TISS Library - Training for Sales People

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Training For Sales People in Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Organization

(Exploratory Study)

A Project Report Submitted to the Academic Council of the Tata Institute of Social

Sciences

In Partial Fulfillment for M.A. in Human Resource Management and Labour

Relation

By

Vishal Harish Bhagat

2007HR060

Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

March 2009

Research Guide:

Dr. E. Toppo Signature of Research Guide



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Declaration

I Vishal Harish Bhagat a student of M.A. in Human Resource Management and LabourStudies 2007-2009 declare that the work on my research topic ‘ Training For Sales

People In FMCG Organization’ is original and has not been submitted to any other

institution for the partial fulfillment of any degree.

Additionally, wherever I have borrowed ideas from any external agency (books, journalsand website) I have always quoted the source of such information.

Date: Name: Vishal Harish Bhagat

Place



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Acknowledgements

Coming to end of my studies at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, I wish to thank all those

who have helped me during these two years in my preparation for the degree, Master of

Arts in Human Resource Management and Labor Relations.

I must first thank my project guide Dr. E. Toppo, professor of School Management and

Labour Studies. It was the continuous help, guidance and encouragement that I received

from him for completion of my research. I am grateful to him for instilling a great

amount of enthusiasm in me and also providing me with much needed academic support

without which this study would not have seen the light.

I am also thankful to the Dean of the school Dr. Sharit Bhaumik and all other faculty

members of School of Management and Labour Studies for all the help they have

provided me from time to time.

I would also thank all the participating organization Saint Gobain Abrasives for

extending me their support me and being a crucial part of my study. At the same breath I

would like to thank all those free lancers, trainers who took out time for my

questionnaires and discussions without which this work would not have been completed.

My special thanks to my friend Ms. Shikha Sardar for helping me out throughout my

study and providing critical inputs at important moments.

Finally I would like to thank all my family members for always being their in all the

moments of my achievements.

Thank You!



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Executive Summary

In the fierce competitive environment that the Sales Force of Fast Moving ConsumerGoods (FMCG) operates, people development and enhancement of skills is essential in

being effective. It is the sales, which act as significant stake holder in companies’

performance. They act as interface between the company and the clients and thus their

needs assessment has to be done on time and effectively.

This study targets to identify the various ways in which a HR trainer can influence the

Sales Targets through various ways of training. This study can help any beginner in Sales

– as HR Trainer as well as Sales Executive to inculcate the basic ingredient in sellingactivity. It specifically addresses the basic skills a sales person lags i.e. of

Communication which is most needy ingredient to hit the sales objective. It also throws

some light for HR to learn them on, Recruitment and Remuneration part of HR activity.

Keeping these objective in mind, 15 HR Trainee and 15 Sales Executive were selected to

get the inputs on 2 separate structured questionnaire and a case study of Saint Gobain

Group on sales included for analysis of it. The overall study takes into account almost all

the practices to be followed by any HR trainer during training of Sales person.

The agenda behind entire study is to propagate the importance of training for Sales

executive in any FMCG organization. The training is an ingredient which if provided on

time and in proper quality and quantity can be turn out to be great source for achievement

for any sales executive. Also the training not only causes improvement in area of sales

but there can be overall effectiveness can be achieved through it.

My study lead towards the various ways through which training can be given to the sales

employee. It has been proved by list recommendations I able to make at the end of the

entire research study through many sources.



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It has seen that seriousness towards training of sales people is need of the hour and

making desperate efforts to achieve the same, cannot be denied from key function to

perform by FMCG organization.



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Table of Contents

Content Page No.

Certificate i

Declaration ii

Acknowledgement iii

Executive Summary iv

Table of Contents vi

List of Figures v

Chapter 1. Introduction and Literature Review 1

Chapter 2 Methodology 38

Chapter 3 Case Study 40

Case Study 1 Sales Training at ABC, Inc

Case Study 2 Creating Major Sales

Case Study 3 Moving the Needle on Sales -Using Video-Based

“Nano” e-Learning to Create a Competitive Advantage in Sales

Performance

Case Study 4 Sales Force Training Manual at Saint Gobain

Chapter 4 Findings and Analysis 64

1. Analysis of Primary Data Collected from HR trainers and Sales Executive

2. Finding and Analysis of Case Studies



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Chapter 5 Recommendations 77

Chapter 6 Conclusion 90

Appendix 92

References 95

List of Table, Figures and Graphs

Table No 1 Training And Education 1

Figure 1 3

Figure 2 4

Figure 3 5

Figure 4 11

Figure 5 13

Figure 6 26

Figure 7 34

Graphs 1 35

Graphs 2 35

Graphs 65 to 70



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Chapter 1. Introduction and Literature Review

Understanding Training

When you hear the word Training what do you think of? You may think of a military drillsergeant training fresh recruits in boot camp. To state it simply, to train is to develop

skill. Training is process of developing skills in order to more effectively perform a

specific job or task. The Communication, leadership and management training focuses on

teaching people to enhance their skill of relating to others. It can state as or predicted

simply as ‘people skill’. Thus the central idea of having training is to focus on developing

skills. A Skill is an ability to do something as opposed to knowing something.

Training and Education: education is the process of imparting knowledge or information.People can educate themselves by reading, or they can have someone teach them what

they want or need to learn. If the matter of comparison comes between Training and

Education, it can state as in following table:

AREA TRAINING EDUCATION

Orientation Application Oriented Theoretical & Conceptual

Emphasis Technical and Specific

level of skill attainment

Technical general and in

comparison of knowledge

level of others

Learning On-the-job and off-the-job Class-room

Scope Specific tasks General Concepts

Payment Trainee is paid to learn Students pays to learn

Priority Comprehensive listing of

skills; each step in the

process is pre-described

Open ended approach to

goal; not every in the

process is pre-described



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Training and Motivation

Have you ever heard a motivational speaker either on TV on in person If so, you know

that the goal of a motivational speaker is to persuade you to take some positive action

such as working harder, setting goals, spending more time with you family, or losing

weight. Motivational speakers often use strong emotional appeal by presenting personal

stories or drawing upon the lives of others to encourage people to take action to improve

their lives. Some trainers also work as motivational speakers. Motivation is an internal

state of readiness to take action or achieve a goal. Motivational speakers attempt to tap

that internal state of readiness by encouraging listeners to achieve a worthwhile goal.

Training and Development helps in developing leadership skills, motivation, loyalty,

better attitudes, and other aspects that successful workers and managers usually display.

A desirable training system will be based on performance needs. Now, the performance

requirement is changing constantly, due to individual transition, changes in market

demands, quality requirements, future plans of the organization and more. Performance

can be viewed as a product of ability, motivation and support, i.e.

Performance = Ability X Motivation X Support

Training and Development

The concept of development is a process often linked to both training and human

resources. The word ‘development’ added to other terms suggests broadening of

behaviors or strategies to achieve a goal. Development is any behavior, strategy, design,

restructuring, skill or skill-set, strategic-plan or motivational effort that is designed to

produce growth or change over time. Organization seeks positive change, not just change

for the sake of change. Positive change includes such things as making more money if the

organizations goal is to turn profit for the owners or shareholders. If the organization is

hospital, the desired change is to make people healthy (while simultaneously not losing

money or even making money if the hospital is for health facility). Educational

Table No. 1: Training And Education



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institutions seek change to enhance student learning. Thus it means development is a

process of helping the organization or individuals in the organization do their jobs more

effectively. Development involves more effectively in achieving individual or corporate

vision, mission and goals. Development is a broader, more encompassing function.

Training is narrower in focus. There are a variety of organizational or personal

intervention strategies that may be used to develop an organization; training (teaching

peoples skills to perform a specific job or task) is but one of the methods used to effect

change. Similarly educating people i.e. imparting knowledge is another strategy that may

be used to develop people and organizations. So when word development is linked to the

word training, it suggests that training is designed to achieve a broader function than just

performing a specific skill. Training and development suggest that the goal of the training

is to facilitate the transformation of the organization – to bring about positive change not

just for one person, but to have a larger impact on the organization. The following

diagram gives more crystal clear comparison and thus differences Development,

Education and Training. It shows that, Development – encouraging growth and change, is

a more comprehensive process than education and training. Education is broader in scope

and purpose than Training. Training focuses on enhancing skills to perform a specific

job.

EDUCATION

DEVELOPMENT

TRAINING

Comparison of Development, Education and TrainingComparison of Development, Education and Training

Fi ure No. 1



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The NeedsThe Needs – – Centered Training ModelCentered Training Model

Assess

TrainingAnalyze the

Training

Task

Develop

Training

Objectives

Organize

Training

Content

Determine

Training

Needs

Select

Training

Resources

ANALYZEORGANIZATIONAL /

TRAINEE

NEEDSCompleteTraining

Plan

Deliver

Training

Adult Learning Principles:

Most instructional techniques are based on the well-researched science of teaching

children, which is called pedagogy. Some educators believe that different techniques are

more effective with adult learners. The science of teaching adults has been labeled

Andragogy.

Andragogy is based on assumptions about key differences between adult and child

learners. Malcolm Knowles has enunciated several differences that adult educators

consider important. First, adults already have a great deal of knowledge and experience

that they can learn from and share with others. Second, adults want to take responsibility

for themselves and their learning . Third, adults are problem–created; they want to learn

things that immediate usefulness in solving current problems. These characteristics

mean that adults may resent being treated like children in a learning situation. That is,

when a trainer assumes that adults know very little, that their experience is irrelevant,

and that they should learn exactly and only what the trainer tells them to learn, adults do

not learn effectively. One author suggests that the best and brightest employees often

avoid organizational training programs because these pedagogically oriented programs

insult their intelligence.

Figure No. 2



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In recent years, the principles of andragogy have been challenged. There is no concrete

evidence that the learning process is truly different for adults as compared with children;

some children respond well to student-centered learning, and sometimes adults prefer

direction and instructor-imposed structure to self-diagnosis and personal responsibility

for learning. Thus a pure andragogical approach is not always appropriate just because

the learners are adults. For instance, it does not apply when the program teaches

completely unfamiliar technical or physical skills or when the trainees have chosen to

attend in order to learn from an acknowledged expert in the field. However,

andragogical principles can contribute much to the design of management development

programs and can be used in varying degrees to increase the motivation and personal

responsibility of trainees in many kinds of programs. Switching between ins tructor-

centered methods such as lectures and student-centered methods such as group

discussion can help ensure relevance and maintain leaner interest over the course of a

long training day.

How Adults Learn:

Adult learners

Ø Bring with them a wealth of experience.

Ø Define their own learning needs, based on their own perception of what they

need, and have a basic desire to be independent (from a trainer) in doing so.

Ø Are self-directed

Ø Want to be able to position the offered-knowledge and skills in the context of

their experiences.

Ø Can learn from each other’s experiences, and need interactive training methods

(open communication between facilitator and participant, and among the participants).

Ø Need a safe learning environment

Ø Experience: something happens directly to the learner, maybe seeing, hearing,

trying out something.

Ø Reflection (questioning): the learner asks themselves or others questions about

what happened during the experience.



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Ø Thought: the learner uses the answers to the questions to build up a theory based

on what actually happened during the experience.

Ø Action (testing): based on the theory, the learner tries something out, to rest

whether the outcomes of an action are as they expected.

s learners go through a continuous cycle of experience, reflection, thought and action,

they start a gradual transformation. This is how adult learning process takes place.

Learning Principles:

Training and development programmes are more likely to be effective when they

incorporate the following principles of learning:

1. Employee motivation

2. Recognition of individual differences

3. Practice opportunities

4. Reinforcement

5. Knowledge of results (feedback)

6. Goals

7. Schedules of learning

8. Meaning of material , and

9. Transfer of learning

Motivation to learn is the basic requisite to make training and development programmes

effective. Motivation comes from awareness that training fetches some rise in status and

pay. Motivation alone is not enough. The individual must have the ability to learn.

Ability varies from individual to individual and this difference must be considered while

organizing training programmes.

Regardless of individual differences and whether a trainee is learning a new skill or

acquiring knowledge of a given topic, the trainee should be given the opportunity to



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practice what is being taught. Practice is also essential after the individual has been

successfully trained. It is almost impossible to find a professional cricket player who

does not practice for several hours a day. Practice can be a form of positive

reinforcement.

Reinforcement may be understood as anything that (i) increases the strength of response

and (ii) tends to induce repetitions of the behavior that preceded the reinforcement.

Distinction may be made between positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement strengthens and increases behavior by the presentation of

desirable consequences. The reinforcement (event) consists of a positive experience for

the individual. In more general terms, we often say that positive reinforcement consists

of rewards for the individual and, when presented, contingent upon behavior, tends to

increase the probability that the behavior will be repeated. For example, if an employee

does something well and is complimented by the boss, the probability that the behavior

will be repeated will be strengthens. In negative reinforcement , the individual exhibits

the desired behavior to avoid something unpleasant. An example might by an employee

who does something to avoid incurring a reprimand from his or her boss. If an employee

who had the habit of coming late to work, assuming this as an unpleasant experience, the

employee might begin to come on time to avoid criticism. Thus, the effect of negative

reinforcement is avoidance of learning.

Knowledge of Results is a necessary condition for learning. Feedback about the

performance will enable the learner to know where he or she stands and to initiate

corrective action if any deviation from the expected goal has taken place. There are

certain tasks for which such feedback is virtually mandatory for learning. A crane

operator, for example, would have trouble learning to manipulate the controls without

knowing how the crane responds to control actions.

Goal Setting can also accelerate learning, particularly when it is accompanied by

knowledge of results. Individuals generally perform better and learn more quickly when

they have goals, particularly if the goals are specific and reasonably difficult. Goals that

are too difficult or too easy have little motivational value. Further, goals will have better



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motivational value if the employee has a scope for participation in the goal-setting

process.

Probably one of the most well-established principles of learning is that distributed or

spaced learning is superior to continuous learning. This is true for both simple laboratorytasks and for highly complex ones.

Schedules of learning involve (i) duration of practice sessions, (ii) duration of rest

sessions, and (iii) positioning of rest pauses. All the three must be carefully planned and

executed.

A definite relationship has been established between learning and meaningfulness of the

subject learnt. The more meaningful the material, the better the learning process.

What is meant in training must be transferred to the job. The traditional approach to

transfer has been to maximize the identical elements between the training and the actual

job. This may be possible for training skills such as maintaining a cash register, but not

for teaching leadership or conceptual skills. Often, what is learned in a training session

faces resistance back at the job. Techniques for overcoming resistance include creating

positive expectations on the part of trainee’s supervisor, creating opportunities to

implement new behavior on the job, and ensuring that the behavior is reinforced when it

occurs. Commitment from the top management to the training program also helps in

overcoming resistance to change. Though, it is desirable that a training and development

programme incorporates all these principles, seldom is such a combination effected in

practice.

The Training System

A System is a combination of things or parts that must work together to perform a

particular function. An organization is a system and training is a sub system of the

organization. The System Approach views training as a sub system of an organization.

System Approach can be used to examine broad issues like objectives, functions, and



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aim. It establishes a logical relationship between the sequential stages in the process of

training need analysis (TNA), formulating, delivering, and evaluating. There are 4

necessary inputs i.e. technology, man, material, time required in every system to produce

products or services. And every system must have some output from these inputs in order

to survive. The output can be tangible or intangible depending upon the organization’s

requirement. A system approach to training is planned creation of training program. This

approach uses step-by-step procedures to solve the problems. Under systematic approach,

training is undertaken on planned basis. Out of this planned effort, one such basic model

of five steps is system model that is explained below. Organization are working in open

environment i.e. there are some internal and external forces, that poses threats and

opportunities, therefore, trainers need to be aware of these forces which may impact on

the content, form, and conduct of the training efforts. The internal forces are the various

demands of the organization for a better learning environment; need to be up to date with

the latest technologies.

The system model consists of five phases and should be repeated on a regular basis to

make further improvements. The training should achieve the purpose of helping

employee to perform their work to required standards. The steps involved in System

Model of training are as follows:

1. Analyze and identify the training needs i.e. to analyze the department, job, employees

requirement, who needs training, what do they need to learn, estimating training cost, etc

The next step is to develop a performance measure on the basis of which actual

performance would be evaluated.

2. Design and provide training to meet identified needs. This step requires developing

objectives of training, identifying the learning steps, sequencing and structuring the

contents.

3. Develop- This phase requires listing the activities in the training program that will

assist the participants to learn, selecting delivery method, examining the training material,

validating information to be imparted to make sure it accomplishes all the goals &





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2. Planning – This phase consist of setting goal of the learning outcome, instructional

objectives that measures behavior of a participant after the training, types of training

material, media selection, methods of evaluating the trainee, trainer and the training

program, strategies to impart knowledge i.e. selection of content, sequencing of content,

etc.

3. Development – This phase translates design decisions into training material. It consists

of developing course material for the trainer including handouts, workbooks, visual aids,

demonstration props, etc, course material for the trainee including handouts of summary.

4. Execution – This phase focuses on logistical arrangements, such as arranging

speakers, equipments, benches, podium, food facilities, cooling, lighting, parking, and

other training accessories.

5. Evaluation – The purpose of this phase is to make sure that the training program has

achieved its aim in terms of subsequent work performance. This phase consists of

identifying strengths and weaknesses and making necessary amendments to any of the

previous stage in order to remedy or improve failure practices.

The ISD model is a continuous process that lasts throughout the training program. It also

highlights that feedback is an important phase throughout the entire training program. In

this model, the output of one phase is an input to the next phase.

Figure No. 4



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Transitional model focuses on the organization as a whole. The outer loop describes the

vision, mission and values of the organization on the basis of which training model i.e.

inner loop is executed.

Vision – focuses on the milestones that the organization would like to achieve after the

defined point of time. A vision statement tells that where the organization sees itself few

years down the line. A vision may include setting a role mode, or bringing some internal

transformation, or may be promising to meet some other deadlines.

Mission – explain the reason of organizational existence. It identifies the position in the

community. The reason of developing a mission statement is to motivate, inspire, and

inform the employees regarding the organization. The mission statement tells about the

identity that how the organization would like to be viewed by the customers, employees,

and all other stakeholders.

Values – is the translation of vision and mission into communicable ideals. It reflects the

deeply held values of the organization and is independent of current industry

environment. For example, values may include social responsibility, excellent customer

service, etc.

The mission, vision, and values precede the objective in the inner loop. This model

considers the organization as a whole. The objective is formulated keeping these three





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All new employees, whatever their level of competence, have to ascend a learning curve

when taking up a post, whatever it be developing technical expertise, managerial

competence or tuning –in to the norms and values of the organization. Most staff turnover

occurs during the first six months as the new incumbent comes to terms with the new

environment. Any support system will help reduce the period of adjustment and

socialization into the new environment, which in the case of newly recruited graduates,

fresh from university, can be almost traumatic.

2. Improved communications:

Learning organization’s communication network, both formal and informal, takes time. It

is usually learnt on the job rather than on a formal course. A mentor, along with the line

manager, can be a valuable tutor in helping the protégé learns about the existence of, and

how to use, these networks. Improved communications can, in the long run, only improve

individual productivity and organizational efficiency.

3. Reduced Training Costs:

Off-site management training programmes are expensive. A mentoring program requires

only a little (although vitally important) training of mentors before the program

commences. Mentors will learn more through experience than by formal instruction

which needs to be recorded as the program develops.

4. Increased motivation and productivity:

Mentoring can help reduce staff turnover for both mentor and protégé. New, young

employees, particularly if they are graduates, often have unrealistic career ladder and

such expectations may not be met. This is even more likely with the current trend towards

flatter organizations with fewer rungs in the organization ladder. A mentor can help the

protégé look for ways around the current blockages and reinforce the message from the

company that there is a future for him or her. The result could be that other organizations

do not poach your employees by promising fast career advancement. The trend to flatter



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organizations has posed career problems for middle and senior managers who also will

have fewer rungs to ascend up the corporate ladder.

5. Better succession planning and management development :

Mentoring is a cost-effective way of developing managers and should be used along with

other methods. It is an important part of the whole picture. Participation in a scheme

should lead to a considerable increase in interpersonal skills and a valuable extra input

from the mentor into succession planning. Mentors may also help identify which a line

manager cannot, or will not, see.

6. Transfer of knowledge and values of the organization and maintenance of a more

stable corporate culture:

Mentors can become powerful role models for protégé and the latter can learn much by

imitation and identification with the mentor. The protégé will observe methods, styles

and how things are done, becoming more acutely aware of the managerial style of the

organization and this, if internalized and translated into action, will ensure a less painful

adjustment if he or she is promoted. The smooth transfer of company culture between

two generations of managers can provide both stability and change and assist long-term

corporate growth and survival.

II. Coaching:

The best place to start a section on coaching is with a couple of definitions of the term

which can then be used to develop some of the key characteristics of this approach:

v Systematically increasing the ability and the experience of the trainee by giving

him or her planned tasks coupled with continuous appraisal advice and counseling

by the trainee’s supervisor.

v The release of latent talent and skills, previously untapped by training, through a

process of self-awareness initiated by the coach.





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appropriate form. Skills of facilitating, enabling and giving feedback are very

much to the fore. Feedback skills are especially important as self-awareness is a

vital requisite for success, and the coach is the main source of feedback.

Ø Coaching is usually done with small numbers and is often very individualized. A

one-to one relationship is very common. This enables the coach and pupil the

opportunity to build up a long-term relationship, while at the same time giving the

coach unique insight and understanding of what motivates an individual and the

type of approach to adapt in order to achieve success.

Benefits of Coaching :

Stage 1. Familiarization: The post-holder goes through a relatively short period of

familiarizing him or herself with the new situation. This period is probably longer with an

appointment to a new organization, where time is required to tune-in to the new ways of

doing things, a new culture, new systems and procedures. It is a period in which

individual productivity is low, and it tends to be longer in large organizations, where the

costs of a period of low productivity can be more easily absorbed.

Stage 2 Challenge: This is a demanding stage that stretches the individual, often to full

capacity. Credibility has to be established and relationships forged and this takes time.

Tasks take longer to accomplish as the best way of working needs to be learned.

Stage 3 Competence: By trial and error learning the individual develops in the job. Both

mistakes and successes are used as learning opportunities, and the time taken to complete

a task is reduced. Relationships continue to be built, the circle of contacts is widened and

credibility rises.

Stage 4 Mastery: This stage is characterized by acceptance and credibility in the

organization. The formal and informal systems and procedures are well known so the

minimum time is expended on routine matters. Key tasks can often be completed more

quickly and to a high standard as a result of accumulated experience. As a rule of thumb,

it will probably take an individual in a managerial position between three and five years



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to reach this stage, at which point the post-holder will begin to think about the next job

and will look for wider possibilities and opportunities.

Stage 5 Determination: This begins to occur when an individual has been in the job too

long. The job ceases to offer the challenge, stimulation and satisfaction it once did andthe incumbent is unable or unwilling to find fresh challenges. Dissatisfactions and

boredom can manifest itself in numerous behaviors such as lack of cooperation,

obtrusiveness, and refusal or inability to adopt to change. Some find other outlets and

challenge energies and creativity into activities outside of work. Responsibly for allowing

an individual to reach and atrophy at this stage rests with the individual and the

organization.

III. Lecture:

One of the earliest thoughts of many people who consider a career in the training field is

that they have to become lecturers. They feel they must strive to become inspirationa l

orators in front of an audience and if they cannot then they will not be successful. This is

undoubtedly due to tradition and their experience of higher education where the lecture

was the predominant mode of instruction.

Many students as a result of their earlier educational experiences, also expect it and feel

most comfortable with it – it is familiar, it is easy to ‘hide’ in a passive audience and one

rarely is challenged or has to confront difficult issues.

Consequently, the lecture is probably the most widely used method in training, although

in recent years, with the increasing emphasis on participative methods, its importance has

been reduced. Like all the other teaching methods it is extremely effective when used at

the right time and delivered in the appropriate way.

Despite these disadvantages, when do we use the lecture? As a general ‘rule of thumb’

we use it when we have to give a mass of information to a large group and this will be the

most economical use of time. Such appropriate times could be when we are:



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v Developing a background for the course in the opening session;

v Presenting material to introduce a topic;

v Presenting material supplementary to assignments

How can we ensure that we become competent lecturers?

1. Strive for the highest degree of informality that can be achieved without

losing the respect of the delegates.

2. Stand up when talking and occasionally move back and forth in front of the

group.

3. Be aware of the span of the audience. Psychologists tell us that that during a

30-minute presentation the attention curve steadily drops from an early high to

a low after 20 minutes before returning to the early high. This has the

following implications for the lecturer:

(a) Keep your presentation short-15 to 20 minutes is probably as much as most

adults can absorb.

(b) Change the pitch, tempo and volume of your voice when speaking.

(c) Try every device you can think of to add variety, spice and surprise to your

presentation

(d) Make the key points either very early or very late.

4. Eliminate distracting habits and mannerisms and always maintain eye contact

with a cross-section of the audience.

5. Have a clearly defined beginning, middle and end. This helps you in the

delivery and it also helps your students.

To sum up, the lecture has a very important part to play in imparting information to a lot

of people quickly. It is best used in short bursts with frequent recourse to alternative,

participative methods.

IV. Demonstration:

Often the best way to get your point across is to actually show or demonstrate what you

mean. This can be done by a demonstration per se or as a reinforcement or follow-up to a

lecture. The way in which one tackles it may depend on the complexity of the operations



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or principles. Generally, the greater the level of complexity the more you will have to

build the demonstration into the lecture so that students can actually watch as you

demonstrate. This requires extensive use of actual items or visual aids.

The demonstration method is useful because it:

• Attracts and holds individuals attention;

• Is easily understood;

• Is convincing – it is ‘here and now’ and imitation is a powerful way of learning ;

• Ties theory and practice

The drawbacks of demonstration are:

• It is often difficult to ensure that everyone can see what you are doing.

• Everyone has to be present. This problem could be overcome if you make a video

tape of your demonstration with appropriate close-ups. This ensures that you can

reinforce whenever you want as well as overcome the problems of absent

members or those unable to see.

Follow up each demonstration you should:

• Give participants the opportunity to practice the skills or process just

demonstrated.

• Give individual / group help during practice sessions. Often you can use more

competent members of the group if your own resources are stretched.

• Raise questions to clarify points

• Praise and recognize success- a great motivator and confidence builder

• Help individuals recognize the application of what has been learned to their real-

life situations, i.e. facilitate the transfer of learning.

In any training where the emphasis is on skills you will use the demonstration method

frequently.

V. Discussion:



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The discussion method is an excellent means of covering the essential points of a session

and meeting objectives while allowing individuals to ask questions, raise issues, etc., with

everyone else in the group. Sometimes it can be woven into the lecture, in which case the

trainer can go beyond the previously recommended 20-30minutes.

When using the discussion method keeps it under control and on the subject- and

guillotines it at the right time. In other words, you must ensure that pertinent matters are

emphasized and that the time is not monopolized by any particular topic or individual.

Too often the discussion degenerates into a ‘free for all’. To manage a discussion

successfully the leader needs an astute sensitivity to the group and its dynamics, which

involves very different skills and approaches from those required for lecturing and

demonstration.

VI. Open Learning:

Open learning packages may utilize a variety of teaching media –from printed material,

through audio and video material, to practical work and computer-based training (CBT).

Learners usually work through the package on their own but they may meet together with

other learners from time to time plus having access to occasional tutorial or counseling

support.

Open learning is one answer; it is not the complete answer to many individual and

organizational training needs.

Its main advantages are as follows:

• It is very flexible in how it can be used. ‘Anything, Anywhere’ often applies.

• Organizations with few or no training resources can ‘plug into it’ to develop their

people.

• Little time off work is required, which has a particularly strong appeal to the

small businessman.

• It meets the self-directed needs of the adult learner.



29

• The modular structure aids the assimilation process as students progress at own

pace and there is opportunity for reinforcement.

• It is less threatening because there is no group exposure. This can have a strong

appeal to those whose lack of formal education has undermined self-confidence.

VII. Active, Participatory Learning Methods:

All participatory methods are with the objective of enabling participants to learn general

principles through involvement in a situation as similar to real life as possible. They tend

to be used most widely in the field of management training and development and involve

a much higher degree of risk for everyone. Often CCTV can be used for giving in-depth

feedback and assisting the coaching. Four main methods are:

i) Case Study:

With this method you present the specific details of a problem, usually in written form,

and ask the participants to suggest the best solution they can, based upon the given facts.

They must also be prepared to discuss not only their proposal but why they reached their

decision and, sometimes, how they reached their decision. Interesting and varied

solutions usually emerge and if several groups tackle the same problem, interesting

comparisons can be made which can be shred in a plenary session.

The case study requires:

• Lengthy preparation time and may need a couple of ‘dry runs’ to ‘fine-tune’

• That the facilitator is familiar with the material which should not be a problem if

he or she developed it;

• Clear and concise briefing to participants;

• Debriefing and summarizing skills so that the main points are shared with

everyone.

ii) Role play, simulation and games:



30

These may be used to bring together knowledge and experience and to show their

interrelationship. They are used widely in skills training- for example, in interviewing,

conducting meetings and customer care. Group members are assigned certain roles and

are required to work through a problem or situation by acting it out while in character.

Sometimes the information used is in the form of a case study.

In management training, business simulations may take place over days rather than hours,

with management teams receiving feedback on their decisions and progress from

computers.

Sometimes these teams are in competition with others and the exercise could be termed a

game.

The advantages of simulations:

v Are an enjoyable way to learn if they are realistic;

v Require active involvement from participants;

v Bring academic subjects alive so that the gap between theory and practice is bridged;

v Give participants the opportunity to experiment in ‘low risk’ can be learned from

mistakes as from successes;

v Are very adaptable to groups of mixed ability, and distinctions between bright and

less bright become blurred;

v Make it difficult for participants to remain aloof and uninvolved as the enthusiasm of

group members is contagious and levels of motivation rise;

v Increase awareness of participants own behavior and the effect on others;

v Encourage peer facilitation and support because the most able can support the least

able;

v Improve interpersonal skills, team skills and the ability to process in formation to

solve problems and to confront and handle conflict.

Individual Learning Styles:



31

The experiential learning cycle helps us to design an effective training course, but first

we need to consider one more important issue about learning. So far, we have considered

all learners alike. However, it is important to remember that each learner is an individual

who prefers to learn in his or her own way.

Everyone has a preference about how her she learns things. Think about yourself and

some people you know: you recognize them in these descriptions:

1. Some people really like trying out new things. They are not very interested in

theories. They don’t mind taking risks, and really enjoy new experiences. Usually

they don’t need to watch someone else show how something is done, they just it

themselves. These people are the pragmatists.

2. Some people prefer to prepare before they act. They like to take their time and

don’t want to be rushed. They also often enjoy guiding and supervising people

and processes. These people are the reflectors.

3. Other people like to understand theories and try to understand why certain things

take place in particular way. They are not so interested in applying things in

practice, but spend a lot of time thinking about ‘what if…..’. These people are the

theorists.

4. Finally, some people really enjoy using things they have learned in practice. They

like to apply something they have learned as quickly as possible. They love

demonstrations, watching others so that they can try it out themselves. These

people are the activists.

Transfer of Learning:

The final phase in the training cycle is the incorporation of the new ways of thinking or

doing things into normal work. Often this is left to the individual, and the (unstated)

implication is that the individual has the motivation and the ability to introduce such

changes. We can increase self-efficacy in a training program by:



32

Ø Maximize the similarity between the training situation and the job, if necessary

by carrying out the training in phases with job experience interspersed

Ø Provide a wide range of experience of what is being learned so that the principles

can be applied to situations which do not exactly fit the procedure.

Ø Ensure that what is being learned in training will be supported and rewarded in

the workplace. There is clearly a role for the supervisor or manager here; he or

she must be a party to the training and transfer.

Ø Goal setting is important because without it people will have a poor basis for

judging how they are progressing. Clear measures of progress are essential for

increasing self-efficacy. Trainees should be deterred from setting very difficult

goals as those who give up are often those who self-impose very high standards

and then feel no sense of accomplishment because they fail to reach them.



33

Training Evaluation Process (Kirkpatrick model):



34

Return on Investment:

Level 1

Evaluate Reactions

• Did the trainees like the

program, the trainers, thefacilities?

• Did they think the course was

useful?

Level 2

Evaluate Learning

• To what extent do trainees

have greater knowledge orskill after the training

Level 3

Evaluate Behaviour

• Are trainees behaving

differently on the job after

training?

• Are the usin skills and

Level 4

Evaluate Results

• Is the organization or unit

better because of training?

Distribute and analyze

questionnaires

Administer

• Written tests

• Performance tests• Graded simulations

Collect performance data

from

• Superior

• Peer

Measure

• Accidents

• Quality

• Productivity

• Turnover• Morale

• Costs

Figure No.6



35

Training doesn’t costs it pays. Human resources development (HRD) is an investment,

not an expense. Should all training programs be required to show a return on investment

(ROI)? However, courses of 3 days or more that are offered many times to reach a large

number of trainees (say, 100 or more) represent a significant expense. A professional

trainer should justify this expense by calculating the returns on the investment.

Level 4 (results) in Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model is the most difficult level to measure.

Level 1 (reaction) and level 2 (learning) can be measured with relative ease in class,

using paper-and-pencil instruments and simulations. Level 3 (application at work) is

more difficult because it requires measuring performance on the job, where many

variables affect the performance of the graduates. Level 4 (results) is usually shown as

ROI: the dollar value of the benefits of training over and above the cost of the training.

Reason why one should take the time and effort to calculate the costs and benefits of

major training programs:

v HRD budgets can be justified and even expanded when training contributes to

profit and is not seen as an act of faith or a cost of doing business.

v Course objectives and content will become more lean, relevant, and behavioral

with a focus on monetary results rather than on the acquisition of information.

v There will be better commitment from trainees and their managers, who become

responsible for follow-up and ROI, not just for filling seats.

v Action plans, individual development plans, and managers briefings will be taken

seriously, strengthening the trainee-manager partnership.

v There will be better performance by the HRD staff in containing costs and

maximizing benefits. They will become performance managers, not just

instructors.

v The HRD staff has solid data about where training is effective and where it is

week, and so courses can be revised and fine-tuned to produce the best returns.

v The curriculum of courses offered can be determined on a financial basis, not just

on the basis of popularity, the rank of the manager requesting it, and so forth.





37

* Level 3: Transfer of learning - At this level, we measure the application of the learning

in the work context, which is not an easy task. It is not easy to define standards that can

be utilized to measure application of learning and there is always this question that preys

on the minds of various people: ‘Can all changes be attributed to the training?’

* Level 4: Results - This measures effectiveness of the program in terms of business

objectives. At this level we look at aspects such as increase in productivity, decrease in

defects, cycle time reduction, etc.

It is possible for organizations to measure effectiveness for all program at level-1 and

level-2. This can be built into the design of the training program.

It is found that it is easy to measure training program related to technical and functional

areas at level-3 and level-4. It is not easy to do this with behavioral skills program.

Organizations that choose to measure training effectiveness can start with the former

category before moving to measuring behavioral skills at level-3 and level-4. This will

articulate an example to show how we can measure some training program at levels-3 and

level-4. Let us consider the case of an IT services company that conducts technical

training program on products for their service engineers.

Article of Brand Equi ty inEconomic Times

“Striking a Poser” Article in Brand Equity part of Economic Times dated on November

26, 2008 by Mr. Prasad Sangameshwaran. ([email protected])

“Sales is no longer just straight forward product pitch. Today, selling involves devoting

more time to listening, asking the right questions and understanding what consumers

want” - By sales consultant Robert Miller, founder of Miller Heinmen Inc.

Miller begs to differ. According to him, starting point of selling is not glib talk, but

asking questions. But across the world, companies are not asking questions. It is laziness.

The first thing a person gets when joins a new organization is product training. Be it a



38

product or services, companies tell new employees all about the business and they go

forth and sell. Naturally when new recruits go out and sell, they end up talking about

products and services. Sales people are good at showing, telling, demonstrating but they

are not good at listening, questioning, probing and discussing. When companies ask

relevant questions, the results are often in their favors. Case in point – the challenge

PepsiCo faced in the US against rival Coca-Cola. PepsiCo was looking at ways to wean

away key clients from rival Coca Cola. Coca Cola No 1 client was Mc-Donald’s and

number 2 clients was Burger King. But Coca Cola lost Burger King to PepsiCo told them

that McDonald’s would always be Coca-Cola’s number one client. But they could get No

1 treatment if they came to PepsiCo. But at PepsiCo and even Coke realized later, just

winning the client was not enough. At that time, PepsiCo did not have the technology to

serve a consistent measure of drink every time. Then it also did not have Coca- Cola’s

infrastructure to ensure that remote locations did not run out of stock. According to him,

asking questions helps in delivering intangible benefits like experience, keeping in mind

the fluid scenario today. That’s because, rapid dissemination of information is changing

the way people consuming products and services and it makes the task of a sales person

very challenging. Miller agrees that in both the business-to-consumer and the business-to-

business space, consumers have had more choices than ever before. When sales people

go out for sale, customers know more about their products and even their competitor’s

products. Hence the job of salesperson is to put the customer at centre of equation. That

requires significant change in mindset. Till not very long back, it was the product at the

centre of equation. You are not selling product anymore, but a solution. Hence it is

important to ask questions. In the example of Mexican real estate developer client who

owns 10 miles of property inside a gated community, to be sold exclusively to reach and

famous. With hotels like Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton inside the property, Miller says

the property has golf courses, spas and the works. But when potential clients come over

to see the property, Miller is clear that the first should not be to show them around.

Instead of showing off the premium property and the amenities, why not ask the

customers about experience they expect from the property. First, question them what

brings you to the property? And find out what specifically interests them. Is it golf, spa or



39

a retreat? This, according to him is extremely important, because in the current context,

the customer is in control. You should try to understand what the customers want to

accomplish, avoid, fix and create. Until you know that, you really don’t know what you

are selling. But what was earlier simple task of managing few products across one or may

be two channels has today transformed into labyrinth of options. With growing options

product portfolios and emergence of newer channels of distribution, it’s surely a

nightmare for sales head. Miller convinced that it can be a sweet dream. Its time to stick

to fundamentals and it’s not about pushing as many products in the portfolio through a

channel. Instead, it’s better to sit with the clients and then figure out what suits their

interests. According to him, the beer industry in the US when faced with a similar

situation came up with an interesting solution. They co-operated with competitors to

figure out the niche that each beer brand filled and what audience that they appealed to.

Then manufacturers got together with distributors to create a category manager for each

channel. In effect, the category manger would be responsible for selling both a Heineken

and its arch- rival Budweiser as he would be responsible for all beer brands to his

respective channel. Thus the competition was now not another beer brand but other

beverages. He clarifies that such innovations are not because there is perpetual dearth of

talent, considering that for many sales people, a long term sales job is not the desired

career choice? I think there is good talent in sales. Since the advent of Internet, selling

has become more and more professional. Thirty years back, when he started company,

the sale force in company was totally male. The only people who had woman in their

sales force were banking and Hertz car rentals that had a smattering of females. Now,

according to him, it’s 50:50 across industries. Miller feels that’s a definite turn for better.

Because women are better listeners, can question better and understand where customers

come from and so on but there are still some bastions. There’s probably another reason

for him to firmly believe that women are doing well as sales professionals. Three of his

grand-daughters are into sales, selling categories as varied as insurance and men’s

accessories.



40

Eveready setting up sales training institute: Kohinoor Mandal, Kolkata, Nov. 29

THE $200-million BM Khaitan group is likely to diversify into the sphere of education.

As a first step, Eveready Industries India Ltd, the group flagship company, is setting up

an institute for the training of frontline sales force. The institute, which is named as

Eveready Academy of Sales Training, will start its operations with a first batch of 20

students from January. It has already advertised seeking fresh graduates for a one-year

course in sales training. According to Mr. Roshan L. Joseph, Director of Eveready, there

is hardly any opportunity to offer good sales training to young men and women. As a

result, there is an acute shortage of trained manpower to push the sales of a particular

product. Most of the FMCG companies are regularly realizing this problem and, he felt

that this would aggravate further as the challenge will be making the consumers spendmore. So, in an effort to bridge this gap between the need for trained sales manpower and

creating good salesman out of a fresh graduate, Eveready decided to set up this institute.

"To start with the academy would be just a part of the Eveready Industries' activity. We

would be using our own infrastructure, both software and hardware, to train these young

boys and girls. If the project takes off successfully, we will scale up the activity and work

bigger plans," Mr. Joseph told Business Line. The 20 students will be selected through a

nationwide online psychometric test and group discussions. Eveready is also assuring

jobs to all the 20 students on successful completion of the course. "We may employ all of

them but there will not be any binding neither on us nor the student. They will be free to

join any organization. We are confident that any FMCG company would be more than

glad to have a trained salesman," he said. It may be noted that this is probably the first

time that a leading FMCG company is entering into the business of training salesman. In

fact, there is hardly any institute in India offering similar sales training. In 1998, the

National Institute of Sales (NIS), a wing of NIIT, started a similar course in Kolkata but

after two years it ran into rough weather. An NIS alumnus, however, said the course was

restarted this year. According to Mr. Joseph, the one-year course of Eveready will be

divided into two halves. The first half will be in classroom where a student will be taught

on subjects such as taxation, IT, salesmanship, and distribution network, financing, sales



41

planning and others. In the second half, the student will be imparted infield training. They

will put into a territory and will be given a target to meet.

Introduction of FMCG sector

The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy with a total market

size in excess of US$ 13.1 billion. It has a strong MNC presence and is characterized by a

well established distribution network, intense competition between the organized and

unorganized segments and low operational cost. Availability of key raw materials,

cheaper labor costs and presence across the entire value chain gives India a competitive

advantage. The FMCG market is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2003 to US$ 33.4

billion in 2015. Penetration level as well as per capita consumption in most product

categories like jams, toothpaste, skin care, hair wash etc in India is low indicating the

untapped market potential. Burgeoning Indian population, particularly the middle class &

the rural segments, presents an opportunity to makers of branded products to convert

consumers to branded products. Growth is also likely to come from consumer 'upgrading'

in the matured product categories. With 200 million people expected to shift to processed

and packaged food by 2010, India needs around US$ 28 billion of investment in the food-

processing industry.

Why India

Large domestic market: India is one of the largest emerging markets, with a population of

over one billion. India is one of the largest economies in the world in terms of purchasing

power and has a strong middle class base of 300 million.

Rural and urban potential



42

Around 70 per cent of the total households in India (188 million) reside in the rural areas.

The total numbers of rural households are expected to rise from 135 million in 2001-02 to

153 million in 2009-10. This presents the largest potential market in the world. The

annual size of the rural FMCG market was estimated at around US$ 10.5 billion in 2001-

02. With growing incomes at both the rural and the urban level, the market potential is

expected to expand further.

India - a large consumer goods spender: An average Indian spends around 40 per cent of

his income on grocery and 8 per cent on personal care products. The large share of fast

moving consumer goods (FMCG) in total individual spending along with the large

population base is another factor that makes

India is one of the largest FMCG markets, if you see the entire global demand for FMCG products.

Figure No. 7



43

Even on an international scale, total consumer expenditure on food in India at US$ 120

billion is amongst the largest in the emerging markets, next only to China.

Graph 1

Graph 2



44

Purpose of Sales Training by Training and Development Handbook by – Sponsored by

ASTD and Mr. Robert L. Craig - Editor in Chief

Productive sales training increases sales permanently by enhancing the knowledge, skills,

habits, self-confidence and on-the-job behavior of an organization’s sales force. The end

result is learning, which occurs only when a salesperson permanently changes behavior

for better. The bottom line of sales training goal is the same as that of sales and marketing

management: apply the sales and marketing plan effectively to maximize both current

sales and long term growth of an organization. Selling is the process of human interaction

to achieve the goal of persuading another person to make decision that you support. In

selling you identity needs and wants and then communicate in a persuasive way to

convince someone that you can satisfy those needs and fulfill those wants. Sales Training

is changing behavior by exposing people to knowledge and skills that allow them to

communicate with others in persuasive way. It is, in fact, “the process of creating an

environment in which individual sales personnel can feel to motivate to develop effective

sales skills and productive attitude that can lead to achieving personnel and business

goals.” Any complete sales training process should include exposure to these knowledge

and skills are:

Ø Organizational philosophy, policies & procedures, structures and strategies

Ø Business knowledge and skills

Ø Time and territory management

Ø Legal consideration

Ø Sales and negotiation skills

Ø Planning and goal setting

Ø Self awareness and personal development

Ø Communication skills

Benefits of Sales Training

Everyone wins with good training. Mutual benefit is the prime principle.

The salesperson receives:



45

Greater self confidence

Ability to communicate more persuasively

Greater fulfillment of achievement

Enhance career opportunities

Greater feeling of pride and loyalty in contributing to the well-being of the

customer and organization

Increased income from greater sales

The customer receives:

§ Solution to the immediate problems and needs

§ End-user benefits of the products or service

§ Overall better service

§ A valuable resource for information and help (salesperson) who cares about

customer needs

§ A valuable resource for reliable products and service (the company)

The company receives:

v Increase revenue from sales (short and long term)

v Increased profits (the return on training investment)

v Long term stability of repeat business from satisfied customers

v Reduced employee turnover and cost

v Improved employee morale

v Growth potential in the marketplace

The sales training group receives:

ü Greater credibility with management

ü Greater use of developed programs

ü Enhanced job stability and protection from recession

ü Increased job satisfaction



46

Chapter 2. Methodology

Objectives:

As stated in chapter I the objective of the study was as follows:

1). To identify the factors affecting the Training of Sales Force, which is nothing but

essential ingredient for hitting the sales target of FMCG organization

2). To suggest various ways to improve the training content on Communication Training

and any kind of other training for sales force and ready hand training material for any

sales person to win a sales deal

Sample:

The FMCG organization, were in contact since day I started the research thus I took

sample of associates from various small companies. The sample also included the

emerging free lance trainer in arena of Sales of HR background. These free lancers are

same deal of training since their professional career. They were in continuation of same

job of training with extended wings of it to the Sales Force development.

I divided my sample size in two different groups: one for HR trainer and other for Sales

executive actually who are on job or who are just passed out of business institute and

working for FMCG organizations. My sample size was 30 people and in that I chosen

associates as Sales associates and 15 as HR trainer. Here this sum of 15 HR associates

also includes the free lancers of given arena of Sales Training.

People Attributes Number of People



47

1. Free lancers

2. Young Sales Executive

3. HR Trainers

6

15

9

Total 40

Data Collection Method:

The data collected was through in-depth structured close ended questionnaire with the

following pointers inside the questionnaire.

• What they like about their job

• What they dislike about job

• Their agreement on things which affect their training needs

• The importance of Sales function

• Dependency of various other function on Sales Function of organization

• Learning style or training style of their organization

• Their learning style

• Changes they expect in training area of given organization

• Kind of training they receive

In detain the questionnaires are attached in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2.

The data was also collected through various Case Studies available online and from one

of our fieldwork organization called as Saint Gobain. The analysis of all case studies is

also included after the primary data analysis. These case studies are very relevant in the

case of FMCG type of organization sale force set up. These case studies have proven in



48

detail the logic of giving the training to sales force and importance of it for overall

organizational growth.

On basis of above all data analysis I have provided relevant recommendations to given

kind of FMCG organization into consideration.

Chapter 3. Case Study

Case Study 1

Sales Training at ABC, Inc

ABC, Inc (name changed), provides solutions for creating, managing, and sharing digital

assets for a variety of markets including building, infrastructure, manufacturing, digital

media, and wireless data services. The fifth largest FMCG Company in the world, ABC

has more than 1,700 channel partners that provide a critical competitive advantage in the

marketplace through their broad international reach and local market expertise. ABC’s

robust performance over the last few years has been driven by their lifecycle management

strategy, providing solutions to help customers extend the value of their design data

throughout the enterprise. This introduction of more complex lifecycle solutions has ledto an increased need for channel partner sales and technical training in order to

effectively position, sell and support ABC solutions. The key drivers for ABC to

outsource their sales training to XYZ were access to top instructional design and sales

training expertise on an as-needed, variable-capacity basis, a demonstrated track record

of delivering results with speed and consistency, and a keen knowledge of ABC’s culture,

business strategy, and solutions. XYZ’s focused expertise, holistic approach to training

outsourcing, and high-impact results allowed ABC to continue to focus on its core

business: developing, marketing, and selling industry-leading software. Two examples of

the XYZ solution are Manufacturing 101 and Boot Camp. Manufacturing 101 is a

training program that XYZ created for ABC to speed up new hire sales readiness. Boot

Camp was an existing ABC annual product launch event that was transformed into an



49

effective training event through the XYZ partnership. Through a total focus on achieving

ABC’s business objective XYZ efforts led to successful outcomes for ABC.“We

originally partnered with XYZ because they understood our business and had a solid

track record of delivering high quality results with speed and consistency. XYZ’s

performance caught the attention of Sales and Channel Management stakeholders

throughout the company. Through their work on Manufacturing 101 and Boot Camp,

XYZ has raised the bar for training at ABC and become our premier training partner.” —

Director, Channel Development, ABC

Manufacturing 101: Speeding Channel Partner Time to Sales Readiness

Manufacturing 101 is a training program designed and developed by XYZ for ABC’s

newly hired channel partners who sell solutions into the manufacturing industry.

Approximately 80% of

ABC’s revenue comes through channel sales, so it is critical that their partners have deep

product and solution knowledge, a keen understanding of customer challenges within the

manufacturing industry, and excellent selling skills. The development of Manufacturing

101 raised the bar for ABC’s new hire partner sales training thanks to XYZ’s total focus

on measurable results, instructional design expertise, sales training experience, and

ability to rapidly grasp ABC’s strategic vision and assimilate to its culture.

ABC Pain Points

• New-hire time to sales readiness was taking far too long. Prior to the development of

Manufacturing 101, new hire and channel partner time to competency (in manufacturing

industry fluency, product knowledge and selling skills) was 9-12 months. ABC’s goal

was to reduce this lag time to 90 days.

• Clear vision of training goals, but insufficient resources to reach them. A major

execution challenge for ABC was a lack of dedicated, skilled instructional design

professionals with deep expertise in sales training. ABC sales execution leadership had a



50

clear vision for where they wanted to take new hire training, but needed expert assistance

to execute that vision.

• Channel partners needed to increase consultative selling competency. In order to

successfully sell an increasingly complex array of software, services and solutions, ABCchannel partners needed training in consultative selling techniques. ABC’s objective was

to help its channel partners become “trusted advisors” to their customers.

The Challenge

• Create a robust, comprehensive training program utilizing the combined strengths of

XYZ instructional designers and ABC subject matter experts within a tight timeframe.

• Empower two groups of learners at the same training event: students with sales

experience who

lacked familiarity with the manufacturing industry and students with industry knowledge

but little sales experience.

• Win the confidence of ABC stakeholders who were skeptical of the value of working

with an external partner.

The Plan

• Conduct interviews and collect data to confirm desired outcomes and build relationships

with ABC stakeholders in order to establish a cohesive partnership and a shared vision of

Manufacturing 101 objectives.

• Assess and analyze current learner knowledge levels, desired future levels, and learner

characteristics.

• Design a standard courseware format and a rapid instructional framework to enable

development within a short timeframe.

The Process



51

XYZ instructional designers worked with ABC subject matter experts to create and

deploy:

• Pre-event course preparation workbook including pre- and post-tests to measure

knowledge transfer.

• One-week classroom course comprised of modular, integrated training content targeted

for ABC channel partners and the sales cycle realities they encounter including industry

trends and challenges, in-depth competitive issues, and effective selling skills.

• Classroom activities enlisting active student involvement with hands-on practice

including video-taped mock sales presentations, games, and competitions.

• Sales training methodology wrapped in an ABC and manufacturing context, created in

collaboration with an ABC Value Vision associate.

• Job aids and tools immediately transferable to sales professional are needs on the job

(e.g.

qualification guides, responses to common customer objections, etc.).

• Content designed to be repurposed for other audiences and future events.

The Outcome

The results of Manufacturing 101 have been impressive. The core objective of reducing

new hire time to competency, and increasing overall sales readiness has been achieved:

• Average salesperson knowledge transfer has increased 30% to 40% for each

Manufacturing 101 class delivered (representing a positive delta between pre- and post-

test scores).

• Student feedback has been extremely positive. On average, students scored the class 4.3

on a 5-point scale (5 the highest rating), indicating strong agreement that course content

and materials were directly applicable to current and future sales efforts.



52

Boot Camp: Preparing the Channel for a New Product Launch

Boot Camp is ABC’s premier channel partner sales and product training event. It is held

each year as a new product launch education event prior to the company’s annual

software release. Boot Camp’s core objective is enabling revenue growth by preparing

resellers to effectively position, sell, and support ABC solutions. Through a mix of

product- and sales-focused content, ABC seeks to teach its channel partners how to

execute a complex solution sale, and to effectively convey solution value propositions.

XYZ’s instructional design expertise, total training focus, and customer orientation

ensured high reseller satisfaction with the Boot Camp experience. Boot Camp attendees

were armed with pragmatic, actionable skills and knowledge translating into increased,

measurable sales results.

ABC Pain Points

• Increasing product and solution complexity. Over the past few years, ABC has

expanded into new product and solution areas beyond its flagship offering, AutoCAD®

software. New vertical products aimed at the building, infrastructure, and manufacturing

industries are critical to ABC’s long-term growth and differentiation. Mediocre or failed

product launches due to poor channel sales readiness would jeopardize revenue targets

across the board.

• History of insufficient instructional design techniques. Previous Boot Camp events have

featured excellent ABC instructors and strong event management, but the event has been

dogged by weaknesses in the session instructional design. Inconsistency, absence of

interactivity, and lack of integrated sales methodology training have undermined some of

Boot Camp’s learning effectiveness. Additionally, attendees have complained of “death

by PowerPoint” presentations and a lack of post-Boot Camp training reinforcement. Sales

Training at ABC 6



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• Poor communication between key personnel. Busy divisions properly focused on

product launch efforts rarely had time to focus on training development, let alone

planning and collaborating across divisions. ABC executives and territory sales managers

were infrequently involved in facilitating and supporting training activities at Boot Camp.

• No proof of training value without impact measurements. Post-Boot Camp

measurements of training impact, have been absent from past events. ABC executives

and sales managers have not had hard data and results from partners with which to gauge

Boot Camp’s impact on ABC’s business objectives.

The Challenge

• Design and develop 72 hours of instructor-ready training content in 12 weeks.

• Create and facilitate training for a diverse audience of channel partners.

• Gain buy-in from ABC divisions reluctant to take time from their tight schedules to

work with XYZ staff.

• Design and deploy various methods of measuring Boot Camp’s impact on reseller

satisfaction, knowledge transfer, application of skills, and business results.

The Plan

• Take Boot camp from a typical conference-style event with an emphasis on PowerPoint

lectures to a high- impact, interactive training event.

• Implement a comprehensive plan to track sales results, behavior change, knowledge

transfer and student satisfaction results in a detailed, quantifiable manner.

• Make XYZ’s instructional designers available to give tips and suggestions to ABC

presenters accustomed to finalizing materials at the last minute.

• Institute efficiencies to leverage course content and design across ABC divisions.

• Promote interactivity, games, and role-plays during training sessions. Ensure scalability

of hands on activities for up to 300 students participating simultaneously in one room.



54

The Process

The XYZ team designed a training event that included:

• Accountability for both Boot Camp content development and event coordination.

• Focused presentations designed to increase knowledge retention supported by XYZ

designed

instructor guides and “train the trainer” sessions.

• Lectures frequently varied with games, role-plays, and other small group activities to

engage students of all learning styles and avoid PowerPoint monotony.

• ABC facilitators, ranging from territory managers up to the VP level, stationed at each

student table to assist with activities.

• A plan to track measurable results, including standard Levels 1-3 evaluation and

Account Development Execution Plans to track business results.

The Outcome

Attended by over 1,400 partners, the 2005 Boot Camp event was the largest and most

successful training event in ABC’s history. All stakeholders, ranging from partner

attendees to ABC executives, expressed deep satisfaction with the event and its

outcomes. The measurable results tracked by XYZ have given ABC an accurate and

detailed picture of Boot Camp’s impact and have provided keen insights into areas for

continuous improvement. Results are evaluated at multiple levels in order to provide

measures at different points in time after the event. Level 1 shows the initial participant

perception after the training event. Level 1 results for Boot Camp sales sessions showed,

on a 5-point scale (5 the highest rating), that 89% of participants gave Boot Camp an

overall rating of 4 or 5. The next level of evaluation in progress will measure employee

performance six months after Boot Camp. Managers of attendees will be sent a survey

with questions to identify noticeable changes in performance, sales, and customer

satisfaction as a result of training their resellers received at Boot Camp.



55

“XYZ made a good initial impression by demonstrating an understanding of our business,

and delivering results through Manufacturing 101. When it came to Boot Camp, XYZ

rose to the challenge. We didn’t make it easy with our tight timeline and complex

requirements to develop 72 hours of content for 1,400 partner attendees. But in a matter

of a few months, XYZ transformed Boot Camp to a highly interactive, high quality

instructional event. We’ve seen measurable results from these sales training programs

and anticipate the trend will continue with XYZ in the instructional driver’s seat.” —

Director, Channel Development, ABC

Source:

1. www.intrepidls.com

2. [email protected]

Case Study 2

Creating Major Sales

The most fundamental reason why you're employed, the unique function that you alone

fulfill, which could not form part of anyone else’s job description, is the creation of

sales where they would not otherwise exist. Not passively responding to requests for

proposals, but creating a need from scratch, developing it into a desire for positive change

and demonstrating that your product can meet the need by giving the desired change.

Next question: If creating major sales is the unique contribution you bring to the party,

how do you do it? Not vague generalizations, but blow- by-blow detail. How do you open

a sales call? Do you ask questions? How? What kind? What about? What responses do

you listen for from the prospect? What do they indicate? When do you present your

product or service? What do you say about it? How do you gain the prospect’s

commitment? Why do some sales calls succeed and some fail? How do you measure

success or failure? What do you do that causes success or failure? Got all the answers?

OK. But are you sure they’re right? Would you bet your house? Worrying isn’t it?

Because if any of your



56

answers are wrong it means you’ve lost your house and you don’t totally understand the

most important function of your job. NEW Consulting (name changed) has the answers.

And we’re sure they’re right – so sure we’d bet our company on it. Let us explain why.

SPIN,

Science Applied to Major Sales

Almost thirty years ago NEW Consulting was approached by several major

multinationals. They asked us to investigate the process of creating major sales, with a

view to defining once and for all the skills used by the most effective sales professionals.

These multinationals did not come to NEW Consulting because we were acknowledged

experts in sales training (we certainly weren’t!) but because we had a unique research

methodology, which had already proven itself by providing revolutionary insights into

interactive management skills. Developed as an aid to behavioral scientific Research,

Behavior Analysis was pioneered by NEW Consulting as a method for observing,

categorizing and quantifying objectively what people say to each other in interactive

situations such as meetings, job interviews, appraisals – or sales calls. When we have

observed enough interactions and analyzed them statistically we can isolate very

accurately the pattern of behaviors that is most likely to produce a successful outcome in

a meeting, interview, appraisal, sales call, etc. We call this ideal pattern of behavior the

Success Model. Once we have a Success Model for a particular skill we can train people

to modify their behavior to match the Success Model more closely and so improve the

probability of success. And that’s what our multinational clients wanted: the Success

Model for creating major sales.

The SPIN Research

Very early in the research project it became apparent that there is a great difference

between what top sales performers say they do and what they are actually observed doing

in front of customers. The problem seems to be that the things that make top performers

consistently good are the things they do naturally, whereas the points they will stress in

an interview, or pass on to others as tips, are the small extra sophistications they have

either invented themselves or had to work hard to master. Having identified this



57

discrepancy between perception and reality, the NEW Consulting team implemented a

program of field accompaniments to conduct live Behavior Analysis of sales transactions.

So controversial were the initial findings in their contradiction of conventional sales

theory that the scope of the study was expanded several times until the research results

were statistically incontrovertible. The process is on-going. For nearly thirty years NEW

Consulting has analyzed over 40,000 sales interviews in 27 countries and studied 116

factors, which might play some part in improving sales performance. This remains the

largest ever investigation into sales success. The nine key behaviors that lie at the heart of

the SPIN® selling model are the distilled results of this research.

Optimizing Skills with SPIN

Not surprisingly, this invaluable research has been turned into a training program, which

gives all sales professionals the opportunity to optimize their performance by adopting

the SPIN® Success Model. An overview of the SPIN® Selling Skills program is overleaf

followed by a summary of some of the key research findings.

Overview – SPIN Selling

Objectives

By the end of the program each participant will:

• Have analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of their present selling style

• Be able to describe the psychology of customer needs

• Be able to describe the key behaviors, or skills, used by effective salespeople in their

interactions with customers

• Have a framework for planning sales calls in terms of these behaviors

• Have frequently practiced using the skills to develop customer needs in a way that

greatly reduces the likelihood of objections

• Have a strategy for dealing with difficult customers who raise objections or have low

reaction levels

• Have measured objectively their performance compared with the Skill Model and

created an Action Plan for Continued development of the skills after the program.



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Target Audience

Any employees involved in the sale of goods or services, which are seen as high-value,

important decisions by the buyer. In addition to the obvious audience of sales executives

and sales managers, this program can be very beneficial to engineers, technical specialists

or sales support staff who are involved in the selling process or who may be exposed to

selling opportunities in the course of their work with customers.

Program Content

• Basic principles of Behavior Analysis – how it is used in research and skill

development.

• Understanding your present selling style – are you a natural ‘pusher’ or ‘puller’.

• The psychology of customer needs – Implied and Explicit Needs defined – what they

tell you about the customer’s state of mind – which needs predict success in the sale.

• Opening the call – avoiding a ‘canned’ approach – establishing the right to ask

questions.

• The SPIN® Model for developing needs:

- Situation Questions

- Problem Questions

- Implication Questions

- Need-payoff Questions.

• Demonstrating your capability – the real definition of a Benefit – dangers of Features

and Advantages.

• Objections – the myth exploded; they don’t indicate interest or opportunity – how to

prevent them – how to handle them.

• Low Reactors – how to identify them – why they are dangerous – how to handle them.

• Closing – why early, frequent closing is dangerous – the one, simple way to gain a

commitment.

Training Design and Methodology



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The objective of this program is to teach skills, to change trainees’ behavior so that they

perform more effectively. The training design is therefore based on the principle that

learning is doing . The Skill Model is introduced incrementally in ‘bite-sized chunks’,

with a role-play practice opportunity at each stage. Participants are not required to

perform in front of the training group. Role-plays are conducted one-to-one and tape

recorded. Trainees are also taught the rudiments of SPIN® Behavior Analysis so that,

aided by the trainer, they can analyze the recordings of their role-plays and give each

other objective feedback on their actual performance compared to the Success Model.

This repetitive cycle of input–practice –feedback helps trainees match their behavior ever

closer to the Success Model as the course progresses and equip them with the tools for

continuing skill improvement post-course.

Materials

There are comprehensive exercises and transcripts of sales calls to test and refine

trainees’ understanding of the Skill Model, plus a library of user-friendly reference

material giving detailed explanations of key concepts. Role-play scenarios can be

customized to simulate the sale of the trainees’ own products or services to typical

customers in their market. Duration: Designs are varied to suit individual client

requirements. Faculty and group size: The SPIN program is delivered by a senior NEW

Consulting consultant experienced, whenever possible, in the client’s industry sector. To

ensure that each participant receives individual attention and feedback, training group

size is limited to a maximum of twelve.

SPIN Research Highlights

Full, fascinating story of the research studies and the development of the SPIN. Selling

Skills model can be found in Making Major Sales, written by Neil Rackham, founder of

NEW Consulting. Here, mention only a few of the research findings which gave the

world a new insight into high-value selling skills.

All ‘needs’ are not the same



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Conventional training treats all need statements as generic: ‘Find a need, meet it and you

have a sale.’ Yet common sense says that there is a clear difference between a customers

who complains, "My present system is a bit slow” and one who says, "I need a faster

system immediately.” NEW Consulting’s research proved that there is a clear distinction

between statements of dissatisfaction, called Implied Needs, and statements of desire for

a solution, named Explicit Needs. In major sales Implied Needs have no statistical

relationship with success, whereas Explicit needs are key indicators of a successful

outcome. Successful salespeople use a questioning technique to convert Implied Needs to

Explicit.

Conventional ‘probing’ does not work

Probing (sales jargon for asking questions) is supposed to uncover customer needs. To

achieve this, traditional training uses a seventy year old theory that divides questions into

two types:

• Closed questions, which can have yes/no answers, and

• Open questions, which require a longer answer.

The research revealed two major problems with this approach: 60% of closed questions

actually receive long answers, because people like to talk, and, not surprisingly, there was

no identifiable pattern of Open or Closed questions in successful sales calls. Classifying

questions by their form, Open or Closed, has no relevance in creating major sales.

Successful salespeople use a four-stage questioning model

Rather than classifying questions by their form, exceptional sales performers use four

types of questions, which are categorized by their purpose:

• Situation Questions – To gather background information and understand the context of

the sale.

• Problem Questions – To explore the customer’s dissatisfactions and concerns.

• Implication Questions – That develop apparently isolated problems by examining their

‘knock-on’ effect on other areas of the customer’s business.

• Need-payoff Questions – That invite the customer to consider the benefits of solving

his or her problems and, having done so, to express an Explicit Need for a solution.

‘Benefit’ statements are the major cause of objections



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Generations of salespeople have been taught to make ‘benefit’ statements by explaining

how their product is intended to help or be of advantage to the customer. Yet the NEW

Consulting studies showed that the easiest way to create an objection is to offer the

customer an advantage that has not been asked for. The true Benefit statement, the

behavior most closely associated with success, shows how your product or service

satisfies an Explicit Need for which the customer has expressed a desire for a solution.

Golden rule: no Explicit Need; don’t talk about your product.

Source:

Huthwaite International, Hoober House, Wentworth, and South Yorkshire S62 7SA,

United Kingdom Email: [email protected] Website: www.huthwaite.co.uk

Case Study 3

Moving the Needle on Sales -Using Video-Based “Nano” e-Learning to Create a

Competitive Advantage in Sales Performance

Classroom training and traditional e-learning are losing effectiveness while

simultaneously becoming more expensive. Sales and marketing executives must adopt a

sales force development process that delivers small bites of learning and product

information. These must be delivered in a just-in-time, just-as-needed, just-enough

fashion right where the salesperson works. Short video, with very specialized

instructional design, has become the ideal medium for sales force improvement. It can be

developed rapidly, deployed quickly and without redevelopment on different devices

(CD/DVD, PCs, and handhelds), and is engaging for learners. It has been proven by

major organizations to actually change salesperson behavior and drive results with hard-

dollar ROI. The Problem of Developing Salespeople (and channel partners) has never

been busier. Product lines are extending. Products themselves are more complex.

Competition is fierce. Price pressure is intensified. Maintaining sales force automation

data is reducing available selling time. Yet sales goals and call expectations are rising,

and salespeople need late-breaking information right now before their next call. Sales and

marketing executives face the critical question,



62

“How can I afford—in terms of both time and money—to motivate and develop my sales

force in a way that actually changes behaviors and drives sales?”

The classic sales meeting approach is no longer practical. No one is in the same place at

the same time. Companies end up spending more on airfare, travel time, hotel, and mealsthan on the training itself. And the opportunity cost (lost sales) of taking an entire sales

force out of the market can dwarf total meeting expenses. Actual learning in the sales

meeting is also disappointing. A parade of product managers and trainers with endless

PowerPoint slides simply overwhelms the sales force. (One consumer goods firm actually

showed its salespeople 700 slides in a two-day sales meeting.) Attendees remember little,

if any, of what they see—and they hate the experience. E-Learning was supposed to

address all this. But the last thing a salesperson wants is to spend an hour in front of a

screen-flipping e-learning course, listening to a disembodied voice, seeing animations

that went out of style in video games 15 years ago, and being asked about sales scenarios

that don’t really apply. Add the fact that these courses are complicated to design,

expensive to produce, and can take months to program and deploy, and today’s e-learning

isn’t the right solution either. Late-breaking information, need for more sales,

requirement to improve sales skills, high in-person training and opportunity costs, heavy

e-learning development costs and glacially slow development lead times. Learner

dissatisfaction with both approaches. Something different is required.

Requirements for Successful Sales Force Development

Sales and marketing executives have a simple goal -Create a significant competitive

advantage in the marketplace by better developing and informing salespeople. To

provide a true competitive advantage, ej4 research has identified four elements that must

be present in the sales force development process.

Content must be compelling: - Having to force salespeople to take training is the prime

indicator that content is inadequate. If content helps close sales and make money, then

salespeople will demand access to it. They will complete the course, change accordingly,

and use it to increase their income.



63

The content must be accessible when needed, as needed, where need: - Salespeople

don’t remember what they heard in a course six months ago, and they never refer back to

their attendee binder—assuming they even kept it. People do best with small chunks of

learning, delivered exactly when needed, and that can be reviewed whenever they want.

Training/communications must be developed and deployed rapidly: - Salespeople are

dealing with critical issues in real time. Content that comes out months after the fact often

addresses issues that no longer exist. Salespeople require critical information in hours or

days, not weeks or months.

Sales leaders must be involved in the process: - There are two types of learning- initial

learning (new knowledge and skills) and application learning (coaching when applying

new knowledge and skills). Properly designed e-learning works well for initial learning,

but sales management must be involved afterwards to ensure that salespeople master and

use the content in the marketplace. Sales and marketing executives are wasting their time

and money if sales managers do not reinforce content after the event. The key challenge

is how to provide e-learning that addresses these elements. The answer lies with the

combination of classic TV/movie technology, and modern Internet and handheld delivery

options.

Video-Based “Nano” e-Learning

The “sweet spot” in e-learning today is digital video with very specialized instructional

design. It is one of the few opportunities where executives can actually spend less and get

more. It requires no expensive programming, and delivers better results than high-cost

narrated screen-flipping courses. Classroom or marketing content can be quickly and

inexpensively converted into engaging video by placing the speaker right on top of the

Power Points (like the weather person on the evening news.) Unlike a disembodied voice

or graphic animations, this lets the presenter interact with the content, and reproduces the

feel of a live event with the personality of the presenter coming through. A key advantage

of digital video (unlike videotape) is that you can access any individual frame within

seconds using jump buttons or a slider bar. Learners can view only what they need to, and



64

then get back to work. This non-linear access allows the digital content to be used in five

different ways: initial learning, refresh learning, performance support, coaching, and

meetings. Digital media also allows organizations to “create once, deploy many” without

costly and time-consuming redevelopment for each delivery platform. Salespeople can

view the same video programs on a variety of devices such as DVD/CDs, PCs, PDAs,

phones, and handhelds. Proper instructional design is critical. Content must be short

(“nano-learning”), literally in the ten-minute range per program. Salespeople just don’t

have the time or patience for anything longer. (More complex topics can be covered in

multiple parts.) Slides must be graphically rich and properly animated. And programs

must pose questions that are formally answered. All this helps turn what would seem to

be a passive medium into an engaging experience. “A key advantage of digital video is

that you can access any individual fr ame with in seconds … This allows the digi tal

content to be used in five different ways: initial learning, refresh learning,

performance suppor t, coaching, and meetings.”

ROI Examples

This revolutionary approach to sales force development has proven successful in a variety

of organizations, from consumer goods to agriculture to industrial sales. It generates

hard-dollar ROI results. The Pepsi Bottling Online Campus (ej4.com) delivers over 200

video nano courses to 40+ bottlers. Program categories include: Pepsi products, sales,

negotiating, merchandising, administration, HR compliance, supervision, leadership,

safety, DOT, and software. Courses are available in both English and Spanish. Bottlers

have reported that the training:

• Tripled their sales growth rate.

• Improved execution at retail as measured by Pepsi’s Mosaic Info Force Retail Audit.

One bottler’s ranking went from 20th to 6th in the U.S.

• Reduced product returns from 8 to 10 percent to 3 to 4 percent.

• Reduced turnover from 3 to 5 per month to 1 per month.



65

• Reduced accidents and worker compensation costs.

• Lowered training costs.

• Allowed the training of more employees.

• Reduced time out of market for training.

• Increased morale and productivity.

• Increase retailer satisfaction.

The Golden Harvest Seeds Company provided over 50 video nano courses to its field

sales staff and to its network of 2,400 dealers. Program categories include: sales

fundamentals, advanced selling, sales electives, Agronomy Up Front and field staff

training. Golden Harvest reported that training helped generate these results:

• Overall sales increase of 22% … the best sales year in the company’s history.

• 10 times the number of new customers, to nearly three times the previous all-time

company record.

• Profits 4% higher than a division not doing the training.

• New dealer recruitment at 140% of goal.

• Average of three less calls to recruit a new dealer.

• Dealer turnover cut by two-thirds.

Summary

In an annual year-end report, industry analyst Josh Bersin labeled the approach used by

Pepsi bottlers and Golden Harvest as “high impact video e-learning” with “compelling

and exciting uses.” Organizations have utilized video-based nano e-learning to create

competitive advantages in the marketplace, resulting in greater sales, higher margins,

lower costs, improved employee and customer satisfaction, and operational efficiencies.



66

Source:

ej4 LLC – (Just as needed, Just enough, Just in time, Just right)

Woodcrest Executive Drive St. Louis, MO 63141

http://www.ej4.com • [email protected]

Case Study 4

Sales Force Training Manual at Saint Gobain

Design and develop a Sales Force Training Manual for Sales Engineers, Sales Executives

and Managers (120 in number) working with the Abrasive business of Grindwell Norton.

Proposed Tangible Output for the Project: Increased levels of competition, rapidly

changing technology, and a renewed focus on customer retention and relationships are

but a few of the reasons why sales managers increasingly seek sales force training and

development activities that lead to increased sales force productivity. The Training

Manual will require conducting the Training Need Analysis for the employees across

different sales verticals of Grindwell Norton. Output from the TNA would be used to

obtain the overall training requirements which will be critical for designing the training

program. The manual will also give the information regarding the planning and designing

part of the training and finally how the training should be evaluated to measure its

business impact. Basically it will explore all the important phases involved in training.

Training will help in streamlining the future sales force trainings. This manual can be

used as a reference for conducting & evaluating future sales trainings. This will ensure

that quality trainings are given to the sales force people based on their individual and



67

business requirements. This will result in the improved performance and better talent

management of the sales force which will further result into not just the sales revenue

generation, cost and waste cut down but also in the overall retention of the top talent to

keep the organization ahead of everyone in the fierce competition. This manual shall also

help the sales force in developing the key competencies to prepare them for future roles

and responsibilities across the different companies of Saint Gobain Group. It will also

enable the organization to make its Sales force more efficient and less risky for future

businesses.

Need for Training

Saint Gobain believes that developing people is crucial to its success as a company. To

compete on an international scale, in a variety of different markets, it needs individuals

who can learn quickly; develop themselves and adapt to changing circumstances. Thus,

Saint Gobain seeks to develop a pool of talented individuals who can provide business

leadership, people leadership and deliver value. Training and Development is a

subsystem of an organization. It ensures that randomness is reduced and learning or

behavioral change takes place in structured format. Traditional Approach – Most of the

organizations before never used to believe in training. They were holding the traditional

view that managers are born and not made. There were also some views that training is a

very costly affair and not worth. Organizations used to believe more in executive

pinching. But now the scenario seems to be changing. Modern Approach – This approach

of training and development is that Indian organizations have realized the importance of

corporate training. Training is now considered as more of retention tool than a cost. The

training system in Indian Industry has been changed to create a smarter workforce and

yield the best results

Types of Trainings

Technical type of training focuses on training the sales force people from technical

aspects of their jobs. Behavioral training focuses on training the sales force people from

behavioral aspect of their jobs, e.g. Customer Relationship Management. Functional



68

training focuses on areas which are common across the organization and hence we need

to train all the sales force people on these areas.

Course Content

This is also a very important part of the training program where we need to mention

regarding the course content of a particular course. Basically it is about clearly specifying

that what all topics needs to be covered with respect to a particular course. Methodology

will inform participants and trainers about the kind of training methods which will be

followed for conducting a particular course during the training, e.g. Role Plays, Case

Studies, Lectures, Presentations etc.

Orientation Training Common for all the Positions

Course Title: Induction, Course Learning Objective: To orient sales force people of the

about Saint Gobain Group and about the GNO Abrasives Business.

Course Contents

1. HR Induction - Saint Gobain India & Worldwide and HR Policy

2. Overview of GNO Abrasives Business

3. GNO Abrasives Business - Historic perspective, SBU/SSBU concepts, competitive

landscape, Key personnel

4. Company Philosophy

5. Quality policy

6. Planning methodology, plans & goals

7. Logistics organization & practices

8. Statutory regulations governing business



69

9. Product mix and impact on profitability

Trainer: Regional Business Heads, National Business Heads, Corporate HR Managers

and Products Managers

Methodology: Lectures, Discussions, Audio Visuals and Text Versions, Case Studies, Ice

breaking Games

Delivery: Classroom, On the Job (Plant Visits)

Duration: 2 Days

Evaluation: Test after the completion of the Induction training.

Course Title: Products Training, Course Learning Objective: To make sales force

people aware of the different products knowledge, specification, products capabilities,

limitations and their applications business category wise in abrasives business of GNO.

Course Contents

1. Understanding abrasive specifications - Business category wise

2. Specification selection - Business category wise

3. Basic application knowledge - Business category wise

4. Trouble shooting - Business category wise

5. Product capabilities and limitations

6. Product Portfolio - Business category wise

Trainer: Products Managers

Methodology: Lectures, Discussions, Demonstrations, Audio Visuals and Text Versions,

Behavior Modeling, Incident Process, Case Studies, Role Plays, Games and Simulations

Delivery: Classroom, OJT (Plant Visits)



70

Duration: Content Specific

Evaluation: Test after the completion of the product training. We can conduct this test

regularly on quarterly (Online) basis as well to keep a check on their up-to-date product

knowledge.

Course Title: Price Training, Course Learning Objective: To make sales force people

aware of the different product pricing, discounts and guidelines business category wise in

abrasives business of GNO.

Course Contents

1. Product Pricing - Business category wise

2. Special discount - Guidelines and administration

3. Market Price Monitoring

Trainer: Sales Engineer

Methodology: Lectures, Discussions, Audio Visuals and Text Versions, Case Studies,

Games

And Simulations

Delivery: Classroom

Duration: 3 Days

Evaluation: Test and feedback from customers.

Course Title: Behavioral Training, Course Learning Objective: To make sales force

people learn professional selling skills, negotiation skills, communication skills, time

management and E-mail management for improving their behavioral competencies.

Course Contents

1. Professional selling skills



71

2. Negotiation skills

3. Communication skills - public speaking, written communication

4. Time management

5. E-mail Management

Trainer: External (Faculty/Consultant)

Methodology: Lectures, Discussions, Audio Visuals and Text Versions, Case Studies,

Role

Plays, Behavior Modeling, CBT, Games and Simulations

Delivery: Classroom

Duration: 6 Days

Evaluation: Meeting deadlines and generating sales revenues

Course Title: Place Training, Course Learning Objective: To make sales force people

aware of the GNO dealer policy guidelines.

Course Contents

1. GNO - Dealer Policy guidelines

Trainer: Products Managers

Methodology: Lectures, Discussions, Audio Visuals and Text Versions

Delivery: Classroom

Duration: 1 Day

Evaluation: Test after the completion of the training.

Key Recommendations



72

? Mapping the TNA inputs for each position and proposing the new training manual for

sales force

? Induction training and Product Training must include OJT (plant visits)

? Feedback forms shall be used for evaluating training at different levels

? Robust performance management system needs to be in place to keep a track of

participants performance on the job after the training

? Line managers and the immediate boss needs to keep a check on the performance of

the participants, if they feel that someone is not able to perform even after the training

then they need to recommend those participants for refresher course

Chapter 4. Findings and Analysis

1. Analysis of Primary Data Collected from HR trainers and Sales Executive

Here data which has been collected as in primary format form sales executive, HR

trainers and free lancers. This data I have collected by use of questionnaire, which is

based on importance scaling method. As stated in objective of the study was - to identify

the factors affecting the Training of Sales Force, which is nothing but essential ingredient

for hitting the sales target of FMCG organization and to suggest various ways to improve

the training content on Communication Training and any kind of other training for sales

force and ready hand training material for any sales person to win a sales deal.

The questionnaire I used is attached are the Appendix 1 and 2. The analyses of all

questions are as follows starting from question 1.

Analysis: Questionnaire 1 (I have include few important graph and others are kept in

tabular format)



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The following two graphs talk about the importance and level of criticality Sales as

organizational function. Here sales function is the important function for business

development (95 % respondents) and it is act as barometer of growth (almost 99 %

respondents)

1 Sales as function is highly important in FMCG company for its business development

2 Sales is one function which actually act like barometer of growth of FMCG organization

The next part of analysis trie to focus on the skill set which a respondents carry as sales

front player. The skill sets required for sales force in FMCG organization are very critical

for their sustainability at field. These skill set has to be inculcated on them through

training of various imporatnce. Here after analyzing and graphically plotting the response



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of all respondents, around 85 % people are neutral on this issue. Actuall it is indication of

unawareness of training availability

6 I carry all kinds of qualities required to perform my Sales Job in today’s highly dynamicsetup of FMCG organization

Here is some attempt I made to get knowledge of gap analysis of qulaity and quantity of

training one receive at workplace. Here the gap is in two areas i.e. one in qulaity of

training and second is quantity of training received. The no-existance of gap will indicate

that training given is appropriate and logical and up to the required limit but in case the

there is gap then, its serious concern for organization and its sales force performance.

After plotting the analysis, I got existance of gap in training to sales force. Almost 86 %

people felt that there is gap in training quality and quantity. It suggest ther is need to

improve or bridge this gap and add some new programs on training to all sales force.

8 I feel there is Gap exist in training quality and quantity I received here at workplace



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The next phase talks about the tackling skill of sales person with customer i.e. his/her

selling and negotiation skill. These skill are nothing but when one deal with customer has

to apply on product, place, price and packging part of the product. These are the skills

which always in need for all kind of sales person FMCG set up . One has to keep him or

her updated for any kind of prodcut , price, place and packaging negotiation. The finding

of anaysis suggest that 90 % of people are not in aggrement to that they posses these skill

through training or as natural and thus they are not sure for winning a deal.

9 I can tackle any kind of situation with customer by Selling and Negations skills of mine



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Getting relevant training is always a concer for sales person. One has to get relevant

training so that he as part most critical function in organization can add value in main

flow of profit or say bottomline of company. Here not only relevance but its availability

on time is also very important. After asking respondents their response was so that, most

of them ar eagrred to the fact that they need a relevant and on time training which can add

value in bottomline. Almost 80 % of people said so.

16 Getting relevant training on time can add value in bottom line of company from my side



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This response I generated just gauge the participation level of person in sales force for

designing the sale training for any new entrant in the line of sales. This is clear indication

of how people can bring their practical knowledge in learning cycle of others. Here total

95% of respondents felt that they can do this.

17 Practical experience in sales, made me so exposed, I can design training for new entrants

Next area of concern was to see how much sales person feel about his failure on job and

its affection towards his work. Here I want to show the lack of training or non-delivery

(job of HR) of training results in failure of person who is on line i.e. sales person. This

very serious concern for the HR department and person who is commiting mistakes. Here

80 % respondenst feel responsible for their failure at job.

18 I feel responsible for faults/ loss at work just because of lack of training in some area



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Here I tried to throw some light on various wayas of training and training areas where

one needs to improve himself/ herslf. These areas are so critical which can either (if it is

strong) can lead to wining of sales deal or lead to loss of huge sales deal which may be

because of repeat customer or new customer (in case weak). These are the key areas for

any sales person, which has to get improve at any cost. If person is not good say

listening, cold calling skil and he is in sales force, it is very serious for any company in

FMCG sector and in general. Thus to stay updated with thess skill is highly critical for

one in sales force. After receiving the responses of people, I realized that around 86% of

people agreed to get training in these areas of training.

19 Receiving training on listening, presentation, cold-calling, speaking and product is myright and essential ingredient of success on field.



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The otherquestions of the Sales questionnaire and all HR questionnare I attached here

with percenatge of responses in the cell provided for personal response. The question I

inclided above were more peculiar and significant as far training for sale people is

concerned. These question suggested me how to develop the detailed list of

recommendations which I can add as my research outcome. These recommendations

which I gave are based on the above questions response, other questions response and

case studiess which I stated before this analysis. On next page we can see the all question

with percentage of response.

Questionnaire 2

Instructions

Symbol Meaning

SD Strongly Disagree

D Disagree

N Neutral

A Agree

SA Strongly Agree

Questionnaire 2



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Personal Details

Name of the Organization

Experience in (Months)

Designation

Competencies and Skil ls Sets Required

SD D N A SA

1. The Competencies required for Sales are more of Generic

nature rather than Specialist0 0 10 67 23

2.The skill sets and competencies requirement are vary with

every new location and person of Sales 0 0 8 72 20

3. The good interpersonal skill add high amount of energy add

value in Selling Volume0 20 0 65 15

4. The actual scenario is always differs and use of competencies

and skills for each situation gets mould as per situating 5 15 49 21 10

Training For Sales Force

SD D N A SA

5. Genuine need of training on day-to-day basis always exist in

FMCG Org1 15 60 15 9

6. Cross functional training is necessary for Sales people 0 0 20 70 10

7. Conducting Simulation exercise - which is On-the- Job

training can be very enhancing way to training Sales force of

FMCG

0 0 9 10 81

8. Product training with all kinds of variation in it is essential for

Sales Force0 0 0 70 30

9. Situation-Problem-Implication-Need (SPIN) type of

questioning and training on same not appropriate most time50 40 0 9 1

10. Communication Skill and listening are most important

training one should get on Sales0 0 10 78 12

11. Good presentation & Grooming understanding of dressing

sense - know-how in FMCG Sales force have to be part of

Training Content

0 11 4 50 35

12. Conducting Assessment Centre is one way we can get

judgmental criteria on capability of Sales Person30 15 15 39 11

13. Netiquette do play an important role in sales force

effectiveness0 0 0 89 11



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14. Voicemail and Cold Calling training to all Sales force is new

phenomenon to improve and add-up in Sales volume0 0 0 5 95

Al l numbers are in percentage of total respondents F igure No. 4

By studying all the case studies mentioned above it is quite clear that training for sales

force is essential ingredient. Initially every employer was in consent to have various types

of training for Sales people. They felt there is no rigorous need of training for frontlines

of their company. They had mindset to not work on training aspect of their sale force and

they can manage without giving training to them. The facts in the above case studies

suggest that there are various kinds of training available and which can be imparted to

their sales force with all expected tangible output.

In first case of ABC Inc, is keener on direct sale training. It is big FMCG organization

which has many channel partners. It states nits training needs fulfillment by two

examples of the XYZ solution (trainer) are Manufacturing 101 and Boot Camp. It

originally partnered with XYZ because they understood ABC’s business and had a solid

track record of delivering high quality results with speed and consistency. XYZ’s

performance caught the attention of Sales and Channel Management stakeholders

throughout the company. Through their work on Manufacturing 101 and Boot Camp,

XYZ has raised the bar for training at ABC and become ABC’s premier training partner.

It proves the training outsourcing concept for FMCG’s which have huge channel

network. The main intention to have all this was – new-hire time to sales readiness was

taking far too long, clear vision of training goals, but insufficient resources to reach them,

channel partners needed to increase consultative selling competency. They had actual

training concern was to create a robust, comprehensive training program utilizing the

combined strengths of XYZ instructional designers and ABC subject matter experts

within a tight timeframe, empower two groups of learners at the same training event:

students with sales experience who lacked familiarity with the manufacturing industry

and students with industry knowledge but little sales experience, win the confidence of



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ABC stakeholders who were skeptical of the value of working with an external partner.

They designed some plan which incorporates - Conduct interviews and collect data to

confirm desired outcomes and build relationships with ABC stakeholders in order to

establish a cohesive partnership and a shared vision of Manufacturing 101 objectives,

Asses and analyze current learner knowledge levels, desired future levels, and learner

characteristics and Design a standard courseware format and a rapid instructional

framework to enable development within a short timeframe.

In second problem of product launching they faced severe problem of training and

communication among sale force and top management. The problems were increasing

product and solution complexity, history of insufficient instructional design techniques,

poor communication between key personnel and no proof of training value without

impact measurements. The Challenge in front of ABC in Sale force training was to

Design and develop 72 hours of instructor-ready training content in 12 weeks, Create and

facilitate training for a diverse audience of channel partners, Gain buy-in from ABC

divisions reluctant to take time from their tight schedules to work with XYZ staff and

Design and deploy various methods of measuring Boot Camp’s impact on reseller

satisfaction, knowledge transfer, application of skills, and business results. For the very

same they designed the plan to - Take Boot camp from a typical conference-style event

with an emphasis on PowerPoint lectures to a high-impact, interactive training event,

Implement a comprehensive plan to track sales results, behavior change, knowledge

transfer and student satisfaction results in a detailed, quantifiable manner, Make XYZ’s

instructional designers available to give tips and suggestions to ABC presenters

accustomed to finalizing materials at the last minute, Institute efficiencies to leverage

course content and design across ABC divisions, Promote interactivity, games, and role-

plays during training sessions.

In second case the finding was directed towards the very untraditional use of SPIN

technique in sales force development. The basic motto of the company given here called

as NEW Consulting (name changed), is to focus on increasing the sales by improving

sales performance by giving research based analysis on SPIN technique. The NEW



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Consulting a started investigating the process of creating major sales, with a view to

defining once and for all the skills used by the most effective sales professionals. They

tried best way to apply Science to Major Sale’s activities. The main objective of this

study was to optimize Sales skills with SPIN and not surprisingly, this invaluable

research has been turned into a training program, which gives all sales professionals the

opportunity to optimize their performance by adopting the SPIN Success Model. An

overview of the SPIN Selling Skills program is overleaf followed by a summary of some

of the key research findings. For this study as target audience researchers chosen any

employees involved in the sale of goods or services, which are seen as high-value,

important decisions by the buyer. In addition to the obvious audience of sales executives

and sales managers, this program can be very beneficial to engineers, technical specialists

or sales support staff who are involved in the selling process or who may be exposed to

selling opportunities in the course of their work with customers. Ultimately SPIN

Research Highlighted the full, fascinating story of the research studies and the

development of the SPIN. Selling Skills model can be found in Making Major Sales,

written by Neil Rackham, founder of NEW Consulting. The finding were true with need

of today’s sale force training area to develop and they were like - All ‘needs’ are not the

same i.e. Conventional training treats all need statements as generic: ‘Find a need, meet

it and you have a sale.’ Yet common sense says that there is a clear difference between a

customers who complains, Conventional ‘probing’ does not work i.e. Probing (sales

jargon for asking questions) is supposed to uncover customer needs and to achieve this

Closed questions and Open questions hve to develop to know the customer. Also the

sales person must develop four types of questions, which are categorized by their

purpose: - Situation Questions – To gather background information and understand the

context of the sale, Problem Questions – To explore the customer’s dissatisfactions and

concerns, Implication Questions – That develop apparently isolated problems by

examining their ‘knock-on’ effect on other areas of the customer’s business, Need-payoff

Questions – That invite the customer to consider the benefits of solving his or her

problems and, having done so, to express an Explicit Need for a solution.





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organization is directly related to sale growth and sale growth relate to the performance

improvement of sale people of that organization.

Chapter 5. Recommendations

How to Create and Maintain Sales Training Results

1. Analyze and clearly identify the actual needs of both the organization and the

sales personnel

2. Develop training action plan and present it to management



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3. Find and/or design and develop criterion-referenced training material

4. Design comprehensive measurement and follow-up plan.

5. Select and train trainers.

6. Validate the program with pilot group.

7. Collect data, analyze these and adjust the program.

8. Implement the training program.

9. Monitor and enhance the program over long term.

Steps to Improve Sales Process Training

1. Win Management Support

2. Do Need Analysis

3. Present Training Action Plan

4. Design and Develop Training

5. Design Measurement and Follow Up

6. Select and Train Trainers

7. Validate With Pilot Group

8. Collect Data, analyze and Make Changes

9. Implement With Final Material

10. Monitor and Enhance

IDEA

WIN

MANAGEMENT

SUPPORT

DODESIGN

DESIGN AND

DEVELOP

TRAINING

YES

NO WIN: NO PROGRAM

MANAGEMENT REVIEW



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How to Write Effective Direct Mail Sales Letters

Ensure the message matches the needs of the target audience: - Does your offer of

products and/or services match the needs of the recipient? Don't make your pitch to a

company president if your message only applies to the marketing staff.



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Get to the point. If you begin your letter with general, hazy information - you risk

losing the reader. It's critical you make your point in those first few lines.

Be clear and concise.

Sell benefits, not features: - Many businesspersons love to list and discuss product

features. However, your potential customers want to know how he/she will benefit from

using the product. It's okay to list features, but also include the end-user benefits. For

example, a feature of the word processor is that it allows you to write and edit content

electronically, so you don't have to retype the entire page. The benefits are that it saves a

lot of time, and increases productivity.

Keep it personal and conversational: - Given today's access to current data, there is no

excuse for sending out form letters. Personalize each letter you send out in your direct

mail campaign. In terms of writing style, just write like you talk - and you're sure to make

a warm, genuine appeal to your reader.

Use letters to generate leads - not sales: - The goal of a direct-mail letter is to generate

a response, not a sale -whether it is a return mail card, a fax, email, phone call, or fax.

The purpose is to open doors - the sale is the next separate and distinct step in the

process.

Write at a grade-school level: - Studies have shown that most of us read at an eighth-

grade level. Avoid big words to make the letter easily understood. You can be technical if

you choose, but simplify your language as much as possible.

Postscript (P.S.) is your friend: - Case studies indicate that the typical letter recipient's

eye moves down the page to the P.S. before they read everything in the letter! Try to

restate your proposition in the P.S.

Use white space: - Readers are often turned off by large gobs of text. Try to use short

paragraphs and bullets and/or numbered lists. Give the reader some breathing room!



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Keep it to one page: - Most presidents, purchasing agents, plant engineers, and other

decision makers are very busy people. Make your point, sell the benefits, make it easy to

read - and keep it to one page.

Make a "no-risk" offer: - Offer the recipient something - and make it no risk. Offer free

information, an article, some industry tips, free tutorial, or product sample.

Create a deadline: -Whether there is a real deadline or one you create, make one.

Usually, a deadline increases the rate of responses because of the limited amount of time

to act.

Call to action: - Ask and ye shall receive . . . Why not ask for the order? "Call our toll-

free number, 800-555-SALES, for a free consultation".

Use postage reply mail: -Include a business reply card for better response. Make sure it

has pre-paid postage. Don't lose an inquiry for the cost of a single stamp.

Include a guarantee: - If you can offer a guarantee - be it your follow-up, delivery,

customer service, or pricing - do it. By offering a guarantee, you offer integrity and

credibility to your products/services.

Include testimonials: - Nothing speaks louder for your product or services than a

satisfied end user. However, if you use names and companies, make sure you get a signed

authorization from them.

Tips for Maximizing Your Sales Letter Response - Susan Ward, About.com

1. Send your sales letter to the right people

2. Personalize your sales letter



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3. Write different versions of your sales letter for different segments of your target

market. 4. Include an order form with your sales letter

5. Don’t include fancy graphics in your sales letter.

6. Don’t use mailing labels on your sales letter envelopes

7. Don’t put teaser copy on your envelopes

8. Send out a repeat mailing two or three weeks later

9. Put your sales letter on the Web

10. Be realistic about the response rates your sales letter may generate

Armed with these tips, you should be well on your way to conducting a successful sales

letter campaign. Direct marketing is still one of the most effective marketing strategies

out there – as long as you send the right sales letter to the right people the right way.

Tips to Voicemail Survival for the Sales Professional - From Mark Hunter,

for About.com

1. If your goal is to get the phone call returned, don’t leave information that would

allow the person to make up their mind. Add a call-to-action to your message by

providing a key date or something of interest that will encourage the person to

return the call. You have to create a reason for them to call you back.

2. Repeat your phone number twice. If the person can’t quickly write your number

down, you’ve given them a perfect reason to not call back.

3. Avoid asking ask the person to call you back at a certain time. This provides them

with an excuse not to call you.



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4. Never state in the message that you will plan to call them back. Again, this only

gives the person an excuse to ignore your message.

5. Messages left on a Friday afternoon are the least likely to be returned. For most

people, Monday mornings are very busy and, as a result, only high–priority

activities will get their immediate attention.

6. Do not leave voicemail messages at odd hours of the night. Most voicemail

systems offer a time stamp and the person hearing the message will immediately

suspect you really did not want to talk to them.

7. The best hours to leave voicemail messages are from 6:45 AM to 8:00 AM and

from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Aggressive people are usually working during these

time periods, and the person receiving your message could potentially view you

as one.

8. Wisely use time zone changes to make as many calls as possible during the

optimal voicemail periods listed in the previous tip.

9. Voicemail messages are an excellent way to introduce you to a person. Be

personable, yet professional, and link your message to something of interest to the

person you are calling (such as another person or event). The recipient may view

your message as a waste of time if you have no purpose other than getting your

name in front of them.

10. When leaving a message with multiple points, be sure to immediately disclose

how many you will be making. This will prevent the recipient from accidentally

fast-forwarding or deleting it before it is completely heard.

11. If you can’t say it briefly, don’t say it at all. Voicemail is not “story time”.

Leaving a long message is an invitation to have the entire message skipped. The

optimal voicemail message is between 8 and 14 seconds.

12. When leaving your phone number, do not leave your website address as well.

This will give the person an opportunity to make a decision about you without

calling you back.

13. Leave a “PS” at the end of your message. A “PS” is a very quick, additional piece

of information that will connect with the person.



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14. Mention the person’s first name at least twice in the message, but don’t use their

last name. Doing so comes across as very impersonal.

15. Refer to a mutual acquaintance in your message as a way of connecting with the

recipient. (Caution: Make sure they think positively of that person!).

Cold Calling Tips - Ari Galper, for About.com and by Susan Ward, About.com

1) Focus on the goal when cold calling

2) Research your markets and prospects

3) Prepare an opening statement for your cold call

4) What should be in the opening statement of your cold call 5) Prepare a script for the

rest of your cold call

6) Ask for an appointment at a specific time when cold calling

7) Remember that gatekeepers are your allies not your foes

8) Smooth the way for your cold call by sending prospects a small, unique promotional

item.

9) Do your cold calling early in the morning, if possible

10) Be persistent when cold calling

To Attract Attention, You have to Show Off - C.J. Hayden, for About.com

Writing articles - Putting your expertise in writing and sharing it with publications your

target audience reads is a powerful -- and very professional -- way to let more people



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know about your unique talents. Submit your articles to both print publications and web

sites that serve your niche and watch your visibility grow.

Public speaking - Appearing as a speaker allows you to broadcast your expertise with

three different audiences -- the people who attend your talk, the people who are invited

by the sponsoring organization but can't attend, and the people you tell about it before

and after. If standing in front of a room makes you too nervous, serve on a panel of

experts instead. You'll get to sit behind a table and speak from notes.

Media interviews - Being interviewed by magazines, newspapers, or on radio and

television can spread the word quickly about your capabilities. Landing interviews is not

that hard to do if you remember to start small. Begin by approaching easy targets like

association newsletters, neighborhood newspapers, and local cable programs or talk

radio.

Telling stories - One of the secrets to effective articles, talks, and interviews is to tell

stories about your clients. When you describe their challenges and accomplishments, you

reveal the value of your role in helping them without having to boast about it. You can

use the same technique in a client presentation to boost your credibility without being

arrogant.

Testimonials - Whenever you do a good job for a client, ask them to write you a simple

thank you note describing what you did to make them happy. Then make their words

available on your web site, brochure, or other marketing materials. Let them tell others

about your value, and you won't have to say it yourself.

Building a portfolio - It's not just artists that should capture their best work to show off

in a portfolio. You can collect photos, examples, and other evidence of your

accomplishments and display them on your web site, in a marketing kit, or with a

PowerPoint presentation. You don't have to sell people on your abilities when they are

seeing for themselves what you can do.



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Creating products - Packaging your work into merchandise that prospective clients can

take home and sample gives them a compelling way to discover your real value. Products

like e-books, white papers, and audio recordings allow you to showcase your expertise

and increase your credibility. They can often be advertised more widely than your

services can, giving you another avenue for getting your name known.

Ways to Stop "Selling" and Start Building Relationships - From Ari

Galper, for About.com

New Thinking = New Results: Maybe it's time to take a different approach. Maybe we

need to seriously analyze our sales thinking so we can identify why we're not making

more sales. Take a look at the table below and think about your current selling mindset.

How would your selling behaviors change if you changed your sales thinking?

Traditional Sales Mindset: Always deliver a strong sales pitch. New Sales Mindset:

Stop the sales pitch -- and start a conversation. Traditional Sales Mindset: Your central

objective is always to close the sale.

New Sales Mindset: Your central goal is always to discover whether you and your

potential client are a good fit. Traditional Sales Mindset: When you lose a sale, it's

usually at the end of the sales process. New Sales Mindset: When you lose a sale, it's

usually right at the beginning of the sales process. Traditional Sales Mindset: Rejectionis a normal part of selling.

New Sales Mindset: Sales pressure is the only cause of rejection. Rejection should never

happen. Traditional Sales Mindset: Keep chasing every potential client until you get a

yes or a no. New Sales Mindset: Never chase a potential client -- you'll only trigger more

sales pressure. Traditional Sales Mindset: When a prospect offers objections, challenge

and/or counter them.

New Sales Mindset: When a potential client offers objections, uncover the truth behind

them. Traditional Sales Mindset: If a potential client challenges the value of your

product or service, you must defend yourself and explain the value. New Sales Mindset:

Never defend yourself or what you have to offer -- it only creates more sales pressure.



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Let's take a closer look at this central Unlock the GameT concepts so you can begin to

open up your current sales thinking and become more effective in your selling activities:

Stop the sales pitch -- and start a conversation.

Your central goal is always to discover whether you and your potential client are a good

fit.

When you lose a sale, it's usually right at the beginning of the sales process.

Sales pressure is the only cause of rejection. Rejection should never happen.

Never chase a potential client--you'll only trigger more sales pressure.

When a potential client offers objections, uncover the truth behind them.

Never defend yourself or what you have to offer -- it only creates more sales pressure.

How to Create a Powerful Sales Presentation - Kelley Robertson, for About.com

1. Make the presentation relevant: One of the most common mistakes people make is

to use a generic presentation. They say the same thing in every presentation and hope that

something in their presentation will appeal to the prospective customer. I have been

victim to this approach more times than I care to remember having been subjected to

many “canned” PowerPoint presentations.

2. Create a connection between your product/service and the prospect: In a

presentation to a prospective client, I prepared a sample of the product they would

eventually use in their program. After a preliminary discussion, I handed my prospect the

item his team would be using – instead of telling him about the item, I placed it in his

hands. He could then see exactly what the finished product would look like and examine



96

it in detail. He was able to ask questions and see how his team would use it in their

environment. Also, remember to discuss the benefits of your products, not the features.

Tell your customer what they will get by using your product versus your competitors.

3. Get to the point: Today’s business people are far too busy to listen to long-winded

discussions. Know what your key points are and learn how to make them quickly. I

remember talking to a sales person who rambled at great length about his product. After

viewing his product and learning how much it would cost I was prepared to move ahead

with my purchase. Unfortunately, he continued talking and he almost talked himself out

of the sale. Make sure you know what key points you want to discuss and practice

verbalizing them before you meet with your prospect.

4. Be animated: The majority of sales presentations I have heard have been boring and

unimaginative. If you really want to stand out from the crowd make sure you demonstrate

enthusiasm and energy. Use voice effectively and vary your modulation. A common

mistake made when people talk about a product they are very familiar with is to speak in

a monotone - causing the other person to quickly lose interest in your presentation. I

recommend using a voice recorder to tape your presentation. This will allow you to hear

exactly what you sound like as you discuss your product. I must profess to being

completely humiliated when I first used this tactic. As a professional speaker, I thought

all my presentations were interesting and dynamic – I soon learned that my stand-up

delivery skills were much better than my telephone presentation skills.

5. Use showmanship: In The Sales Advantage, an example is given of a vending sales

person laying a heavy sheet of paper on the floor, saying, “If I could show you how that

space could make you some money, would you be interested?” Consider the impact of

this approach compared to the typical approach of saying something like, “We can helpyou make more money.” What can you do to incorporate some form of showmanship into

your presentation?



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6. Use a physical demonstration: A friend of mine sells sales training; he often uses the

whiteboard or flipchart in the prospect’s boardroom during his presentation. Instead of

telling his client what he will do, he stands up and delivers a short presentation. He writes

down facts and figures, draws pictures, and records certain comments and statements

from the discussion. This approach never fails to help his prospect make a decision.

7. Lastly, believe in your product/service: Without doubt, this is the most critical

component of any presentation. When you discuss solutions, do you become more

animated and energetic? Does your voice display excitement? Does your body language

exhibit your enthusiasm? If not, you need to change your approach. After all, if you can’t

get excited about your product, how can you expect your customer to become motivated

enough to buy?

Improve Your Negotiation Skills to Improve Your Bottom Line

From © Kelley Robertson, for About.com

1) Learn to flinch: The flinch is one of the oldest negotiation tactics but one of the least

used. A flinch is a visible reaction to an offer or price. The objective of this negotiation

tactic is to make the other people feel uncomfortable about the offer they presented. Here

is an example of how it works.

2) Recognize that people often ask for more than they expect to get: This means you

need to resist the temptation to automatically reduce your price or offer a discount. I once

asked for a hefty discount on a pair of shoes hoping to get half of what I asked for. I was

pleasantly surprised when the shop owner agreed to my request.

3) The person with the most information usually does better: You need to learn as

much about the other person's situation. This is a particularly important negotiation tactic

for sales people. Ask your prospect more questions about their purchase. Learn what is





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In entire industry of FMCG, sales force is key working force for them and constitutes to

large amount of population in industry. The availability of trained sales force is

expectation of any FMCG player, which is ideal case.

After studying the entire area sales force training I realized there are immense ways forsales force training through which sales force effectiveness can be proven. In sector

FMCG, during my study of Sales Force Training, I took sample of 30 veteran of this

field, as my sample size. In that I overall study takes into account almost all the practices

to be followed by any HR trainer during training of Sales person I studied.

Considering expansion of FMCG is India there is not enough work has been done to

develop sales force. The foreign players are settling their training issue in varied ways but

there is less growth in training for them in India. Through my questionnaire I realized that

sales force posses inadequate qualities, required for developing business, which can be

imparted to them through training.

There is also huge gap existing between kind training they supposed to get and what they

are getting at the end result of any training program. Selling and negotiation on basis of

price, place, product and packaging is necessary factor for sales person, is missing out of

person who is actually dealing with everyday. Thus more and more inclusion and

evaluation of same as in training content is becoming necessity.

Also getting relevant training on time is need of the hour for all population sale force

otherwise a huge loss in business can become truth for given FMCG organization. People

who are veteran in field of sales has to be given a chance to design the training module

for new or aspiring sales executive, is one of the critical finding.

Here I tried to throw some light on various wayas of training and training areas where

one needs to improve himself/ herslf. These areas are so critical which can either (if it is

strong) can lead to wining of sales deal or lead to loss of huge sales deal which may be

because of repeat customer or new customer (in case weak). These are the key areas for

any sales person, which has to get improve at any cost. If person is not good say

listening, cold calling skil and he is in sales force, it is very serious for any company in



100

FMCG sector and in general. Thus to stay updated with thess skill is highly critical for

one in sales force.

The above all are key finding based conclusion I made and is very relevant as per the

limitatin of study is concerned.

Appendix



101

Questionnaire 1.

INSTRUCTIONS

Symbol Meaning Personal Detail


Name of the

Organization

D Disagree Exp.

N Neutral Designation

A Agree

SA Strongly Agree

QUESTIONNAIRE

SD D N A

1 Sales as function is highly important in FMCG company for its businessdevelopment

2Sales is one function which actually act like barometer of growth ofFMCG organization

3

Sales is function on which everyone in organization directly or indirectly

dependent and related and it have grip on other funtion

4

I like most about my JOB - On the job learning, Performance Incentive,Link of Sales directly on business - are the things which (add anything

else)

5I hate most about my JOB - Kind of Training, Heightened imporatnce ofTargets, Contigencies

6I carry all kinds of qualities required to perform my Sales Job in todayshighly dynamic setup

7I received all kind of relevant training at my work place in my tenur tilltime

8I feel teher is Gap exist in training quality and quantity I received here atworkplace

9I can tackle any kind of situation with customer by my Selling and Negotion skills

10 I need training whenever I go for new territory sales assignment

11Trainer who designed training must attian sales stint for that territory and product

12 Most of the time without taking relevant training I get Sales Assignment

13As a salesperson I can work in different department/ position in my FMCGorganization

14 I carry stress all the time , whenever I am working on any Sales Assignmentat any Location, on any Product

15On Time Target completion & hence Time Management Skills areimportant for me

16Getting relevant training on time can add value in bottom line of company

from my side

17Practical experience in sales, made me so exposed, I can design training fornew entrants



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18I feel responsible for faults/ loss at work just because of lack of training insome area

19Receiving training on listening, presentation, cold-calling, speaking and product is my right and essential ingredient of success on field.

Questionnaire 2

Instructions

Symbol Meaning


D Disagree

N Neutral

A Agree

SA Strongly Agree

Personal Details

Name of the Organization

Experience in (Months)

Designation

Competencies and Skil ls Sets Required

SD D N A SA

1. The Competencies required for Sales are more of Generic

nature rather than Specialist

2.The skill sets and competencies requirement are vary with

every new location and person of Sales

3. The good interpersonal skill add high amount of energy add

value in Selling Volume

4. The actual scenario is always differs and use of competencies

and skills for each situation gets mould as per situating

Training For Sales Force

SD D N A SA

5. Genuine need of training on day-to-day basis always exist in

FMCG Org

6. Cross functional training is necessary for Sales people



103

7. Conducting Simulation exercise - which is On-the- Job

training can be very enhancing way to training Sales force of

FMCG

8. Product training with all kinds of variation in it is essential for

Sales Force9. Situation-Problem-Implication-Need (SPIN) type of

questioning and training on same not appropriate most time

10. Communication Skill and listening are most important

training one should get on Sales

11. Good presentation & Grooming understanding of dressing

sense - know-how in FMCG Sales force have to be part of

Training Content

12. Conducting Assessment Centre is one way we can get

judgmental criteria on capability of Sales Person

13. Netiquette do play an important role in sales force

effectiveness

14. Voicemail and Cold Calling training to all Sales force is new

phenomenon to improve and add-up in Sales volume

References



104

Books:

1. ASTD Handbook on Training and Development

2. V.N. Srivastava and Girdgar J. Gyani, RPH Publishsing House, Training Manual

on Human Resource Management and Organizational Learning

3. Dayal, Ishwar, Mannagement Training in Organizations, Prentic

4. Human Resources Development: Vocational Guidance and Vocational Training:

Eighth Item on the Agenda - By International Labour Office

5. Martyn Sloman, A Handbook for Training Strategy

6. Dave O'Reilly, Lynne Cunningham, Stan Lester,Developing the Capable

Practitioner: professional capability through higher education

7. Eduardo Salas, Clint A. Bowers, Eleana Edens, Improving Teamwork

Organizations P: Applications of Resource Management Training

8. Dolmatch ”Evolution of training ”, American Management Association, 1962

9. Hackett p,”Introduction to training”, University Press of India ,1997

10. Ishwar dayal , “Management training in organizations” ,Tata McGraw Hill,1970

11. Robert Brinkerhoff,” Achieving great results from training”, Jossey Bass,1987

12. Andrew Mayo,” Creating a training and development strategy”, Sage publication,

1968

13. Lynton Pareek,”Training for organization transformation” , Sage publication

,2000

14. Tony Hobbs,” Experiential training practical guidelines” ,Princeton publication

,1992

15. David Taylor ,”Training for change by sue bishop “Prentice Hall of India ,1986



Articles:

1. Mr. Prasad Sangameshwaran, ([email protected]),

“Striking a Poser” Article in Brand Equity part of Economic Times dated on

November 26, 2008 by.

2. “On the job training –a key to human resource development”, Library

management, 1999

3. “Manpower training and development”, Journal of management development,

1987.

4. Rk. Auluck,”Training and development’s changing role”, industrial and

commercial training, 2007.

Websites

1. www.intrepidls.com

2. [email protected]

3. Huthwaite International, Hoober House, Wentworth, and South Yorkshire S62

7SA, United Kingdom Email: [email protected] Website:

www.huthwaite.co.uk

4. ej4 LLC – (Just as needed, Just enough, Just in time, Just right) Woodcrest

Executive Drive St. Louis, MO 63141 http://www.ej4.com • [email protected]

5. http://marketing.about.com/od/salestipsandadvice/Sales Tips and Advice.htm

Documents

TISS Library - Training for Sales People