Part IV

SALES FORCE
COMPETENCIES
Chapter 8:

Sales Training

Teachers
Teachers open
open
the
the door.
door.

You
You enter
enter
by
by yourself.
yourself.
Chinese
ChineseProverb
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
Planningfor
for
Sales
SalesTraining
Training

Developing
Developingthe
the
Training
TrainingProgram
Program

Assess
Assess
Training
Training
Needs
Needs

What
What
Topics?
Topics?

Setting
Setting
Setting
Setting
Objectives
Budget
Objectives
Budget

Where
Where
to
toTrain?
Train?

Training
Training Trainers?
Trainers?
Methods?
Methods?

Evaluating
EvaluatingTraining
Training

Follow-Up
Follow-UpTraining
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 New Customers Total Customers
Size per Salesperson Per Salesperson Per Salesperson

Experience
Less than 2 year
2-5 years
5-10 years
Over 10 years
Regions
Northeast
Southeast
Midwest
Southwest
West

392

21

86

593
565
470

29
5
8

145
152
139

528
520
512
421
544

6
8
18
26
21

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

68%

Sales Management
Training
Department
Interview With:
Salespeople
Customers

73%
60%

59%
25%

* 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.

3.

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?

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.

Did field audits (making sales calls)

with 20% of the sales force?

5.

Interviewed sales supervisors.

6.

Discussed and agreed on training

priorities with management.

7.

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

$5,354

Industrial
Service

Consumer
Industrial
Service

$9,893
$9,060

3.40
Months

3.80
Months
3.80
Months

Table 8-3

Median Spending

Average Cost of Training for Veteran

Salespeople
$5,36
5

$3,75
2

Under $5
$250
Million

$3,94
7

$5-$25
Million

$4,82
4

$3,90
2

$25-$100 $100-$250 Over

Million

Million

Company Size

Million

What do you train on?

ALLOCATING TRAINING
TIME
Average
Product knowledge

35%

Market/Industry Information

15

Company Orientation

10

Selling Techniques

30

Other topics

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

77%

54%

Workbooks/Manuals

44%

Role Plays
CD-ROM

39%

34%

Audiocassettes
32%

Internet

EVALUATING SALES
TRAINING
Level of
Evaluatio
n:

Reactions:
Are
trainees
satisfied?

What to
Measure:

Learning:
Did the
training
have its
intended
effect?

How to
Measure:

Perception
s
of training
Course
evaluation
Instructor
evaluation

Knowledge
of course
content

When to
Measure:

Survey
Interview

At the
completion
of training

Exams
Selfassessmen
t
Interview

At the
completion
of training
and at
points in
the future

EVALUATING SALES
TRAINING
Level of
Evaluatio
n:

What to
Measure:

Behavior:

Are the
salespeopl
e on the
job using
their
knowledge
and skills
on the
job?

Skills
Job
performanc
e
Absenteeis
m
Turnover

How to
Measure:

Performanc
e
indicators
Observatio
n
Managerial
assessmen
t
Selfassessmen
t

When to
Measure:

Over the
first year
after
training

EVALUATING SALES
TRAINING
Level of
Evaluatio
n:

Results:
What
effect does
training
have on
the
company?

What to
Measure:

Job
satisfaction
Customer
satisfaction
Sales
Profits
ROI

How to
Measure:

Survey
Experiment
s
Managerial
assessmen
t

When to
Measure:

A year
after the
training

EVALUATING TRAINING
EFFECTIVENESS*
Reactions:

86%

Trainees
Supervisors

68%

Learning:
Performance
Pre-vs. Post-Training

63%
31%

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
Rank
Trainee Feedback

Criteria Type

Importance

Reaction

Supervisory Appraisal Behavior

Self-Appraisal

Behavior

Bottom-Line Measures Results

Customer Appraisal

Behavior

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.