Why Sales Training

8/13/2019 Why Sales Training

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WHY SALES

TRAINING FAILSby Mike Schultz&John Doerr

Discover 7 common mistakes that derail sales

training efforts and what you can do to avoid them.


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Why Sales Training Fails

Report Summary

Between 85% and 90% of sales training has no lasting impact after 120 days. At the same time, companies are spending billions of dollars on

sales training each year. With such a high failure rate, thats billions of dollars wasted.

Training can be a disappointment right away when it doesnt go well, or it can be a disappointment months later when results dont materialize.

Regardless, sales training strikes out a lot. When it does, its usually for common reasons. By avoiding these mistakes, you set yourself up for

successful training initiatives that lead to increased sales performance and long-term revenue growth.

7 Reasons Why Sales raining Fails

1. Failure to Align Desired Outcomes with Learning Needs:Leaders often base their objectives and expecations for sales training onwishful thinking versus incisive analysis. Without analyzing the learning needs of your team, sales training is often irrelevant and

uninspiring, and doesnt produce results.

2. Failure to Build Fluent Sales Knowledge as well as Skills:Most sales training focuses on building sales skills, not building knowledge.Your sellers have to knowand be able to speak fluently aboutyour products and services, the needs you solve, the marketplace,

your competition, and more.

3. Failure to Assess and Develop Attributes:Its not enough to give your team the capability to sell; you have to know if the members ofyour team have the attributes required for top sales performance. With this knowledge, you will learn not only who cansell, but who will

sell at a high level, and how to motivate and develop them to reach their potential.

4. Failure to Define, Support, and Drive Action:Even if sellers leave training with increased skills, they often dont know what to do toget the best results. Sales process must dovetail well with training. Organizations should adopt a consistent method of selling in order to

raise performance across the board. Coaching that includes goal setting and regular action planning and reviews maximize action.

5. Failure to Deliver Training that Engages:Adults learn by doing. Your training program needs to be engaging, customized, deliveredby facilitators participants can respect, and allow opportunities for sellers to practice their newly learned skills.

6. Failure to Make Learning Stick and Transfer:Most sales training is a multi-day event in which sellers learn and practice new skills.Without reinforcement to make the learning stick, most will forget what they learned, how inspired they were, and they will return to

old behaviors.

7. Failures of Evaluation, Accountability, and Continuous Improvement: Few companies actually evaluate the effectiveness of theirsales training and sales performance in general. Without evaluation, its nearly impossible to hold sellers accountable for changing

and improving behavior, or for taking actions and achieving results.

Discover 7 common mistakes that derail sales training efforts and what you can do to avoid them.


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RAIN Group | RAINGroup.com |

Te Measure of Success

Nine out o 10 sales training initiatives have nolasting impact beyond 120 days.1

Perhaps youve had more luck (and we hopeyou have), but i youre reading this report,something about the Why Sales raining Failstitle resonated with you.

Whether youve elt the pain and want to avoidit next time, or youre ahead o the game andlike to line up your ducks or success, you want

to know why sales training ails. And, assumingyou can avoid the ailures, how you can makeyour training initiative succeed.

Here are two striking statistics:

+ Companies spend $3.4 to $4.6 billion onsales training every year with outsourcedsales training providers.2

+ Between 85% and 90% o sales training hasno lasting impact afer 120 days.3

Tats a lot o investment with little to show or

it beyond short-term, short-lived gains.

Failure of Sales raining

Fortunately, the reasons sales training ails arepredictable and fixable or those so inclined.Here are the most common problems we see:

1.Failure to Align Desired OutcomeswithLearningNeeds

2.Failure to Build Fluent Sales Knowledgeaswell as Skills

3.Failure to Assess and DevelopAttributes

4.Failure to Define, Support, andDriveAction

5.Failure to Deliver raining that Engages

6.Failure to Make Learning Stickand ranser

7.Failures o Evaluation,Accountability, andContinuous Improvement

Well cover each in turn in this report.

Why SalesTraining Failsby Mike Schultz&John Doerr
http://www.raingroup.com/http://www.raingroup.com/


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RAIN Group | RAINGroup.com | 2


Failure to Align Desired Outcomes

with Learning Needs1

I was bold in

the pursuit of

knowledge, neverfearing to follow

truth and reason

to whateverresults they led.

- Tomas Jefferson

Sales training has virtually no chance oproducing lasting results i business leadersbase their objectives and expectations o resultson wishul thinking. Tey underestimatewhat it will take to implement training thatwill create desired behavioral change. Teyoverestimate the impact o periodic and

uncoordinated training events. As researchersat the University o Wisconsin and LouisianaState University put it, business objectives orsales training are all too ofen platitudes ratherthan real plans or action.4

Healthcare or Entertainment?

While writing our book, Insight Selling:Surprising Research on What Sales WinnersDo Differently(Wiley, 2014), Neil Rackhamcommented to us how sales training can becompared to two industries: healthcare and

entertainment. We hadnt thought o it quite likethis, but we certainly see the same thing.

When sales training is like healthcare, itspurpose is to make something better. Forhealthcare sales training to succeed, youneed the right understanding o the issues, theright treatment plan, and dedication rom thehealthcare provider and the patient to stick withthe plan.

When sales training is more like entertainment,its just an enjoyable diversion. It might make an

impressionyou might even remember monthslater how un it wasbut it doesnt accomplishmuch beyond that.

We recently spoke with a business leader whowas planning a hal-day sales training program.His desired outcome was transorming a serviceand delivery team into a proactive sales orcetasked with increasing sales to existing accountsby selling new offerings. He communicated tous that success was critical. Te uture o thecompany literally hung in the balance.

We asked i there was any training delivery timeavailable over-and-above the our hours? No,a hal-day was it. We asked i it was possibleto invest time and energy beore the trainingthrough elearning, or afer the training withlearning reinorcement and coaching. No,

just the hal-day, and could we ocus on really

jazzing up the team?

Te training needed to be healthcare, but theapproach was entertainment. We didnt thinkit was going to work. Te proportion o theinput (i.e., the training initiative) needed to berigorous enough to produce the desired output(i.e., account penetration with a team not usedto selling, let alone inspiring buyers with newideas, which is what they had to do). In thiscase, the business objective was clear, but thelearning and change effort was nowhere nearaligned to achieve it.

Under-resourced salestraining efforts dont have the

horsepower to produce whatthey need to, and often

dont produce much at all


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Assess the Learning Needs ofYour eam

When it comes to the learning needs o sellers,leaders need to figure out:

+ Where your sales team is now regardingthe skills, knowledge, and attributes neededto succeed (this is the starting point, orPoint A)

+ Each individuals improvement potential

+ In which sales role each individual is mostlikely to succeed

+ What it looks like when theyve succeeded(this is the New Reality, or Point B)

+What kind o effort and time its going totake to get rom Point A to B

Many companies ail to assess their teamslearning needs rigorously enough.

What Happens When LeadersDont Assess Needs

When leaders dont dig to find out what sellersneed in order to produce the outcomes theyseek, it makes or sales training initiatives that:

+ Focus on content the team doesnt need

+ Leave out content the team does need

+ Fail to deliver content at the right level osophistication (e.g., too basic or tooadvancedgetting it just right is lefto chance)

+ Fail to build learning processes rigorousenough to actually develop needed skillsand knowledge to the point they transer toon-the-job behaviors.

Before implementing a salestraining program, the companies

that succeed are serious aboutmaking sure the learning approach is

rigorous enough to do its part

in producing behavioral changeand getting results

Compared to other firms, 36% more best-in-class5

companieshave a strategy for creating targeted individual development

plans based on assessment output.6


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Failure to Build Fluent Sales

Knowledge as well as Skills2At the risk o oversimpliying, sales traininginitiatives work when they help sellers do thingsthat produce maximum revenue.

Without rigorous inquiry into what those thingsare, and what it will take to make sure sellers dothem effectively, the ocus o sales training ends

up heavily skewed towards skills development.

Whether its prospecting, asking questions touncover needs, making sales presentations,maximizing account revenue, or something else,these kinds o skills topics tend to dominatemost training.

While sales skills are essential, they are only oneside o a very important coin: capability.

Te other side o the coin is sales knowledge(Fig. 1).

Your sellers need to have expert salesknowledge. Tey must be able to speak fluently

about:

+ Te marketplace

+ Te dynamics o the customers business

+ Your company and your value proposition

+ Te needs you solve and the differenceyou make

+ Your products, services, and overall approachas solutions to those needs

+ Te competition and how you win

+ What happens when buyers buy, includingwhat makes implementation most successul

In our What Sales Winners Do Differentlyresearch, we asked buyers what most separatedsales winners rom second-place finishers.7Included in the top 10 are actors such as:

+ Educated me with new ideas or perspectives

+ Persuaded me we would achieve results

+ Understood my needs

+ Helped me avoid potential pitalls

+ Crafed a compelling solution

+ Overall value rom the company superior toother options

Without the appropriate sales knowledge, sellershave a difficult time doing the things that topperormers do.

Some company leaders say to us, Wait. Weprovide knowledge training. We even hold aretreat each year ocused on knowledge topics.Unortunately, this typically doesnt get the jobdone. Its ofen ocused only on product or service

offerings, which isnt nearly sufficient. With acommon death-by-PowerPoint delivery ormat,sellers dont remember what they heard. Somecompanies do better than this, requiring sellersto study the content and pass tests or knowledgeaccuracy. Still, they find their sellers dont weavewhat they learned into their sales conversations.

For sellers to put knowledge to work they dontjust need accuracy, they needfluency.

Figure 1.Right Skills + Right Knowledge = Can Do

Capability KnowledgeSkills

You needsalespeople who

You need the right

Can do and

Key components


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We define fluency as accuracy plus speed plusappropriate breadth and depth. When knowledgetraining stops at accuracy (i it even gets this ar),companies miss out on a major revenue growthopportunity had they trained to fluency (Fig. 2).

Indeed, best-in-class companies are betterat demonstrating product knowledge,understanding client business challenges,and mapping products and services to thosechallenges.8In other words, best-in-classcompanies have fluent sellers.

Sellers need to know more than just theirofferings and how they solve needs. Tey needto know the buyer industry and their own. Teyneed to know what happens afer a buyer buys,

and how to help them navigate the murky waterso difficult implementations. Tey need to knowhow they can maximize their impact on thebuyers success.

Sales training will continue to ail until salesknowledge training:

1. akes its appropriate place alongside salesskills training

2. Covers the right content

3. rains sellers to fluency

o this last point, many say, Fluency happensover time. You cant expect someone to becomean expert right away. rue, not right away.

However, it can and should happen a lot asterthan it does at most companies.

Build knowledge experts, and train to fluency.Otherwise, sellers wont be capable o leading themasterul sales conversations you need them tolead.

Accuracy is not enoughSellers need fluency

Figure 2.The Real Revenue Opportunity: Training Sellers to Fluency

Top 10%

Rainmakers

Bottom 25%

Average

Top 25%

BEGINNER(Off the mark and slow)

Training usually

stops here

Real revenue

opportunity

ACCURATE FLUENT

SALESPERFORMANCE

(in$sold)


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Example: Why Skills raining is Not Enough

One o the most important skills in sales is, as many people reerto it, asking great questions. In skills training, this ofen takes theorm o:

+ Defining what asking great questions means

+ Giving examples o what it looks like when its done right

+ Walking through the process o asking great questions inspecific stages (e.g., prospecting, needs discovery, overcomingobjections) o the sales cycle

+ Allowing participants a little time to craf a handul ogreat questions

+ Practicing asking great questions in role plays and case studies

+ Sharing and discussing all the great questions everyonecame up with

Assuming the training is designed and delivered well, this islaudable. But is it enough?

Ask yoursel:

+ Even i your sellers practiced these skills in a trainingclass, could they ask questions that uncover needs across allproducts and services your company offers?

+ Could they appropriately include all o your products andservices as solutions to the various needs that prospectsmight have?

+ Would they be able to position the companys value propositionthe right way or the different situations they encounter?

+ Would they consistently get all o this right in the momentduring a sales conversation?

Even if your sellers have the skills to ask greatquestions, its often a lack of knowledge that holds

them back from actually putting asking greatquestions to work for them


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When I (John) worked or a large company,I knew a number o people who were topperormersreally excellent results producerswho retired. But there was a big problemthey never told anyone! For years, they just keptshowing up to work, but they werent nearly theproducers they used to be.

Tey had the skills to be top perormerstheycouldsellbut they were no longer actuallydoing what it took to produce results. Afer yearso overachievement, results dropped as theircommitment waned.

In this case, attributes were the differencebetween past success and current mediocrity. Itsnot enough to just give your team the skills tosell; you have to know i they have the attributesrequired or top perormance. We call theseattributes drivers and detractors o sales success.ogether these will tell you not only who can sell,but who will sell at a high level (Fig. 3).

According to research byAberdeen Group, 82% of

best-in-class companies requiresales training, as compared withonly 68% of laggard companies.9

Assess Attributes Along with Skillsand Knowledge

Researchers publishing in reereed academicsales journals note assessing competencies (weuse the word attributes) is a must.10, 11

When sales leaders dont assess their teamsattributes, sales training ails because:

+ Sellers dont have the driversto succeed:People end up in sales training who mayactually gain the requisite skills andknowledge to succeed, but they dont havethe drivers in place to achieve topperormance, or, sometimes, anyperormance at all.

+ Sellers have detractorsholding themback: People end up in sales training who

have some drivers in place to succeed,but may have detractor attributes that actlike weights pulling them down.

Sales Drivers and Detractors

I the driverso success arent in placemeaning the person doesnt have, or example,passion or work and or selling, perormanceorientation, sense o urgency, assertiveness, andso onits quite possible the person shouldnteven be in the training at all. Much as youmight want your kids to go to medical school, i

they ailed chemistry and what they want to dois teach art history, medicine rarely works out.

I too many detractorsare in place, the sellermight have capability, but they can still ail.

Failure to Assess and

Improve Attributes3

Figure 3.Right Drivers + Acceptable Level of Detractors = Will Do

DetractorsDriversAtributes



You need the right

Can do

Will do

and

and

Key components


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Example Detractor: Lacks Assertiveness

Say a seller is listening to a prospect talk about his plans or atechnology purchase. Te prospect says he plans to move orwardin three areas. Te seller, having been through these technologychallenges many times beore, knows two are good ideas, but thethird is a disaster waiting to happen.He should bring this up to the prospect. I he does and, afer thebuyer makes his case, the seller still thinks the third is a bad idea,he should talk to the buyer about it.

However, i the seller lacks assertiveness, its likely he wont sayanything at all. A common reason why sellers lack assertivenessis their need or approval. Sellers with a need or approval havegreat difficulty speaking with prospects about anything that mightupset the prospect or rock their relationship boat.In sales, need or approval is when the desire to be liked andpreerence or harmony are stronger than desire or sales success.About 47% o sellers have a need or approval to the extent that itaffects their sales behaviors.12

In the table to the right, we share examples o how the lack oassertiveness due to a need or approval creates sales problems.

Neglect real, incisive inquiry intoeach persons attributes and salestraining initiatives leave the gatewith weights tying them down.

What Happens Common ProblemsSeller avoids confrontation Cant maintain peer dynamic

with executives

Wont push back on abuyer when it would help thebuyer i they did

Will accept stalls and put- offs, get pushed down the

agenda or action

Pipeline fills up, looks big,doesnt yield business

Problems with questions(wont ask tough questionsor enough questions, cutsmeetings short)

Insufficient needs discovery

Leaves buyer in control odiscussions

Doesnt establish expertise,incisiveness o thinking

Call reluctance Wont prospect becauseworried about rejection

Wont prospect or ollowup because doesnt want tobother the buyer

Deferential statements andactions(such as being overly effusive)

Doesnt maintain peerdynamic

Comes off as needy or meek

Inappropriate follow up Invest time and effortinappropriately in order togain approval


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According to Aberdeen Group, 85% o best-in-class companies use a ormal sales methodology,preerably supplied by an external firm.

Whats more, these best-in-class companies areseeing dramatically better perormance:

+ 83% o their sales reps reached quota vs.52% among industry average and 6% orlaggard companies

+ 15.4% average year-over-year increase incorporate revenue vs. 5.6% increase orindustry average and 1.5% decline amonglaggard companies

+ 5.3% year-over-year increase in averagesales deal size or contract value vs. 0.7%industry average and 2.6% decline amonglaggard companies

Te best-in-class companies are investing morein sales trainingmore than double that o theaverage and laggardsand theyre clearly reapingthe rewards.13

Process and Methodology

Here are how process and methodology help.

Process: A systematic series o actions, typicallygrouped in stages, aimed at producing a specificoutput.

+ Process is a guide to action. No guide, andyoure on the road to nowhere.

+ Process helps people be efficient and getmore done.

+ Process prevents re-inventing the wheel.

+ Process allows or process improvement. Iyou can measure it, you can manage it. Findthe people that are succeeding and learnwhat theyre doing to succeed, then you canhelp other people do the same.

Methodology:A system o strategies,

principles, rules, guidelines, tools, learningapproaches, language, and evaluation methodsor selling.

+ Methodology provides guidelines and toolsor how to do specific things in the salesprocess like leading sales conversations,prospecting, delivering presentations,closing, goals setting, account expansion,and so on.

+ Methodology creates a shared language thateveryone in the company understands,uses, and ollows.

+ Methodology helps define what worksin various areas o the process, and providesa platorm to share that across the salesorce and company.

For a partial example o how the RAIN Buyingand Selling Process and the RAIN Sellingmethodology have have been tailored andoverlaid into a major CRM system, see Fig. 4(next page). When sellers have visual cues toremind them what they are supposed to do, realtime training and tools available, and trackingdirectly in their CRM, both the process and themethod have much better chance or adoption.

I you want sales training to succeed, dontlet it float in a process-less and methodology-less vacuum.

Failure to Define, Support,

and Drive Action4


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Figure 4.RAIN Selling Built into a Major CRM System

Goals and Action Planning

Process and methodology are essentially guidesor behavior. Tey help you know when to docertain things (process) and how to do themwell (methodology).

Sales training that gets this ar, but doesnt ocus

on goal setting and action planning, misses ahuge opportunity to boost results.

When researching one o our own books, wespoke to Dr. Jim Harter, Gallup ConsultingsChie Scientist o Workplace Management andWell-Being. Gallup has asked over 12.5 millionpeople, Do I know what is expected o me atwork? Just over hal answered the question,strongly agree. In other words, just under halare not so sure whats expected o them at work.

Dr. Harter urther told us, Workplaceperormance suffers dramatically with thosethat answer below strongly agree.When sales training helps sellers build andtrack goals or themselves, it not only erases theproblem o sellers knowing whats expected othem, but also maximizes motivation

and commitment.14

With action plans, take care not to buildthem without first ocusing on goal setting.Without clear, written goals, action plans arentmeaningul to the individual. Without meaning,execution over the long-term suffers.

When goals arein place, not only do they havethe effect o maximizing action, they can alsoincrease the sellers attributes o passion or

Buyer Stage Dissatisfaction/Investigation Analysis Intervention Selection Contracting

Prospecting Needs Discovery Solution Crafting Solution Presentation CommitmentOpportunity

Stage

Seller

Actions and

Outcomes

Initial prospect research

Plan to penetrateprospect

Initial value propositioncompelling

Outreach to generateappointment

Opportunity planstarted

Continued prospectresearch

Plan for firstappointment

Appointment set

Buyer curiosity andinterest generated

Buying process clear andunderstood

Buyers and buying rolesclear

All buyers appropriately

involved in conversations

Buyer involvement insolution crafting

Buyer solutionpre-agreement

Buyer agrees to specific

next step

Buyer confirms you arebest option

Buyer agrees with solutionimplementation plan

Buyer agrees to

commitment plan

Buyer signs agreement

Buyer announcespurchase

Opportunity presentation,convincing story delivered

Rapport established

Aspirations andAfflictions uncovered

Overall Impact (ROIcase) clear

Possible New Realityestablished

Discussion/presentationof possible approaches

Analysis of issue andaffliction causes clear

Solution crafted

Solution is best to solveclient need

Solution is easy to buy

Impact case tightenedand clarified

Strategy for presentingsolution

Proposal checklist

Resonate: Presentcompelling solution

Resonate: Present Impactand New Reality cases

Differentiate: Negatecompetitor advantages

Substantiate andmitigate risk

Solicit all feedback

Overcome objections

Deliver executableagreement

Negotiate and refineproposal

Gain commitment verbal,written, and public

Handoff toimplementation team

Facilitating

the Purchase

RAIN Buying & Selling Process


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Figure 5.A Dynamic Sales Methodology Improves Sales Results

work and sales, their perormance orientation,and their money orientation. ogether theseofen increase motivation to succeed in sales.

Earlier in this section we discussed buildingcapability. When sellers are capable, they cansell. Just afer that we discussed attributes.When the right attributes are in place, they willsell, and sell well. Add process and methodology,

and goals and action planning to the mix andyou add the catalyst to bring it alive: what to doto sell(Fig. 5).

When process and methodology are in place,and sellers have goals and action plans, salesactivities are more organized, more energetic,higher volume, more effective, and moreefficient.

Coaching Drives Action15

Sales training should help sellers learn to build goals and action plans, but ofen sales coaches are needed to a) make sure goal andaction planning actually happen, and b) make sure using the goals and plans become a part o sellers habits. Most sales coaching weencounter ocuses on opportunities, or how to win whats currently in the pipeline. Tis helps, but its not all sales coaches should do.

Sales coaching should ocus on maximizing execution as well as advising on opportunities. Great sales coaches actually play five rolesto maximize the perormance o their selling teams:

1.Define:Te best sales coaches help sellers define both their goals and a path to their own personal New Reality, the uture state

they most desire. 2.Execute:Coaches help sellers build and execute action plans, optimizing seller efficiency and ocus.

3.Advise:Coaches give direct advice as appropriate to maximize immediate sales wins.

4.Develop:Coaches develop coachee knowledge, skills, and attributes to improve perormance undamentally.

5.Motivate:Coaches motivate coachees to find and sustain their highest level o energy and action over the long term.

In act, three o the five roles serve directly to ocus seller action on the right activities, and help the seller get the most out o their timeand days. Especially when change is necessary and the stakes are high, coaching is essential or success. Without it, sellers ofen revertback to how they sold in the past.

DetractorsDrivers

Acton

Aributes

Acton PlansGoals

MethodProcess



You need the right

Can do

Will do

and

and

and

and

What to do

Key components


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oo ofen training can be boring and conusing.It can be unclear how to apply strategies andsellers are ofen lef unconvinced they shouldbother trying.

As noted earlier, ES Research estimatesthat between 85% and 90% o sales traininginitiatives have no lasting effect beyond 120days. I a training event itsel ails, theres nopositive effect at all. In act, delivering a poorlydesigned and poorly received training eventhas greater negative effects beyond the obviouswasted time. Bad training discourages sellersrom participating in uture programs, and canhave a negative impact on sales team morale.16

When training is boring, not applicable, not atthe right level, and too ocused on lecture versuspractice, participants dont engage (Fig. 6).

No engagement = no learning = nobehavior change

For training events themselves, companies haveto get the content right and engage their teamswith instructors they can respect. rainers must

also use appropriate adult learning devicessuch as role plays, case studies, simulations,exercises, video, and other interactions (Fig.7). Otherwise, not only will training ail, itll bemore difficult to get anyone back in the roomor the next go round.

Failure to Deliver Training

that Engages5

Figure 6.Poor Pre-Training and TrainingActivities Lead to Virtually No Results

Figure 7.Effective Pre-Training and Training ActivitiesLead to a Big Bump in Results

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

During Training Event

Program:

Not engaging

Not on target

Confusing

LEARNINGE

FFEC

TIVENESS

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

During Training Event

Program:

Engaging

On target Well delivered

Effective preparation

and delivery

Poor preparationand delivery

LEARNINGE

FFEC

TIVENESS


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I you dont reinorce training and do it withenough rigor (most dont), even good training islikely to ail eventually (Fig. 8).

Months afera sales training initiative, sellers tooofen say:

+ I dont remember what was covered in thesales training program

+ I dont know enough to use the tools andapply the advice

+ I didnt get enough practice to eel confidentenough to give it a try

+ I tried something and it didnt worknotsure i I did it wrong

+ Im pretty sure the powers that be dontremember that this was a priority anyway

Most sales training is ocused around a two- orthree-day event where sellers learn and practicenew skills. Te problem with event-only trainingis that the effects o the event ade. Even ipositive effects are seen initially, our months laterresults and behaviors go right back to where theystarted beore the training.

Reinforce raining for LastingImpact

Adult learning is an ongoing process. Onlythrough repetition and practice will your salesteam internalize the training and put it to useconsistently. Lets assume a sales training eventis well received. Afer the event, you can eitherbuild on its effectiveness, or let it ade (Fig. 9 onthe next page).

Failure to Make Learning

Stick and Transfer6

Figure 8.Poor Reinforcement Leads to Reduced Impact of Training Over Time

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

During Training Event After Training Event

Program:

Engaging On target

Well delivered

No motivation enhancement

No concept reinforcement No complementary learning

No action plans and reviews

No practice & feedback

No technology embedding

No expectation reinforcement

2 4 6 8 10 12 14

MONTHS

LEARN

INGE

FFECTIVENESS


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In act, Best-in-class companies outpacelaggards by nearly a two-times actor inproviding post-training reinorcement o thebest practices commonly learned in classroom-style instructor-led sales education sessions.

Tese firms have learned that long-term successdepends on underscoring the best practices insales training deployments17

And the reinorcement makes a difference inresults (Fig. 10).

Te concept that learning needs to bereinorced wont be much o a news flashor most readers. Still, strong post-trainingreinorcement is the exception in sales training.For those companies that insert reinorcement

that works, it makes a tremendous difference insales training effectiveness and sales results.

Figure 9.Whats Possible with the Right Preparation, Delivery, andReinforcement Activities

Motivation enhancement

Concept reinforcement

Complementary learning

Action plans and reviews

Practice & feedback

Technology embedding

Expectation reinforcement

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

During Training Event After Training Event

Program:

Engaging On target

Well delivered

2 4 6 8 10 12 14

MONTHS

Typ

icalT

raining

Wi

th

Reinfo

rcem

ent

LEARNINGE

FFECTIVENESS

YES

NO

Figure 10.Impact of Reinforcement in 835 Organizations that RecentlyEmployed Sales Training

Source: Aberdeen

Group, February 2011

2.00%

1.00%

0.00%

-1.00%

-2.00%

-3.00%

-4.00%

-5.00%

TeamAttainment

of Quota

Time toProductivity

RepsAchieving

Quota

SalesTurnover

Reduction

Sales CycleReduction

Reinforcement

Users

Non-users of

Reinforcement


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Tese wont be the most exciting topics to manyreaders, but that doesnt make them any lessimportant.

Most companies implement sales training inorder to increase revenue. Selling (like anythingelse) is a process with a series o identifiable

and measurable inputs and outputs. I you canimprove process efficiency (getting more thingsdone) and effectiveness (getting things done withgreater success), you can improve the eventualoutput, in this case, revenue.

Evaluating Sales Has Its Advantages

Tose companies that do evaluate salesperormance systematically have a numbero advantages:

+ Tey canmeasure the effect o sales trainingand perormance improvement initiatives

+ Tey canimprove sales strategies and rolloutsuccesses across the team

+ Tey canremove ineffective sales strategiesand training components in avor o thoseworking better

+ Tey canshorten learning curves, and getnew sellers producing aster than beore

+ Tey canimprove continuouslyTe evaluation process itsel also has a positiveeffect on sales results. Customer renewal rates,deal size, team achievement o quota, and sellerachievement o quota are all positively impactedby perormance management processes.19

Without effective training and salesperormance evaluation processes, salestraining can ail simply because companies haveno idea i it has succeeded. Moreover, withoutan evaluation process, its nearly impossibleto hold sellers accountable or changing andimproving behavior, or or taking actions and

achieving results.

No evaluation system = noaccountability

Implemented in the right way, sales perormanceevaluation analytics can be the source osignificant competitive advantage. In act, 67%more best-in-class companies have sales analyticsthan laggards.20

As om Davenport noted in Competing onAnalytics, Organizations are competing on

analytics not just because they canbusinesstoday is awash in data crunchersbut alsobecause they should. At a time when firmsin many industries offer similar productsand use comparable technologies, businessprocesses are among the last remaining points odifferentiation. And analytics competitors wringevery last drop o value rom those processes.21

Failures of Evaluation, Accountability,

and Continuous Improvement7

Only 9% of organizations evaluate behavioral

change and 7% evaluate organizational results

stemming from training initiatives.18


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Employ analytics and youll be able to join anelite club: companies that actually succeed withcontinuous improvement. When everythingcomes together, youll have sellers who:

+ Can do

+ Will do, and do well

+ Know what to do

+ Get it done and keep getting better (Fig. 11)

Without evaluation, accountability

and continuous improvement, salestraining and sales performance

improvement can never be completelyeffective

Figure 11.What Happens When Capability, Attributes, Action, and EvaluationWork Together

DetractorsDrivers

Acton

Aributes

Acton PlansGoals

MethodProcess

EvaluatonContnuous

ImprovementAccountability


You need

salespeople who

You need the right

Can do

Will do

and

and

and

and

and

What to do

Get it done right,and keep

getting better

Key components


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Conclusion

Te act is sales training can be an enormous driver o revenue growth. Yet so many sales training dollars go to waste. It doesnt have tobe like this.

At RAIN Group, weve been helping organizations implement successul sales training programs that lead to lasting results or over adecade. Our RAIN Sales University (RSU) offers a complete sales training curriculum designed to build the skills and knowledge yourteam needs to achieve top perormance, and your company needs to oster a culture o sales excellence.

RAIN Sales University is built around 5 key tenets:

World Class Sales MethodRAIN SellingSMis a top-rated salesmethod built to help companiessucceed with the complex sale.

Innovative Technology

Enabled by our online platorm,sellers can access learning, tools,and job-aids 24/7. We can integratewith your LMS (or use ours) and

CRM systems.

Fast, Efficient Implementation

We value speed, tailoring, and notreinventing the wheel. RSU provides theoundation that you can quickly and easilyadd on to.

Complete Learning SystemRSU gives you access to our suite oworld-class sales training programscovering the gamut o sales topics.Learning happens over time todrive real behavior change andperormance improvement.

Flexible and CustomizableRSU is designed or flexible deliveryand customizable content andprograms rom light tailoring torom-scratch development.

I you want to implement a sales training program that leads to real behavior change and results, RAIN Group can help. Contact us tolearn more about RAIN Sales University and to walk through a demo o a custom RSU environment.

CONAC US

Phone: 508-405-0438Email: [email protected]: www.raingroup.com


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Notes

1.Dave Stein, Sales raining: Te 120-Day Curse(ES Research Group, 2011).

2.Outsourced Sales raining Worldwide: Examining the Major Markets (ES Research Group, 2013).

3.Dave Stein, Sales raining.

4.R. Erffmeyer, K.R. Russ, and J. Hair, Jr., Needs Assessment and Evaluation in Sales-raining Programs, (Journal o Personal Selling &Sales Management, 1991).

5.Aberdeen Group defines best in class as companies in the top 20%, employing practices that are significantly superior to theindustry average, and which result in top industry perormance.

6.Mollie Lombardi,Assessments 2013: Finding the Perect Match(Aberdeen Group, 2013), 8.

7.Mike Schultz and John Doerr, What Sales Winners Do Differently (RAIN Group, 2013).

8.Peter Ostrow, Optimizing Lead-to-Win: Shrinking the Sales Cycle and Focusing Closers on Sealing More Deals (Aberdeen Group, 2010).

9.Peter Ostrow, rain, Coach, Reinorce(Aberdeen Group, 2012), 4.

10.Mark P. Leach, Annie H. Liu, and Wesley J. Johnston, Te Role o Sel-Regulation raining in Developing the MotivationMangement Capabilities o Sellers, (Journal o Personal Selling & Sales Management, 2005).

11.L.M. Spencer, Jr. and S.M. Spencer, Competence at Work: Models or Superior Perormance(John Wiley and Sons, 1993).

12.Dave Kurlan, Baseline Selling (AuthorHouse, 2005).

13.Peter Ostrow, rain, Coach, Reinorce.

14.Robert B. Cialdini, Harnessing the Science o Persuasion, Harvard Business Review(2001): 76, accessed January 3, http://hbr.org/product/harnessing-the-science-o-persuasion/an/R0109D-PDF-ENG.

15. Mike Schultz and John Doerr, Te 5 Roles o High-Perorming Sales Coaches(RAIN Group, 2013).

16.George M. Alliger, Scott I. annenbaum, Winston Bennett, Jr., Holly raver, and Allison Shotland, A Meta-Analysis o the RelationsAmong raining Criteria, (Personnel Psychology, 1997).

17.Peter Ostrow, Sales raining.

18.Mark E. Van Buren and William Erskine, Te 2002 ASD State o the Industry Report, (American Society o raining andDevelopment, 2002).

19.Peter Ostrow, Advanced Sales raining Deployments, (Aberdeen Group, 2011).

20.Peter Ostrow, Reaching Sales Quota More Consistently, (Aberdeen Group, 2010).

21.Tomas H. Davenport, Competing on Analytics, (Harvard Business Review, 2006).


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About RAIN Group

Unleash the Sales Potential of Your eam with RAIN Group

RAIN Group is a sales training, assessment, and perormance improvement company that helps leading organizations improve salesresults. Weve helped hundreds o thousands o sellers, managers, and proessionals in more than 34 countries increase their sales sig-nificantly with our RAIN SellingSMmethodology.We can help you:

Locations

AMERICAS EMEA ASIA-PACIFIC

Connect with Us

Implement World-class Sales Coaching

We coach sellers, proessionals, and leaders individuallyand in groups to achieve the greatest and astest increase insales results. And we train and certiy leaders and managersin our RAIN Sales Coaching system. Ofen, its RAIN SalesCoaching that truly unlocks the teams potential, and keepsthem motivated to produce the best results consistently.

Identify Who Can and Will Sell with Great Success

Our assessments measure sales attributes and skills,identiying the actors that really make a difference in salesperormance. Whether youre looking to hire someone whocan and will sell, or looking to improve sales perormance,well help you build the most successul sales team.

Find out more about how RAIN Group can help you unleash the sales potential of your team by visitingRAINGroup.comor calling (508) 405-0438.

RAIN Groups Clients

Grow Your Key Accounts

At most companies, theres a huge, untapped opportunity toadd more value and thus sell more to existing accounts.We help our clients capitalize on these revenue growthopportunities. Whether its simply increasing cross-sellingand up-selling or implementing a major strategic accountmanagement program, we can help.

Implement Sales Training that Delivers Real Results

RAIN Groups sales training system inspires real change anddelivers real results that last. Our rigorous approach includessales team evaluation, customized training programs, robustreinorcement, and coaching to help you and your teamdevelop sales skills in each o the Tree Levels o RAINSelling, and maximize your results.
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Why Sales Training