Why Does Sales Training Fail?

Contrary to popular belief, sales training doesn’t fail because of ineffective training methods or lack of participant commitment. If you’re wondering why sales training fails, keep reading – the answers may surprise you…

We can all agree that what happens after training is what determines success.

Most sales trainers try to measure training success by evaluating whether or not learners acquired the knowledge and skills outlined in the course objectives. These trainers mistakenly believe sales success is simply a matter of knowledge transfer – they think that if they are able to share what they know about sales, participants will be able to put the ideas into practice and increase their sales performance. They couldn’t be further from the truth.

A few sales trainers understand that looking at knowledge transfer isn’t enough to determine the success of training. They realize that they must motivate and follow-up with participants to make certain the sales professionals modify their behavior in order to put their newfound knowledge and skills into practice. The sales trainers who understand this concept hit the target, but have yet to hit the bull’s eye.

Determine Sales Training Success

So, how do we determine the success of sales training? After we confirm valuable knowledge was transferred and not just motivation, blame the sales manager! Well, let me rephrase; blame the TRAINING FOR the sales manager.

If training teaches sales professionals how to follow a process, but it doesn’t teach sales managers how to manage that process, the training, and consequently sales, will fail. So, if training doesn’t offer the desired results and proves to be ineffective, we should blame the sales manager, right? Wrong!

The sales manager isn’t to blame per se, but rather a focal point of where most training fails. In order for training to truly be successful, it must be supported by management’s day-to-day behavior – only then can training effectively deliver the desired results.

Successful training accomplishes the following goals:

1. Determines and reaches an organization’s objectives and strategies
2. Teach sales professionals how to follow a process
3. Teach managers how to manage that process

How To Make Sales Training A Success

Step 1: Customize Training

Training should be customized to achieve the organization’s objectives and strategies. Sales managers should meet with whoever designs and delivers the training to ensure that training materials are relevant to their sales environment. By being involved in the process, managers can help shape the intended results of training.

Step 2: Train the Sales Manager

Sales managers are the key to sales success as they are responsible for mentoring their salespeople. Managers should be trained in the same skills as their salespeople and also trained on how to manage the organization’s entire sales process from lead generation, prospecting, needs analysis, demos, proposal, negotiations, through closing.

Step 3: Train the Sales Professionals

Training must contain knowledge and skills that are immediately applicable on the job. The old days of rah-rah, motivation is not enough. The common training adage “use it or lose it,” is true. The use of learning activities that simulate relevant scenarios will help participants put new ideas and skills into practice and aid in the retention of learning.

Step 4: Follow-Up

Learning, and your investment, shouldn’t end once a training session is concluded. A complete training solution should contain a follow-up review meeting with the trainer and sales manager to discuss priorities, provide feedback about achievements, and to ensure a good return-on-investment.

Step 5: Reinforce Sales Management’s Commitment

To truly make the most of your investment in sales training, managers must be prepared to:

• Help their salespeople use the ideas obtained in the training session immediately upon their return to work

• Monitor their salespeople as they demonstrate the use of training received

• Manage the sales process and pipeline

Results = Success!

Again, training must meet the organization’s goals, provide useful and pertinent skills for managers and participants, and include post-training support so organizations can apply their knowledge intelligently. If all these factors exist, training will result in building stronger client relationships and increased revenues – it’s those tangible results that ultimately help you realize the success of training.

If you are looking for more ways to guarantee your investment in sales training succeeds, contact Positive Results at 1.800.926.5953.