Why Does Sales Training Fail?

Find the Surprising Answers

By:  Dennis R. Kyle, CEO, Trainer

       Positive Results

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