12
Training Salespeople
for Sales Success
12-1
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Learning Objectives
• Discuss how to develop sales
training programs
• Understand the differences in
training new recruits and
experienced salespeople
12-2
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Learning Objectives
• Define the topics covered in a sales
training program
• Understand the various methods for
conducting sales training
• Explain how to measure the costs
and benefits of sales training
12-3
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Hammering Home Training: Black & Decker
Focuses on the Brand
• Black & Decker implements its brand sales
training with several tools, including:
• Online brand-awareness courses
• 11,000 square foot facility to give
salespeople hands-on experience
• Black and Decker showed a 16% increase
in sales (to $1.09 billion) in early 2004 over
the previous year
Sources: “Selling the Brand,” Sales & Marketing Management, August 2003, p.23; and the Black & Decker website (www.bdk.com).
12-4
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Determining Sales Training Needs
12-5
•
Who should be trained?
•
What should be the primary
emphasis in the training program?
•
How should the training process be
structured?
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
10.3
EXHIBIT 12.1
Objectives of
Sales Training
12-6
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
expert advice 12.1
Mr. John Cascio
President, PraX.es
12-7
• Effective sales training is a
powerful way to align the
sales force with the
company’s overall approach
to the market
• Tailor training for
experienced sales reps to
their approach to selling.
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
expert advice 12.1
• Metrics critical for assessing the value of
sales training programs include:
– Are reps navigating customers through
agreed steps?
– Is the sales force actively performing critical
steps?
– How accurate are the sales forecasts?
– Measurement of the specific training objective
– Turnover
12-8
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
INNOVATION
12.2
Creating a Powerful Sales Training
Experience
• Link training to the challenges reps face
right now
• Provide specific tools for reps to use
• Keep it interesting!
12-9
Source: Audrey Bottjen, “Interview with a Salesperson,” Sales & Marketing Management, April 2001, p. 70; E. James Randall and Cindy H.
Randall, “Review of Salesperson Selection Techniques and Criteria: A Managerial Approach,” International Journal of Research in Marketing
7 (1990), pp. 81-95.
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Training Needs Analysis
12-10
•
Answer three basic questions:
•
Where in the organization is training
needed?
•
What should be the content of the training
program?
•
Who needs training?
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
10.3
EXHIBIT 12.2
Analyzing the
Training Needs
of the Sales
Force
Continued
12-11
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
10.3
EXHIBIT 12.2
Analyzing the
Training Needs
of the Sales
Force
12-12
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Evaluate and Review the Program
• Designing a measurement program
should answer:
• What do we want to measure?
• When do we want to measure?
• How do we measure the training?
12-13
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Training Needs Change with Time
• New recruits –
• Formal training soon after hire
• Actual selling
• On-the-job coaching
• Experienced salespeople –
•
•
•
•
12-14
New developments in the market
Updating personal selling styles
New products/new technology
Opportunities for promotion
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Training Needs Change with Time
• Cisco Systems trains its own sales
force and resellers/distributors
• Cisco Channel Partners must pass the
Cisco Sales Expert exam
• The Cisco Sales Expert designation is
valid for two years
12-15
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
10.3
EXHIBIT 12.3
Topics in
Sales Training
12-16
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TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Benefits of Product Knowledge
• Salespeople gain pride and confidence in
product quality
• Self-assurance emanating from technical
knowledge
• Using operational vocabulary to
communicate with customers
• Effective diagnosis of customer problems
12-17
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
leadership 12.3
Training Ethics in the Sales Force – The MONY
Group
• The MONY Group has created a program
to ensure its sales force behaves ethically
– New policies and procedures
– Sales professionals take a course in ethics
– Accepted into the Insurance Marketplace
Standards Association
Sources: Websites for The MONY Group (www.mony.com) and Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (www.imsaethics.org), August
2003.
12-18
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
INNOVATION
12.4
E-Commerce Uses E-Sales Training
• IDC reports Internet sales training will increase
from $6.6 billion (2002) to $23.7 billion (2006)
• Key factors for effective e-learning
• Content that captures interest
• Clear explanation of learning objectives
• Continuous practice updates
• Future of e-sales training lies in its ability to
provide cost-effective training on people skills
rather than data
Source: Julia Chang, “No Instructors Required?” Sales & Marketing Management,
May 2003, p.26.
12-19
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Common Sales Training Methods
• On-the-job training (OJT)
• Individual instruction
• In-house classes
• External seminars
12-20
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Keys for Effective OJT
12-21
•
Teaming
•
Meetings
•
Customer interaction
•
Mentoring
•
Peer-to-peer communication
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
leadership 12.5
Cooking Great Sales Training in the Kitchen
• Sales training in the kitchen can build
team spirit and foster cooperation
• Working together in a different
environment is a great opportunity for
team building
• A facilitator who makes it about more than
cooking is key
Sources: “Training Scorecard,” Sales & Marketing Management, July 2003, p.29.
12-22
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
INNOVATION
12.6
Cyberspace Sales Simulation
• Companies are experimenting with Internetbased sales training tools
• Sales simulation programs use actors and
interactive video
• Each salesperson receives feedback regarding:
•
•
•
•
12-23
Analyzing the customer’s needs
Active listening
Managing the sales process
Influencing and closing
Sources: Alex Hatzivassilis and Igor Kotlyar, “Increase the Number of Top Performers on Your Team,” The American Salesman, July 2003.
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Global Perspective 12.7
Successful Sales Training Roadblocks
•
•
•
•
•
Training can’t solve the problem
Your busy, jaded salespeople are not
open to learning new skills
Managers don’t support the training
program
Conflicting methods and philosophies are
taught at different sessions
The training isn’t relevant to the
company’s pressing needs
Sources: The Pro Team website (www.theproteam.com), December 2003; and Mark McMaster, “Is Your Sales Training a Waste of Money?,”
Sales & Marketing Management, January 2001, pp.40-48.
12-24
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Global Perspective 12.7
Successful Sales Training Roadblocks
•
•
•
•
The training format doesn’t fit the need
E-learning is overused or used in the
wrong situations
There’s no follow-up after training
The trainer can’t relate to the sales team
Sources: The Pro Team website (www.theproteam.com), December 2003; and Mark McMaster, “Is Your Sales Training a Waste of Money?,”
Sales & Marketing Management, January 2001, pp.40-48.
12-25
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
EXHIBIT 12.4
Evaluation Options Matrix
Source: Mark W. Johnston & Greg Marshall, Sales Force Management, New York: McGraw-Hill 2003, p. 364.
12-26
TRAINING SALESPEOPLE FOR SALES SUCCESS
Example - Measuring the Benefits of
Sales Training in Manufacturing
•
This three-step approach will provide an
accurate measure of training’s
contribution to the bottom line
•
•
•
Determine the company's annual training
investment
Develop behavioral training objectives that
directly support corporate strategy
Measure the learned behaviors as they are
applied on the job, and the resulting dollar
values of those behaviors on the bottom line
Source: By Chuck Holmes and Terry Carnes, Contributing Editors; Industrial Distribution April 1, 2004
12-27