Sales Talent Development - Rapid Learning Institute

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Sales Talent Sales Talent Sales Talent Sales Talent Development: Development: Development: Development: How Managers Can Make Training Stick and Create a High-Performance Sales Culture


Stephen MeyerCEO and Director of Learning and Development at Rapid Learning [email protected]


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� Sure you got some value

� But why is knowledge retention so poor?

� And what’s the cost?


� The science behind forgetting

� Why the problem goes way beyond that conference in Vegas

� What if all the training in your sales department doesn’t stick?


� Your training isn’t achieving ROI

� There’s another way that changes everything

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� This approach addresses the one killer factor in the talent development dilemma:◦ Managers are accountable for training

� It’s not their fault

� But we can’t run from the problem


� Training fails because managers fail to: ◦ Assess needs

◦ Build curricula

◦ Deliver curricula

◦ Follow up

� Why? Because we never trained them


� Great leaders? No

� Great trainers? No

� Either seniority or technical skill

� Company placed a bet◦ “You’ll be able to get results through others”

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� Great leaders have two qualities:◦ Strong technical skills

◦ The ability to develop talent

� But new managers quickly discover:◦ “I don’t know how to do this”

◦ “Even if I can do it, I don’t have time”


� Managers know talent development is crucial

� But urgent matters take precedence

� Training either: ◦ Doesn’t get done

◦ Gets done half-heartedly


The Four Levels The Four Levels The Four Levels The Four Levels

1.1.1.1. RRRReaction

2.2.2.2. LLLLearning

3.3.3.3. BBBBehaviors

4.4.4.4. RRRResults

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How often do organizations actually use the four levels:

1.1.1.1. RRRReaction – 96%

2.2.2.2. LLLLearning – 37%

3.3.3.3. BBBBehaviors – 13%

4.4.4.4. RRRResults – 3%

Source: McMurrer et al. (2000) surveyed the ASTD Benchmarking Forum


� We don’t know whether we’re getting an ROI

� Why training so often fails


How often do organizations actually use the four levels:

1.1.1.1. RRRReaction – 96%

2.2.2.2. LLLLearning – 37%

3.3.3.3. BBBBehaviors – 13%

4.4.4.4. RRRResults – 3%

Source: McMurrer et al. (2000) surveyed the ASTD Benchmarking Forum

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� It’s that training is just an event

� “I sent Jane to training, so I’ll automatically get some benefit”

� That makes me feel good about myself


� Training is a PROCESS, not an event!

� That’s why the ASTD survey is so troubling

� Without follow-up, training events fail


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� I asked the sales manager, “How will you make it stick?”

� His voice said: “I’ll follow up”

� His body language said: “I haven’t a clue”



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� Have you heard of the “learning curve?”

� Term coined by HermannEbbinghaus in 1880s

� He coined a less well-known term …

Hermann Ebbinghaus

1850-1909


immediate recall

20 minutes

1 hour

9 hours

2 4 6 8 10 15 20 25 31

Elapsed Time (days)

Retention (percent)

20% retention20% retention20% retention20% retention

Source: Hermann Ebbinghaus, Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology, 1885/1913


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Source: “The Promise of Phase 3, TD Magazine”, Jan. 2005

� Planning� The event itself� Follow up

Planning:Planning:Planning:Planning:10%10%10%10%

Follow Follow Follow Follow UUUUp:p:p:p:5%5%5%5%

Training Training Training Training Event:Event:Event:Event:85%85%85%85%


� Follow up ain’t happenin’

� Everyone believes the ROI is automatic

� Companies are losing lots of money


Most employees

Lowest skill level

Highest skill level

Source: The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes

Permanent mastery of skills

Training occurs

Follow-up occurs

Follow-up occurs

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� Bersin & Associates study: Which of 22 management processes has highest impact?◦ Answer: Coaching

� Coaching is follow up – revisiting fundamentals


� The most-cited study on the value of post-training follow-up

� 31 people got management training◦ Result: 22% increase in performance

� Same group got performance coaching◦ Result: 88% increase in performance

� Coaching increased ROI 4x


� If follow up works so well, why isn’t anybody doing it?

� If we’re uncomfortable doing something, we put it off

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� Isolating a learning concept


� Short examples◦ “How to deal with price bullies”

◦ “Nail the first 20 seconds of a cold call”

� Does it make a difference?


� Adult learners are different

� They quickly succumb to “cognitive overload”

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� Chunking delivers:◦ Higher engagement

◦ Higher knowledge retention

� Killer Sales Trainer did too much:◦ Created cognitive overload

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� The brain isn’t immutable

� It changes based on what we do

� Lately, we’ve been doing a lot of Googling



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� “The homily in general should not go over eight,

minutes – the average amount of time for a

listener to concentrate.”

L'Osservatore Romano (Vatican newspaper) 3/10/2008


� Remember: Most managers lack the “Second Core Competency”

� Chunking helps them “reframe” their talent development role


� Most manager view TD through a wide lens◦ I need to teach sales reps “to sell”

� The result: TD seems overwhelming

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� I’ll teach my sales reps to make cold calls

� Respond appropriately to price objections

� The narrow lens makestraining seem doable


� Common sales challenge is price objections: ◦ “I don’t have the budget for that”

◦ “My boss will blow a gasket”

� Concept: buyers who say that are making THEIR problem YOUR problem

� They’re throwing you a hot potato

� Action step: Throw the hot potato back◦ Make THEIR problem, THEIR problem


� What sales manager Connie does:◦ Kicks off meeting with a “chunk” of learning

◦ She led discussions and role plays

� Her confidence as a talent developer was low

� But …

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� She got good REACTION – “Connie, that session was great”

� She got evidence of LEARNING – “I’d never looked at price objections that way before”

� She saw BEHAVIOR change – “Connie, I held firm on price with a prospect today”

� She got RESULTS: “Connie, the buyer agreed my price was fair”



� Spent three weeks on price objections◦ Continually reinforced the concept

� Moved on to new topics on three-week cycles

� In a year she achieved 17 small victories

� She also become a very competent trainer

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� For sales reps: Decreases cognitive overload

� For sales managers: It’s transformational

� Chunks of learning don’t seem overwhelming

� Training gets done

� Managers build a newcore competency


QUICK TAKE MODULE:QUICK TAKE MODULE:QUICK TAKE MODULE:QUICK TAKE MODULE:Discovery: The Five Whys Technique to

Uncover Hidden Customer Needs


� Modules are short◦ Single-concept-focused

� Use: kick-start meetings

� Revisit the module to reinforce concepts◦ Techniques become second-nature

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Sales Talent Development - Rapid Learning Institute