Part IV

SALES FORCE
COMPETENCIES

Chapter 8:
Sales Training Teachers open
the door.

You enter
by yourself.
Chinese Proverb
 SHOULD IT BE CALLED
TRAINING OR EDUCATION?

• Learning is a relatively permanent

change in behavior occurring as a
result of experience.

• Training is included in one’s

experiences. Thus, training is part of
an individual’s total learning
experience.
What goes on in
Sales Training?
 SALES TRAINING PROCESS
Assess Setting Setting
Planning for Training Objectives Budget
Sales Training Needs

Developing the What Where Training Trainers?

Training Program Topics? to Train? Methods?

Evaluating Training

Follow-Up Training
SALES TRAINING
OBJECTIVES

Why Train Salespeople?

 Increase productivity
 Create positive attitudes/improve morale
 Improved customer relations
 Reduce role conflict and ambiguity
(turnover)
 Improve efficiencies (time and territory)
 Introduce new products, markets, or
programs
CONVERSATIONS
Sales Sales
Salesperson
Manager Manager
Says:
Says: Thinks:
“Do you think the “Why did you leave
customer will buy without at least
“I don’t know.” scheduling a
from us? What are
the next steps?” follow-up call?”
“It may be the last
sale you get with
“You pushed the “I closed the deal, this customer.
buyer pretty hard.” didn’t I?” What happened to
building
relationships?”
“The profits from
“I was in the area these accounts
“I noticed that 20%
and they like to see don’t even pay for
of your calls were
me, so I call on
on C accounts.” the calls. You need
them.”
to target better.”
Table 8-1
Cross-Tabulations from Company Records

Average Order New Customers Total Customers

Size per SalespersonPer Salesperson Per Salesperson

Experience
Less than 2 year 392 21 86
2-5 years 593 29 145
5-10 years 565 5 152
Over 10 years 470 8 139
Regions
Northeast 528 6 140
Southeast 520 8 161
Midwest 512 18 107
Southwest 421 26 111
West 544 21 131
 Planning For Sales
Training
1. Assessing sales training needs
2. Establishing specific objectives for the
training program
3. Setting a budget for the program
DETERMINING TRAINING NEEDS*

Judgment of:
Top Management 68%

Sales 73%

Management 60%

Training
Department
59%
Interview With: 25%
Salespeople
Customers
* Percent of firms indicating they often use these assessments to determine training needs.
 DETERMINING TRAINING NEEDS*

Performance Measures:
Sales Volume 56%

Customer Service 51%

Other Measures:
Observation of Salespeople 38%

Attitude Surveys 28%

* Percent of firms indicating they often use these assessments to determine training needs.
STEPS IN PERFORMING A TRAINING
ANALYSIS
1. Interviewed key members or management
to find out what changes are needed in
performance of the sales force.
2. Sent an anonymous questionnaire to
customers and prospects asking:
 What do you expect of a salesperson in this industry?
 How do salespeople disappoint you?
 Which company in this industry does the best selling job?
 In what ways are its salespersons better?

3. Sent a confidential questionnaire to each

salesperson asking:
 What information do most of our salespersons need?
 What information do you want to learn better?
 What skills do most of our salespersons need to improve?
STEPS IN PERFORMING A
TRAINING ANALYSIS

1. Did field audits (making sales calls)

with 20% of the sales force?

2. Interviewed sales supervisors.

3. Discussed and agreed on training

priorities with management.

4. Determined trainable topics from

information gathered in Steps 1-5.
How much should it
cost?
Table 8-2

Average Cost and Training Period

for Sales Trainees

Consumer $5,354

Industrial $9,893

Service $9,060

3.40
Consumer Months 3.80
Industrial Months

3.80
Service
Months
 Table 8-3
Average Cost of Training for Veteran
Salespeople
$6,000
$5,36
Median Spending

5
$5,000 $4,82
4
$3,94 $3,90
$4,000 $3,75 7 2
2

$3,000

$2,000

$1,000

$0
Under $5 $5-$25 $25-$100 $100-$250 Over
$250
Million Million Million Million Million

Company Size
What do you train on?
ALLOCATING TRAINING
TIME
Average
Product knowledge 35%
Market/Industry Information 15
Company Orientation 10
Selling Techniques 30
Other topics 10

Total 100%
INDUSTRY JARGON
 “What does HCFA say?”
 “DRG’s are killing us.”
 “Is this level II in the POL regs?”
 “The LTC market’s future looks good.”
 “The HME industry is changing rapidly.”
 How about: Reflotrons
Spirometry
Holters
Oxygen Concentrators
Thoracic Catheter
Where do you train?
1. Centralized versus Decentralized
2. Field Training
ON-THE-JOB SALES
TRAINING
 80% of a new field salesperson’s training should
be focused on developing customer profiles,
digging out account survey data, and building
working relationships in the field.
 15% of time can then be invested in learning
about how your product or service is used by
existing customers. The field is the place to
gain product knowledge, not from an
engineer or home office instructor.
ON-THE-JOB SALES
TRAINING
 Only 5% of a new field salesperson’s time, then,
should be spent on developing selling skills.
 Again, the place to do this is face-to-face with
real customers:
– setting and testing real precall objectives
– asking for real opportunities to do business.
 Understanding what has to be done to build
selling skills can be mastered in 15 minutes.
Doing it takes years of actual, not simulated
practice.
Training Media
Table 8-4
Media Used in Sales Training

Classroom with
77%
Instructor

54%
Workbooks/Manuals

44%
Role Plays

39%
CD-ROM
34%
Audiocassettes

32%
Internet
EVALUATING SALES
TRAINING
Level of What to How to When to
Evaluatio Measure: Measure: Measure:
n:
 Reactions:  Perception  Survey  At the
s  Interview completion
“Are of training of training
trainees
satisfied?”  Course
evaluation
 Instructor
 Learning:  evaluation
Knowledge  Exams  At the
of course  Self- completion
“Did the content of training
training assessmen
t and at
have its points in
intended  Interview the future
effect?”
EVALUATING SALES
TRAINING

Level of What to How to When to

Evaluatio Measure: Measure: Measure:
n:
 Behavior:  Skills  Performanc  Over the
 Job e first year
“Are the indicators after
salespeopl performanc
e  Observatio training
e on the
job using  Absenteeis n
their m  Managerial
knowledge assessmen
 Turnover
and skills t
on the  Self-
job?”
assessmen
t
EVALUATING SALES
TRAINING

Level of What to How to When to

Evaluatio Measure: Measure: Measure:
n:
 Results:  Job  Survey  A year
satisfaction  Experiment after the
“What training
effect does  Customer s
training satisfaction  Managerial
have on  Sales assessmen
the t
 Profits
company?”
 ROI
EVALUATING TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS*

Reactions:
86%
Trainees
Supervisors 68%

Learning:
63%
Performance
Pre-vs. Post-Training 31%

Behaviors:
Supervisor’s 64%
Appraisal 41%
Customer Appraisal

Results: 40%
Bottom Line

*Percent of firms indicating they often use these evaluations to measure training
results.
Table 8-5
Sales Training Evaluation
Practices

Measure Criteria Type Importance

Rank

Trainee Feedback Reaction 1

Supervisory Appraisal Behavior 2
Self-Appraisal Behavior 3
Bottom-Line Measures Results 4
Customer Appraisal Behavior 5
BUILDING A SALES
TRAINING PROGRAM
 Treat all employees as potential career
employees.
 Require regular re-training.
 Spend time and money generously.
 Salespeople and sales managers must
take the lead in developing what goes
into the program.
 In times of crisis, increase, rather than
decrease, the training program.