Part IV
SALES FORCE COMPETENCIES
Chapter 8:
Sales Training
Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.
Chinese Proverb
SHOULD IT BE CALLED TRAINING OR EDUCATION?
Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior occurring as a result of experience. Training is included in ones experiences. Thus, training is part of an individuals total learning experience.
What goes on in Sales Training?
SALES TRAINING PROCESS
Planning for Sales Training
Assess Training Needs Setting Objectives Setting Budget
Developing the Training Program
What Topics?
Where to Train?
Training Methods?
Trainers?
Evaluating Training
Follow-Up Training
SALES TRAINING OBJECTIVES
Why Train Salespeople?
Increase productivity
Create positive attitudes/improve morale Improved customer relations Reduce role conflict and ambiguity (turnover) Improve efficiencies (time and territory)
Introduce new products, markets, or programs
Table 8-1
Cross-Tabulations from Company Records
Average Order Size per Salesperson
New Customers Per Salesperson
Total Customers Per Salesperson
Experience Less than 2 year 2-5 years 5-10 years Over 10 years Regions Northeast Southeast Midwest Southwest West
392 593 565 470 528 520 512 421 544
21 29 5 8 6 8 18 26 21
86 145 152 139 140 161 107 111 131
Planning For Sales Training
1. 2. 3.
Assessing sales training needs Establishing specific objectives for the training program Setting a budget for the program
DETERMINING TRAINING NEEDS*
Judgment of: Top Management Sales Management Training Department Interview With: Salespeople Customers
25%
68% 73% 60%
59%
* Percent of firms indicating they often use these assessments to determine training needs.
STEPS IN PERFORMING A TRAINING ANALYSIS
1. Interviewed key members or management to find out what changes are needed in performance of the sales force.
2. Sent an anonymous questionnaire to customers and prospects asking:
What do you expect of a salesperson in this industry? How do salespeople disappoint you?
Which company in this industry does the best selling job?
In what ways are its salespersons better?
3. Sent a confidential questionnaire to each salesperson asking:
What information do most of our salespersons need? What information do you want to learn better? What skills do most of our salespersons need to improve?
STEPS IN PERFORMING A TRAINING ANALYSIS
4. 5. 6. 7. Did field audits (making sales calls) with 20% of the sales force? Interviewed sales supervisors. Discussed and agreed on training priorities with management. Determined trainable topics from information gathered in Steps 1-5.
How much should it cost?
Table 8-2
Average Cost and Training Period for Sales Trainees
Consumer Industrial Service
$5,354
$9,893 $9,060
Consumer Industrial
3.40 Months 3.80 Months 3.80 Months
Service
Table 8-3
Average Cost of Training for Veteran Salespeople
$6,000
$5,365
Median Spending
$5,000 $4,000 $3,000 $2,000 $1,000 $0
$3,947 $3,902
$4,824
$3,752
Under $5 Million
$5-$25 Million
$25-$100 $100-$250 Over $250 Million Million Million
Company Size
What do you train on?
ALLOCATING TRAINING TIME
Product knowledge
Market/Industry Information Company Orientation Average 35% 15 10
Selling Techniques
Other topics
30
10
Total
100%
Where do you train?
1. 2.
Centralized versus Decentralized Field Training
ON-THE-JOB SALES TRAINING
80% of a new field salespersons training should be focused on developing customer profiles, digging out account survey data, and building working relationships in the field.
15% of time can then be invested in learning about how your product or service is used by existing customers. The field is the place to gain product knowledge, not from an engineer or home office instructor.
ON-THE-JOB SALES TRAINING
Only 5% of a new field salespersons time, then, should be spent on developing selling skills. Again, the place to do this is face-to-face with real customers:
setting and testing real precall objectives asking for real opportunities to do business.
Understanding what has to be done to build selling skills can be mastered in 15 minutes. Doing it takes years of actual, not simulated practice.
Training Media
Table 8-4
Media Used in Sales Training
Classroom with Instructor
Workbooks/Manuals
77%
54%
Role Plays
CD-ROM
44%
39%
Audiocassettes
Internet
34%
32%
EVALUATING SALES TRAINING
Level of Evaluation:
What to Measure:
How to Measure:
When to Measure:
Reactions: Are trainees satisfied?
Learning: Did the training have its intended effect?
Perceptions of training Course evaluation Instructor evaluation Knowledge of course content
Survey Interview
At the completion of training
Exams Selfassessment Interview
At the completion of training and at points in the future
EVALUATING SALES TRAINING
Level of Evaluation:
What to Measure:
How to Measure:
When to Measure:
Behavior: Are the salespeople on the job using their knowledge and skills on the job?
Skills Job performance Absenteeism Turnover
Performance indicators Observation Managerial assessment Selfassessment
Over the first year after training
EVALUATING SALES TRAINING
Level of Evaluation:
What to Measure:
How to Measure:
When to Measure:
Results: What effect does training have on the company?
Job satisfaction Customer satisfaction Sales Profits ROI
Survey Experiments Managerial assessment
A year after the training
EVALUATING TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS*
Reactions:
Trainees Supervisors
68%
86%
Learning:
Performance Pre-vs. Post-Training
31%
63%
Behaviors:
Supervisors Appraisal Customer Appraisal
64% 41%
Results:
Bottom Line
40%
*Percent of firms indicating they often use these evaluations to measure training results.
Table 8-5
Sales Training Evaluation Practices
Measure Trainee Feedback Supervisory Appraisal
Criteria Type Reaction Behavior
Importance Rank 1 2
Self-Appraisal
Bottom-Line Measures Customer Appraisal
Behavior
Results Behavior
3
4 5
BUILDING A SALES TRAINING PROGRAM
Treat all employees as potential career employees. Require regular re-training. Spend time and money generously. Salespeople and sales managers must take the lead in developing what goes into the program.
In times of crisis, increase, rather than decrease, the training program.
