Chapter
7
Developing, Delivering
and Reinforcing a
Sales Training
Program
Those who seek mentoring will
rule the great expanse under
heaven.
Shu Ching
Chinese Book of History
Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Fig. 7-1 Developing and Conducting a Sales Training Program
Establish program objectives
Identify who should be trained
Training assessment
Identify training needs and specific goals
How much training is needed?
Who should do the training?
When should the training take place?
Where should training be done?
Program design
Content of training
Teaching methods used in training program
Determine how training will be reinforced
What outcomes will be evaluated?
What measures will be used?
Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reinforcement
Evaluation
Fig. 7-3 Objectives of Sales Training Programs
Increased
Sales
Productivity
Improved
SelfManagement
Lower
turnover
Sales training
program
objectives
Improve
customer
relations
Improve
morale
Improved
communication
Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Examples of Specific Training Objectives
Company
orientation and
administrative
skills:
Understand company goals and objectives
Understand company selling philosophy
Understand organizational structure
Understand company policies and procedures
Improve call reports
Improve call patterns
Improve time management
Knowledge:
Existing products - features, benefits, and applications
New products - features, benefits, and applications
Industry trends
Competitive products - features, benefits, and applications
Specific customer applications and problems
Promotional programs
Selling skills:
Improve pre-call planning
Improve prospecting methods
Improve strategy selection
Improve presentation skills
Improve closing techniques
Improve understanding of and handling objectives
Improve customer sensitivity
Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Who Should Train Salespeople?
Source
Line
Executive
Advantages
-Greater credibility
-Clearer expectations
-More thorough
evaluation of
candidates
Disadvantages
-Lack of time
-Lack of teaching ability
Staff Trainer -Greater time
-More resources
-Better training skills
-Additional expense
-Lack of authority
-Less credibility
Outside
Specialist
-Additional expense
-Program content not
specific to company needs
-Greater specialization
and expertise
Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
When Should Training Take Place?
Two basic attitudes:
#1) Train immediately because…
-No rep should be placed in the field until he
or she is fully trained.
-Cannot risk exposing customers to poorly
trained reps.
#2) Delay training because…
-much easier to train people who have had
some field experience.
-weak salespeople are eliminated before
company spends money on training them.
Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Where Should Training Take Place?
Where?
Decentralized
Training
Advantages
-Less expensive
-Can take more time.
Disadvantages
-Sales manager often lacks
time and skill to properly
train.
-Involves the sales
manager.
Centralized
Training
-Involves personnel
dedicated to and
highly skilled in
training.
-Allows interaction
with home office.
-Reps focus on
training.
Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
-More expensive.
-Limited amount of time.
-Reps kept away from
home and family.
Training Content and Methods Matrix
Lectures
Discussion
Demonstration
learning
Company
knowledge
*
*
Product
knowledge
*
*
Market/Industry knowledge
*
*
Selling skills
*
*
*
*
*
*
Time
Management
Web-based
Audio
On-the-Job
Videos
cassettes
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Role
Playing
*
*
Mentoring
*
To Insure Training Effectiveness
Managers Should Ask the Following Questions
 Is your training aligned with your company’s strategic goals?






Does top management support your training?
Does it reflect the needs of your customers/
Is it immediately relevant to your business?
Are the salespeople empowered to leverage what they
learn?
Is the training reinforced?
Are the results of the training measurable?
Source: Adapted from Mark McCaster, “Is Your Training A Waste of Money?” Sales & Marketing Management, 2001, p. 47.
Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.