My very first project in Switzerland was to co-create a Sales Learning Program for a global medical devices company. It was an invaluable experience, with many insightful and lively discussions with Sales Directors, global and local Sales Managers, Sales Representatives and Territory Managers, and representatives from Marketing and IT. Setting up this program, and then collaborating to expand and maintain it for 3 years, made me understand the unique nature of sales training. I learned, sometimes the hard way, that many of our usual training strategies may not be effective for designing Sales training.
1. Design most of the training as informative online trainings
Why it won’t work: Sales skills cannot be trained with information alone. Even if e-learning is used, interactive case studies, decision-making games, soft skills/ sales simulations, etc are more efficient for sales training. Additionally, periodic coaching and classroom training are absolutely essential to keep sales teams motivated and in tune with the rest of the business. Providing an informal knowledge network where sales representatives can interact with each other and discuss day to day questions is another important sales performance support tool.
2. Be confident that e-learning is providing training, 24X7
Why it won’t work: E-learning is a proven delivery method for most functions in the organization, as it lets the Learner review and complete the training at their own time and pace. But sales representatives have additional mobility challenges that should be considered while designing sales training. For e.g, sales reps spend considerable time travelling, waiting at the doctor’s practice, etc. Good sales training will design learning elements that make good use of this time.
3. Design product training as product information only
Why it won’t work: Just providing product information may be enough to provide a high-level overview for other functions in the organization. But for the sales team, additional training and coaching should be provided on the features of the product, the chief selling points in different geographies, arguments for and against similar products already in the market, how the product can be used for the specific practice, price points, etc.
4. Design sales training in a silo, without knowledge of the training plans of other functions
Why it won’t work: Remember, the Sales function is not the only team designing and rolling out training to the sales team. It is important to discuss the annual training cycle with the other functions to a) provide a consistent massage (esp. compliance and regulatory) and b) plan the training roll-out schedule so as not to overwhelm the Learners.
5. Design a One-Size-Fits-All training
Why it won’t work: The same set of soft skills will not work for all geographies and cultures. To counter this, it is better to use local sales trainers after training them using the Train the Trainer approach.
6. Roll-out training modules continuously, throughout the year
Why it won’t work: My experience of working on sales training programs shows that the optimal sales training roll-out schedule is one module every two months. More than this, and the sales representatives get overwhelmed. It is also good to remember that the sales team is busy with reports, meeting the monthly quota, etc towards the end of the month, and training should ideally not be rolled out around this time.
7. Measure training effectiveness with training completion and assessment scores only
Why it won’t work: Most organizations will use training completion status and assessment score (pass & fail) to measure effectiveness of training. While this may be enough for compliance purposes, these two metric are not enough to show the benefits of sales training. Additionally for sales training, garnering new accounts, growing current accounts, reducing operational costs, and positive customer feedback should also be considered as metric for measuring success of sales training.
8.Improve the sales training process without improving other sales processes
Why it won’t work: Often times, the sales training does not achieve the expected results not because it is low quality, but because it is not supported by other sales processes. For example, research shows that companies with effective pipeline management achieve almost 15% better results with sales training.
9. Expect the Sales Trainer to manage the training development and administration processes
Why it won’t work: The Sales Trainer is very often a former sales representative or territory manager. Neither are they used to the long hours at the desk needed for designing and administrating training, nor do they have instructional and training methodology experience necessary for creating training. Most of them also like interacting with people more than solitary desk work.
10. Do not tie sales bonus to annual sales skills assessment
Why it won’t work: This is a controversial topic, and one that training managers have achieved with little success. However, it is an important topic of discussion and one that I believe can be helpful in specific cases. Using this framework, each sales representative is required to complete an annual online assessment that re-evaluates their product knowledge, sales skills, and expertise with sales applications like SalesForce.com. A small percentage of their annual bonus (5% – 9%) depends on their score in this assessment. Any mutually identified improvement areas between the sales rep and their Manager can then be included in the former’s performance plan for the next year.
