TAKE FIVE
Five Approaches to Sales Training
Ways to train a talented, winning sales force • BY BRANDON HALL
S
elling products and services is the lifeblood of a
corporation. It doesn’t matter how good your
products are if they don’t sell. That makes training
salespeople a critical part of every business strategy.
Here is how five leading organizations approach
their sales training initiatives:
Brandon Hall is CEO
of Brandon Hall
Research, publisher of
the study “Emerging
e-Learning: New
Approaches to Delivering Engaging Online
Learning Content.”
He can be reached at
editor@clomedia.com.
1. Learning by example: Consultancy Vangent and
telecom AT&T’s Master Performer Series uses
videos of top-performing sales coaches sharing
personal experiences and insights. These videos
help train new and up-and-coming coaches by
describing the knowledge, skills and attitudes of
successful coaches and how top salespeople implement key techniques.
In its Brandon Hall Research awards submission,
the companies quoted one learner on the benefits of
this training: “It was great to hear how peers would
handle a situation similar to ones you may have
been experiencing.”
2. Using simulation to train salespeople: E-learning
solutions provider NogginLabs and engineering
firm Siemens developed a sales excellence challenge
simulation for diagnostic equipment sales representatives. This self-guided, goal-based game simulates
the entire sales cycle. Learners’ success is measured
by how well they advance the sale and by whether
or not they establish a productive client relationship.
According to Brian Knudson, founder and CEO
of NogginLabs, “This simulation really challenged
Siemens’ sales professionals to see — and, more
importantly, practice — the big picture of a sale.
Learners had to move past the basics to think strategically and close a complex sale, with an emphasis
on remediating the types of mistakes that people
make in the field. The result was an effective, engaging online course that caught the attention of senior
leadership and was expanded beyond its original
limited audience to reach a broader swath of the
sales organization.”
3. Learning by collaborating with other sales
professionals using Web 2.0 tools: IT company
HP developed a collaborative team environment
for its sales fitness center, which shares content and
teaches sales practices by encouraging learners using
an approach the company calls “directed collabora-
18 Chief Learning Officer • November 2010 • www.clomedia.com
tion.” Training elements include short formal educational elements linked from an e-zine, discussion
forums, coaching and peer-to-peer collaboration.
Carol L. Cohen, learning program manager at HP,
explains how this training has benefited salespeople:
“Our enterprise sales force has the mixed blessing of a
large portfolio and a global footprint. Our challenge
in L&D is to create development opportunities that
are easy to access, highly interactive and aligned to
customer needs. At the foundation is the global sales
accreditation program that builds confidence and selfawareness through annual testing. As the salespeople
become more self-reliant learners, they take advantage of the opportunities in the sales fitness center to
strengthen their capabilities.”
4. Using blended learning to train a global sales
force: Cadence Design Systems, an electronic
design tool organization, and e-learning solutions
provider Qube Learning created a blended learning
solution to train a global and diverse sales force on
understanding new products and features, mastering
effective selling strategies, identifying and supporting client needs, handling competition, and understanding the structure and function of the corporate
sales organization. Content was delivered live and
via video, and “QBooks” were created for each product line. The team also developed online questionand-answer “QGames” for a yearly sales conference.
5. Taking advantage of mobile learning to train
sales professionals: Nike’s Sports Knowledge
Underground (SKU) uses mobile learning to
train retail partners during the holiday season —
a crucial financial and business period for retailers. Mobile learning enabled Nike to provide flexible, on-demand just-in-time training that helped
resolve the challenges of many retail salespeople.
Such challenges include limited payroll hours, high
turnover and more part-time employees with less
Nike product and selling knowledge.
The companies and methods profiled here demonstrate different ways organizations can accomplish the
important task of training a talented and winning sales
force. While you may develop unique training ideas
of your own, these five approaches can help get you
started. CLO