Chapter 10

Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.


PART IV

TRAINING THE SALES TEAM


CHAPTER 10

THE MANAGEMENT OF SALES

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT


What sales training is and what its purposes are.

How to plan a sales training program, including conducting a needs assessment.

That organizing a training program includes various training methods.

Who is involved in the staffing of a training program.

The motivating influence of a sales training culture.

The importance of an effective evaluation system.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

To establish and maintain a productive sales force, an ongoing sales training program is essential. This chapter should help you understand:


WHAT IS SALES TRAINING?

Sales training is the effort an employer puts forth to provide sales people job-related culture, skills, knowledge, and attitudes that should result in improved performance in the selling environments.


REENGINEERING TRAINING

On-time training, one-on-one coaching, and behavioral-change training are just some of the strategies companies are applying to sales training curricula across the country.


CHANGE BRINGS ABOUT TRAINING REENGINEERING


PURPOSES OF SALES TRAINING

• Increasing customer satisfaction.

• Helping salespeople become managers.

• Orienting new salespeople to the job.

• Improving knowledge in areas such as product, company, competitors, or selling

skills.

• Lowering absenteeism and turnover.

• Positively influencing attitudes in such areas as job satisfaction.


PURPOSES OF SALES TRAINING

• Lowering selling costs.

• Informing salespeople.

• Obtaining feedback from salespeople.

• Increasing sales in a particular product or customer category.

continued


FIGURE 10.1 A SALES TRAINING MODEL – DETERMINE HOW TO EVALUATE TRAINING WHEN PLANNING

P lanning P hase

O rganiz ing P hase

Staffing P hase

D irecting P hase

E valuation P hase


PHASE ONE: PLANNING FOR

SALES TRAINING

The first step when developing or maintaining an ongoing sales training program is assessing needs. Needs assessment entails determining the training needs of the sales force and setting objectives for satisfying those needs.


ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS

• Value

• Focus

• Mass

• Duration

Four principles ensure a successful training effort:


OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS

A difficulty analysis uncovers and analyzes problems salespeople experience.


SALES PERSONNEL ANALYSIS

The behavioral objectives identify the goals of the training program for both the trainer and the trainee.


CUSTOMER ANALYSIS

Incorporate “the voice of the customer.”


MAKING THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

1. Identify the requirements of the position.

2. Determine the difference between performance objectives and results.

3. Determine why a difference exists.

4. Revise the training program (if needed).

This requires the following sequence:


MAKING THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT continued

5. Develop training objectives.

6. Conduct the training program.

7. Evaluate the training program.

8. Revise the training program (if needed).

This requires the following sequence:


FIGURE 10.2 REVISION OF TRAINING PROGRAM BASED ON NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Jo b D escrip tio n

Jo b O b jectives

Jo b E valuatio n

T rain ing R evision

T rain ing O b jectives

T rain ing P rog ram

T rain ing E valuatio n


SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR

DETERMINING TRAINING NEEDS

• Questionnaires.

• Interviews.

• Tests given during meetings for diagnostic purposes.

• Direct observation in the field.

• Analyses of sales, profits, and activity reports.


Failure analysis determines the reasons low-performing salespeople fail to achieve their sales goals.

Success analysis is used to identify factors that appear to make salespeople successful.

Other ways to assess training needs:

Exit interviews determine attitudes toward the job.


PHASE TWO: ORGANIZING FOR

SALES TRAINING

• Training objectives to be accomplished.

• Number of trainees.

• Trainer’s experience.

• Each salesperson’s understanding of the subject matter.


PHASE TWO: ORGANIZING FOR

SALES TRAINING continued

• Each trainee’s ability to learn and past experience.

• Training materials available.

• The costs per trainee of each method.

• Extent of presession assignments.


TECHNOLOGY-BASED TRAINING METHODS

• Interactive multimedia training.

• Electronic performance support system.

• High-tech customer service.

• Distance learning.


ROLE PLAYING

In role playing the trainee acts out an event such as the sale of a good or service to a hypothetical buyer.


ON-THE-JOB TRAINING

The best and most frequently used training takes place on the job.


TRAINING LEARNING CURVES

The shape of the learning curve indicates the extent to which the rate of learning increases, levels off, or decreases with or without training and practice.


Salespeople go through three phases of “usage” before true behavioral changes occur as a result of training.

1. Awkward usage.

2. Conscious usage.

3. Natural usage.


• The nature of the material itself.

• The manner in which the material is presented.

• Time intervals between training.

• The extent of follow-up and OTJ training.

• The trainee’s attitude toward learning.

Plateaus

The rate of learning change will be influenced by factors such as:


FIGURE 10.3 A HYPOTHETICAL S-SHAPED LEARNING CURVE WITH A PLATEAU

T ra in in g U sa ge P ha ses over T im e

Indi

vidua

l Tra

inin

g Per

form

ance

C on sciou s U sa ge

A w k wa rd U sa ge

N a tu ra l U sa ge

0

M a ster y

P la tea u

S low


• Centralized training.

• Decentralized training.

WHERE DOES TRAINING TAKE PLACE?


• Training begins the first day of work.

• It continues throughout the career.

• Sales meetings serve as important training methods.

WHEN DOES TRAINING OCCUR?


PHASE THREE: STAFFING FOR

SALES TRAINING

• Corporate staff trainers.

• Sales force personnel.

• Outside training specialists.

WHO IS INVOLVED IN TRAINING?


PHASE FOUR: DIRECTING THE

SALES TRAINING EFFORT

Sales culture is the set of key values, ideas, beliefs, attitudes, customs, and other capabilities and habits shared or acquired as a sales group member.

TRAINING CULTURE


SUPPORT FROM THE TOP

LEADERSHIP

PHASE FOUR: continued


PHASE FIVE: SALES TRAINING

EVALUATION

1. Determine what should be measured.

2. Determine the information collection method.

3. Determine the measurement methods.

4. Analyze the data, determine the results, and draw conclusions for making recommendations.

STEPS IN THE EVALUATION


Components to measure:

• Reactions

• Learning

• Behavior

• OTJ results

WHAT SHOULD BE MEASURED?


• Program

• Presenter

• Trainees

• OTJ results

Groups to Evaluate:


Specific items to measure can be derived from training objectives.

Items to measure:


1. Questionnaires

2. Interviews

3. Tests

4. Observation

5. Company data

What should be the information collection method?


1. After only

2. Before/after

3. Before/after with control group

What should be the measurement methods?


THE BOTTOM LINE

Effective sales training provides the foundation for an effective sales force.

A director of a sales training program can divide the program into five equally important phases.

Planning the sales training program, step one, involves determining the sales force’s training needs and establishing objectives to meet these needs.

After the plans have been made, the next step is organizing the program.


THE BOTTOM LINE continued

Once the training plans and evaluation procedures have been developed and organized, the next step is to determine who will do the actual training.

The fourth phase in the sales training program deals with directing the training effort.

Evaluation is the fifth and final phase in a sales training program.

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Chapter 10