not persuasive. Salespeople learn to disqualify bad-fit prospects early, stop giving free consulting or unpaid proposals, and position themselves as trusted advisors rather than product pushers. Sandler Keystone delivers this system through a combination of live training, role-play, coaching, and ongoing reinforcement.

What industries does Sandler Keystone work with in the Chicago area?

Sandler Keystone serves B2B companies across manufacturing, packaging, financial services, technology, and professional services throughout the greater Chicago area and the Midwest.

Our deepest expertise is in working with manufacturing and packaging companies that sell complex, technical, or engineered products — environments where sales cycles are long, buying committees involve multiple stakeholders, and the risk of commoditization is high. Over the past three decades, these industries have represented the largest share of our client base because the Sandler methodology is exceptionally well-suited to consultative, relationship-driven selling.

We also work extensively with financial services firms — including banking, wealth management, insurance, and lending — where trust-based selling and the ability to have difficult conversations about money are critical skills. And we serve technology and SaaS companies where rapid growth creates a need for a scalable, repeatable sales process that new hires can learn quickly.

The Sandler Selling System addresses universal sales behaviors and buyer psychology, so it adapts across any B2B environment. But our trainers bring deep industry-specific knowledge that allows us to tailor examples, role-plays, and coaching to your team's actual selling environment.

What size companies benefit most from Sandler sales training?

Sandler Keystone typically works with companies that have between 15 and 50 salespeople, though we serve organizations ranging from growing teams of 5 to sales forces of 100 or more. The companies that see the greatest return on their sales training investment tend to be mid-market businesses — generally between $50 million and $500 million in revenue — that have outgrown informal or founder-led sales approaches and need a scalable, repeatable selling process.

These companies often share common characteristics: high average sale values, complex sales involving multiple decision-makers, repeat or recurring sales cycles, and a business model where the cost of a lost deal is significant. If your team is selling in environments where deals take weeks or months to close, where relationships matter as much as product specifications, and where inconsistency across the sales team is costing you revenue — you are exactly the kind of company we work with.

How much does Sandler sales training cost?

Sandler Keystone offers programs at multiple investment levels depending on the format and depth of engagement.

For individual sales professionals, our Essentials+ program — an 8-session cohort-based course covering foundational Sandler methodology — is available at $5,250 per participant. Our Sprint Series intensive workshops, which provide deep dives into specific sales skills like prospecting, negotiating, or account management, are $1,250 each.

For corporate and team training engagements, the investment varies based on team size, scope, and program structure. Most of our corporate clients invest in annual programs because lasting behavior change requires ongoing reinforcement — not a one-time event. A typical engagement for a mid-market company includes weekly training sessions, one-on-one coaching, assessments, and access to online reinforcement tools.

We are transparent about investment and will provide a clear recommendation based on your team's specific needs. We encourage you to schedule a conversation so we can understand your situation before quoting a number.

What specific sales training programs does Sandler Keystone offer?

Sandler Keystone offers three main categories of training: the Essentials+ foundational program, topic-specific Sprint Series intensives, and customized corporate training engagements.

Essentials+ is an 8-session, cohort-based program that covers the core Sandler Selling System methodology. Each session is 90 minutes, delivered live and interactive with role-play and direct feedback. Participants get 30 days of access to weekly Mastery Workshops, a Prospecting Sprint module, an Account Management Sprint module, an extended online self-paced course, and one year of Sandler Online access. This program is designed for salespeople who need a structured, repeatable selling framework.

Sprint Series are intensive 3-to-4 session deep dives into specific sales skills. Topics rotate throughout the year and include Prospecting, Account Management, Negotiating, Enterprise Selling, Leveraging LinkedIn, Presentation Skills, Pain Discovery, and more. Each Sprint is designed for sales professionals who want targeted skill development beyond foundational training.

Corporate Training engagements are fully customized programs built for your team's specific challenges. These typically include weekly group training, individual coaching, sales assessments, leadership development, and ongoing reinforcement. Most corporate clients engage with us on an annual basis with a minimum training cadence of twice per month to ensure the methodology sticks.

Does Sandler Keystone offer sales assessments or hiring evaluations?

Yes. Sandler Keystone offers sales-specific assessments through Objective Management Group (OMG) and DISC behavioral assessments that go far beyond what generic personality tests can reveal.

OMG Assessments are purpose-built for evaluating sales capabilities at the individual, team, and organizational level. For hiring, OMG candidate assessments predict sales success and identify red flags before you make a costly hiring mistake. For existing teams, OMG evaluations reveal skill gaps, hidden weaknesses, and developmental priorities across your entire sales force. OMG measures sales-specific competencies including prospecting ability, qualification skills, closing effectiveness, sales DNA, and will to sell — providing actionable data that generic assessments cannot.

Sales Effectiveness and Improvement Analysis (SEIA) is a comprehensive OMG evaluation of your entire sales organization. It examines team structure, systems, strategies, and individual capabilities to identify what is working, what is not, and what specific changes will drive the biggest performance improvement. SEIA creates a roadmap for targeted investment in your sales team.

DISC Behavioral Assessments help salespeople understand their own behavioral tendencies and adapt their communication style to match different buyer types. This improves rapport-building, reduces friction in sales conversations, and helps your team connect more effectively with diverse decision-makers.

How long does Sandler sales training take to show results?

Most Sandler Keystone clients see measurable improvements within 60 to 90 days of beginning the program. Early wins typically include better qualification of prospects — meaning salespeople spend less time chasing deals that were never going to close — improved discovery conversations, stronger pipeline accuracy, and more consistent use of up-front contracts that set clear expectations with buyers.

Significant, sustainable behavior change usually takes six to twelve months of ongoing reinforcement. This is why Sandler Keystone structures most programs as annual engagements with a minimum of twice-monthly training. The science on adult learning is clear: one-time workshops do not change behavior. Repetition, practice, coaching, and accountability do.

Clients who fully commit — including having sales leadership actively engaged in the process and holding their teams accountable to new behaviors — typically see improvements of 15 to 30 percent or more in close rates, along with shorter sales cycles and larger average deal sizes.

What results can I expect from Sandler sales training?

Sandler Keystone clients commonly report higher close rates, shorter sales cycles, larger average deal sizes, stronger pipelines, and improved forecast accuracy.

Specifically, the results our clients typically see include: salespeople who qualify and disqualify prospects faster so they spend time only on real opportunities; shorter sales cycles because prospects are moved through a structured process rather than left to drift; larger deal sizes because salespeople learn to uncover the full scope of the buyer's pain rather than leading with a product pitch; and improved pipeline accuracy because the Sandler qualification process eliminates the false opportunities that inflate forecasts and waste management attention.

Beyond the numbers, clients also report cultural improvements — a common sales language across the team, more productive coaching conversations between managers and reps, and a shift from reactive selling to proactive pipeline management. We establish baseline metrics at the start of every engagement and track progress so the return on investment is measurable and transparent.

Does Sandler Keystone offer virtual or online sales training?

Yes. Sandler Keystone offers both in-person and virtual sales training, with the majority of our ongoing reinforcement training delivered via live, interactive video sessions. These are not pre-recorded courses — your team gets real-time engagement, role-play practice, and direct coaching from a certified Sandler trainer.

Many of our clients use a hybrid model: in-person workshops for kickoffs, team retreats, and intensive sessions, combined with virtual weekly reinforcement training. This approach works well for distributed teams, field-based sellers, and companies with employees across multiple locations. We also provide access to Sandler Online, a learning management system with on-demand courses and self-paced reinforcement content that supplements the live training.

Whether your team is in downtown Chicago, the North Shore suburbs, or spread across multiple states, we can build a training experience that fits your schedule and work style.

How is Sandler Training delivered at Sandler Keystone?

Sandler Keystone delivers training through a combination of weekly live group sessions, individual one-on-one coaching, and the Sandler Online platform for self-paced reinforcement.

Group training sessions are typically 60 to 90 minutes and are fully interactive — featuring discussion, role-play, real-world scenario work, and direct feedback from the trainer. These are not lectures. Participants practice new skills in the session and apply them to their actual deals and prospects.

One-on-one coaching sessions focus on each salesperson's specific challenges, active deals in their pipeline, and individual skill development areas. This personalized attention is what turns general methodology into specific, actionable improvement for each team member.

We also offer intensive workshop formats for kickoffs, sales meetings, and corporate events. All programs can be delivered in person at your location, at our Northbrook, Illinois office, or virtually via live video.

What is the difference between Sandler Training and hiring a sales consultant or sales coach?

The key difference is that Sandler Keystone provides a complete, integrated sales development system — not just advice, and not just one-on-one coaching — that gives your entire team a common methodology, language, and process.

A sales consultant typically assesses your sales organization, provides recommendations, and may help implement specific changes — but often does not train your people on new selling skills. A sales coach usually works one-on-one with individual sellers to improve performance, which can be valuable but does not create organizational alignment around a shared process.

Sandler Keystone combines methodology, group training, individual coaching, assessments, and ongoing reinforcement into one program. Your entire team learns the same selling system, which means managers can coach to it, leaders can inspect it, and new hires can be onboarded into it. The other critical differentiator is sustainability — consultants and coaches often create dependency. The Sandler model is designed to build self-sufficiency so the selling system becomes part of your company's DNA.

Does Sandler Training work for companies that already have a sales process?

Yes — and in fact, many of our clients already have some form of sales process when they engage with us. Whether it is a CRM-based pipeline, a methodology they adopted years ago, or an informal approach that evolved over time, the Sandler Selling System does not require you to throw out what you have built. It provides a behavioral framework that strengthens and structures what your team is already doing.

The issue we see most often is not the absence of a process but the inconsistency with which it is followed. Many teams have good people who sell in very different ways — which makes coaching difficult, forecasting unreliable, and onboarding slow. Sandler gives everyone a shared language, a set of repeatable behaviors, and clear qualifying criteria that make your existing process more effective and more consistent across the team.

Can Sandler Training help with sales management and leadership development?

Yes, and this is one of the most critical components of any successful Sandler engagement. Sandler Keystone offers dedicated sales management and leadership development programs designed specifically for frontline sales managers, VPs of sales, and business owners who lead sales teams.

The reality is that most sales managers were promoted because they were great individual sellers — not because they were trained to lead, coach, and develop other salespeople. This is one of the most common gaps we see in organizations. Our management programs teach leaders how to run effective coaching sessions, conduct pipeline reviews that actually improve deal outcomes, hold their teams accountable to behaviors and activities rather than just results, and create a culture of continuous improvement.

Organizations where leadership is actively engaged in the Sandler process see significantly greater improvement in sales performance compared to those where only the frontline sellers are trained. When managers reinforce what their teams are learning, the entire investment delivers a dramatically higher return.

Can Sandler Keystone help us hire better salespeople?

Yes. Sandler Keystone uses Objective Management Group (OMG) candidate assessments to help companies make better hiring decisions and avoid the costly mistake of hiring salespeople who look good in interviews but fail to produce results.

Traditional hiring processes rely heavily on resumes, interviews, and gut instinct — which is why the average cost of a bad sales hire is estimated at 6 to 10 times their base salary when you factor in lost deals, ramp-up time, and management distraction. OMG hiring assessments are specifically designed for sales roles and evaluate whether a candidate has the selling competencies, motivation, and trainability to succeed in your specific sales environment.

The assessment measures sales-specific attributes that generic personality tests miss, including prospecting willingness, ability to handle rejection, consultative selling skills, and whether the candidate's sales beliefs and habits will support or undermine their performance. Many of our clients use OMG candidate screening as a standard step in their hiring process to dramatically improve the quality and retention of their sales hires.

How do I know if my sales team needs training?

If your sales team has the talent but not the consistency, there is likely a process, skill, or accountability gap that structured training can address. Here are the most common indicators we see:

• Sales results are inconsistent — some reps hit quota regularly while others struggle, and you are not sure what the top performers are doing differently
• Your sales cycle is longer than it should be, or deals frequently stall in the pipeline without a clear reason
• Your team discounts too often or struggles to sell on value rather than price
• Salespeople have difficulty reaching decision-makers or get ghosted after presenting proposals
• Your team gives away too much free consulting — detailed proposals, custom demos, or extensive discovery — to prospects who never buy
• You lack a common sales process or language, making it difficult to coach, forecast, or scale
• You have invested in marketing and lead generation but your team is not converting those opportunities into revenue
• New hires take too long to ramp up to full productivity

If you recognize even two or three of these challenges, a conversation with Sandler Keystone is a worthwhile next step. We start every potential engagement with a diagnostic conversation to understand your specific situation, and we will give you an honest assessment of whether we are the right fit — or not.

Can Sandler Training help my team with prospecting and pipeline building?

Yes. Prospecting and pipeline generation are core focus areas in Sandler Training programs at Sandler Keystone. We offer dedicated Prospecting Sprint Series throughout the year — intensive multi-session programs focused specifically on pipeline building, outreach strategies, and controlling the early stages of the sales process.

Many salespeople struggle with prospecting because they lack a repeatable system and because the fear of rejection holds them back. The Sandler approach addresses attitude, behavior, and technique. We help salespeople reframe how they think about prospecting, teach specific techniques for opening conversations and getting past initial resistance, and provide methods for quickly qualifying whether a prospect is worth pursuing.

When prospecting is combined with the full Sandler methodology — including pain discovery and up-front contracts — the quality of your pipeline improves dramatically, not just the quantity. Our clients find that their salespeople spend less time chasing unqualified leads and more time in real conversations with prospects who have a genuine reason to buy.

What is an up-front contract in Sandler Training?

An up-front contract is a verbal agreement at the beginning of every sales interaction that sets clear expectations for both sides about the purpose of the conversation, the time allocated, the topics to be covered, and the possible outcomes — including the option to say no.

It is one of the foundational concepts in the Sandler Selling System and one of the first skills we teach because it produces immediate, visible improvement. Up-front contracts eliminate the ambiguity and discomfort that plague most sales conversations. They prevent the common scenario where a salesperson delivers a full presentation or proposal only to hear "we need to think about it" or "let me run this by my team" — with no clear next step and no way to follow up without feeling pushy.

By establishing mutual agreement on what will happen before and after the meeting, salespeople maintain control of the process and prospects feel respected rather than pressured. It is a simple technique that transforms the dynamics of every sales conversation.

Is Sandler Training only for salespeople or does it help other roles?

While the Sandler Selling System is built for sales professionals, the communication and influence skills it teaches are valuable across your entire organization. Sandler Keystone regularly works with customer success managers, account managers, business development representatives, project managers, and technical professionals who interact with clients or prospects.

Many of our clients in the Chicago area also enroll their executive leadership teams because the Sandler principles — honest communication, setting clear expectations, understanding others' motivations, and having difficult conversations productively — apply to leadership, negotiation, vendor management, and internal collaboration. The methodology is fundamentally about human behavior, which makes it applicable wherever communication and influence matter.

What makes Sandler Keystone different from other Sandler Training locations?

Sandler Keystone has been serving the Chicago area for nearly 30 years, giving us a depth of local market knowledge and industry expertise that newer or more generalist training organizations cannot match.

Several things set us apart. First, our trainers have real-world sales and business leadership experience — they have built and managed sales teams themselves and bring practical, street-level credibility to every session. Second, we have deep specialization in industries like manufacturing, packaging, and financial services where we understand the specific challenges your salespeople face — from navigating multi-stakeholder buying committees in industrial sales to building trust in financial services relationships.

Third, our approach emphasizes partnership and accountability. We do not deliver training and walk away. We track progress, measure results against baseline metrics, and adjust our programs continuously to ensure our clients get the outcomes they invested in. Many of our client relationships span five years or more because the training continues to deliver value as companies grow and their challenges evolve.

Finally, our delivery model allows us to serve clients not just in the Chicago area but nationally, with a network of experienced Sandler-certified trainers who can deliver consistent, high-quality training wherever your team is located.