Effective Sales and Sales Management Training
The effect of sales and sales management training can be short lived. Creating long-term behavioural change depends on several associated factors that affect post training behaviour. These include compensation plans, measurement, management, and formal processes.
As evidenced by many news items, those with a high level of performance based remuneration tend to prioritise according to the dictates of their compensation plan above the directives of their managers or organisation. It is no use expecting sales training to create behavioural change if commission plans include a disincentive for the change.
People do what is measured. While money always has an extrinsic motivating affect, few people are intrinsically motivated my money alone. If a desired behaviour is measured and the results published, people will tend to compete for the lead or at least try and avoid being listed in the bottom quarter of performers for the measured criteria. Training can be significantly reinforced through selective measurement.
It is all too easy for sales managers to initiate training, see it done, then tick the box and focus on something else. Worse, some changes necessitate a decline in performance while people learn proficiency with a new behaviour or method. Since sales managers are primarily responsible for results, they may actively counter training progress in-order to preserve short term results. For sales training to have an optimum affect, managers need to take into account and plan for ongoing behavioural change support.
Established procedures, reporting requirements, and even culture can work against change. Forethought, planning, and preparation is necessary to maximise return on training investments. How to apply these principles should be covered in sales management training.
Effective training can increase revenue and profit by a substantial amount, sometimes over 25%, depending on the affect of external factors on the people involved.
We have collected evidence from several research projects that bear out the statement above and posted our findings here: Sales Training Effectiveness Research. In many cases, sales performance improvement or business growth figures are included.
Presented here are the experiences, discoveries, and learning that we have amassed over more than a decade of developing and delivering sales and sales management training and coaching solutions. Together with our own methods and techniques, here we have gathered studies, articles, and guides made available by other experts in the field.
Our work is based on the best ideas available. We combine them with the evidence of our experience and the facts we have gathered from other sources. Through the combination of our study, experience, and creativity, we build the best sales training solutions available for those selling complex solutions to companies and organisations.
As Newton so eloquently put it, "If I have seen further than other men, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants". We lay claim to having advanced knowledge of sales and sales management training effectiveness through the unique product of our learning, testing, dedication, and the continued support of our customers.