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Sales Training: Objectives, Techniques, and Evaluation
McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
10-2
Military Training and Sales Careers
What skills Can be trained? Must be trained? Are a pre-hire requirement?
What previous training has transferability and value?
Managers must focus on critical success competencies
Source: HR Chally Group (2007).
10-3
Identify key issues in sales training Understand objectives of sales
training Discuss development of sales
training programs Understand training of new sales
recruits and experienced salespeople Define topics covered in a sales
training program Understand various methods for
conducting sales training Discuss how to measure costs and
benefits of sales training
10-4
Training Magazine’s Top Training Companies
Source: Source: Manage smarter.com October, 2007.
10.1
10-5
Sales Training Issues
Who should be trained? What should be the training
primary emphasis? How should the training
process be structured? On-the-job training and
experience? Formal and more consistent
centralized program? Web-based? Instructor-based?
10-6
Sales Training Objectives
Increase productivity Improve morale Lower turnover Improve customer relations Improve selling skills
10-7
10.1 Challenge of Effective Training: Follow-Up
Salespeople are a tough audience
Salespeople retain about 50% after five weeks
Management issues Poor training implementation Lack of measureable results Lack of refresher
courses/materials
Source: “Half Life of Sales Training,” American Salesman 49, no. 1 (2004), p. 23.
10-8
10.1 Effectiveness of Follow-Up Strategies
Source: “Half Life of Sales Training,” American Salesman 49, no. 1 (2004), p. 23.
46%
43%
39%
36%
59%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
% Respondents Identifying Strategies as Effective
Sharing experiences/practices among team
Coaching by manager
Follow-up classes
Manager statement detailing expectations
Incentive compensation for new behaviors
10-9
Obstacles to Introducing Training
Top management not dedicated to sales training
Lack of buy-in from frontline sales managers and salespeople
Salespeople’s lack of understanding of what training is supposed to accomplish
Salespeople’s lack of understanding regarding application of training to everyday tasks
10-10
10.2 Failure – Causes and Cures
Delivering “fad” vs. “function”
Off the shelf delivery Unreasonable time
constraints Little reinforcement
Source: Heather Baldwin, “Rethinking Sales Training,” SellingPower.com, August 2006 online issue.
10-11
Shifts in Training New Sales Recruits
Companies with less than $5 million in annual sales are spending more on sales training per new hire - $5,500 worth of training per salesperson.
Training in smaller companies has increased from 3.3 months to 4.4 months.
Smaller companies are placing more emphasis on training than several years ago.
Companies are spending time and money on training experienced salespeople
Companies with more than $5 million in annual sales, are spending less money on training
Source: Christen P. Heide, Dartnell’s 30th Sales Force Compensation Survey: (Chicago: Dartnell Corp., 1999)
10-12
Shifts in Training Experienced Sales Recruits
Experienced sales reps are given, on average, 32.5 hours of ongoing training per year at a cost of $4,032 per rep
Continuing increasing amounts of training reflects a commitment to provide ongoing learning opportunities for senior salespeople
Companies are spending an increasing amount of time on product training and less on training in selling skills
Source: Christen P. Heide, Dartnell’s 30th Sales Force Compensation Survey: (Chicago: Dartnell Corp., 1999)
10-13
Sales Training Topics
Product or service knowledge Market/Industry orientation Company orientation Selling skills Time and territory
management Legal and ethical issues Technology Specialized topics
10-14
Product Knowledge Topics
Critical information for rational decision-making
Company’s product specifications Common product uses/misuses
Competitive products comparison on Price Construction Performance Compatibility
Technical products require more time on product knowledge training
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Market/Industry Orientation Topics
Industry fit into overall economy Knowledge of industry and
economy Economic fluctuations that
affect buying behavior and require adaptive selling techniques
Customers' buying policies, patterns and preferences in light of competition
Customers' customers needs Wholesaler and retailer needs
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Company Orientation Topics
Company polices that affect their selling activities
Personnel Structure Benefits
Handling customer requests for price adjustments, product modifications, faster delivery, different credit terms
Sales manuals Hard copy, online Product information Company policy information
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Time and Territory Management
Sales trainees need to learn to manage time and territories
Time spent training out of the field is costly
80/20 rule applies: 20% of the customers account for 80% of the business and Require the same proportion of
time and attention
10-18
Legal/Ethical Issues
Federal law dictates corporate action or avoidance of action in areas of marketing, sales and pricing
Sales personnel need to understand the federal, state and local laws that constrain their selling activities
Statements made by salespeople carry both legal and ethical implications
Lapses in ethical conduct often lead to legal problems
10-19
Technology
Notebook computers Presentations Connecting to company intranet or extranet Delivering documentation quickly and
accurately Home offices eliminate the need to go to
another office Salesperson can be almost totally self-
sufficient with High-speed network connection Computer Printer Cell phone
Effective computer use affords sales personnel more face-to-face customer contact time
Effective use requires training
10-20
10.4 Internet Training
Increased control over content
Less costly Comprises 15-20% of all
training today Expected to be 50% within
5 years
10-21
Specialized Training Topics
Specialized, job-tailored training most effective
Sample topics Price negotiations Trade show effectiveness Reading body language Addressing SCA
10-22
10.5Common instructionmethods
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10.5 Creative Sales Training
Effective training can take place beyond the classroom or computer
Requirements Focus on knowledge, selling skills
for success Understand deliverables
Examples Boot camps Product “immersion” Cooking classes
10-24
Keys for Effective OJT
Teaming - bring together people with different skills
Meetings - set aside times when employees can get together
Customer interaction - include customer feedback as part of learning process
Mentoring - provide informal mechanism for new salespeople to learn from more experienced ones
Peer-to-peer communication - create opportunities for mutual learning among salespeople
Source: The Education Development Center (www.edc.org)
10-25
Classroom Training
Advantages Standard briefings in
Product knowledge Company polices Customer and market characteristics Selling skills
Formal training sessions save executive time
Interaction among salespeople builds camaraderie
Disadvantages Expensive Time-consuming Too much material = less retention
Role playing a popular technique
10-26
Electronic Training Methods
Online training $18billion industry (2006)
Makes J-I-T information possible IBM plans 35% sales training to be
over Internet CD-ROM currently #1 delivery
method 30% of server-based training over
intranets Effectiveness not well-documented Not likely to eliminate one-on-one
training
10-27
Measuring the Costs and Benefits
Sales training consumes substantial time, budget and support resources
Relationship between sales training and revenue is difficult to measure
Relationship between sales training and other broad objectives difficult to measure
10-28
10.6 Training Road Blocks
Training can’t solve the problem Busy, jaded salespeople are not open
to learning new skills Conflicting methods and philosophies
are taught at each session The training isn’t relevant to the
company’s pressing needs The training format doesn’t fit the
need E-learning is overused, or used in
wrong situations There’s no follow-up after training The trainer can’t relate to the sales
team
10-29
Sales Training Costs
Training funds are often allocated with little regard for results
Results and benefits are difficult to measure
Difficult to isolate training impact from Economic conditions Environmental changes Seasonal trends Competitive activity Etc.
10-30Source: Thomas Atkinson and Theodore L. Higgins, “Evaluation Obstacles and Opportunities,” Forum Issues, February 1988, p. 22.
10.7
Evaluation options matrix
10-31
10.8Overall ranking of evaluation measures
