Determining Training Needs*

Judgment of:

Top Management

Sales ManagementTraining Department

Interview With:

Salespeople

Customers

68%

73%

60%

59%

25%

*Percent of firms indicating they often use these assessments to determine training needs.

Source: Robert Erffmeyer, K. Russ, and Joseph Hair, “Needs Assessment and Evaluation in Sales Training Programs,” Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 11,1 (Winter, 1991), p. 21.

Sales Training Objectives

• Increase productivity

• Improve morale

• Lower turnover

• Improve customer relations

• Improve selling skills

Sales Training Topics

• Product or service knowledge• Market/Industry orientation • Company orientation• Selling skills• Time and territory management• Legal and ethical issues• Technology• Specialized topics

Product Knowledge Topics

• Critical information for rational decision-making

– Company’s product specifications– Common product uses/misuses

• Competitive products comparison on – Price– Construction– Performance– Compatibility

• Technical products require more time on product knowledge training

Market/Industry Orientation Topics

• Industry fit into overall economy• Knowledge of industry and economy• Economic fluctuations that affect buying behavior

and require adaptive selling techniques• Customers' buying policies, patterns and

preferences in light of competition• Customers' customers needs• Wholesaler and retailer needs

Company Orientation Topics

• Company polices that affect their selling activities– Personnel– Structure– Benefits

• Handling customer requests for price adjustments, product modifications, faster delivery, different credit terms

• Sales manuals– Hard copy, online– Product information– Company policy information

Time and Territory Management

• Sales trainees need to learn to manage time and territories

• Time spent training out of the field is costly• 80/20 rule applies:

– 20% of the customers account for

– 80% of the business and

– Require the same proportion of time and attention

Legal/Ethical Issues

• Federal law dictates corporate action or avoidance of action in areas of marketing, sales and pricing

• Sales personnel need to understand the federal, state and local laws that constrain their selling activities

• Statements made by salespeople carry both legal and ethical implications

• Lapses in ethical conduct often lead to legal problems

10.3 Ethics Training Part of Sales Training

• Insurance industry suffers bad reputation of unethical behavior

• Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA) created in response

• IMSA certification requires– Ensuring salespeople pursue ethical practices– Ethical practices training for all agents and staff– Administering an exam for all sales professionals

Source: IMSA, www.imsaethics.org, Fall 2007.

Technology

• Notebook computers– Presentations– Connecting to company intranet or extranet – Delivering documentation quickly and accurately

• Home offices eliminate the need to go to another office• Salesperson can be almost totally self-sufficient with

– High-speed network connection– Computer – Printer – Cell phone

• Effective computer use affords sales personnel more face-to-face customer contact time

• Effective use requires training

10.4 Internet Training

• Increased control over content

• Less costly

• Comprises 15-20% of all training today

• Expected to be 50% within 5 years

Specialized Training Topics

• Specialized, job-tailored training most effective

• Sample topics– Price negotiations– Trade show effectiveness– Reading body language– Addressing SCA

ALLOCATING TRAINING TIME

Average

• Product knowledge 35%

• Market/Industry Information 15

• Company Orientation 10

• Selling Techniques 30

• Other topics 10

Total 100%

10.6 Training Road Blocks

• Training can’t solve the problem• Busy, jaded salespeople are not open to learning new skills• Conflicting methods and philosophies are taught at each

session• The training isn’t relevant to the company’s pressing needs• The training format doesn’t fit the need• E-learning is overused, or used in wrong situations• There’s no follow-up after training• The trainer can’t relate to the sales team

Eighty percent of a new field salesperson’s training should be focused

on developing customer profiles, digging out account survey data, and

building working relationships in the field. Fifteen percent of his time

can then be invested in learning about how your product or service is

used by existing customers. The field is the place to gain product

knowledge, not from an engineer or home office instructor.

Only 5% of a new field salesperson’s time, then, should be spent on

developing selling skills. Again, the place to do this is face-to-face

with real customers: setting and testing real precall objectives and

asking for real opportunities to do business. Understanding what has

to be done to build selling skills can be mastered in 15 minutes. Doing

it takes years of actual, not simulated practice.

ON-THE-JOB SALES TRAINING

Table 11-5 Sales Training Evaluation Practices

Criteria ImportanceMeasure Type Rank

Trainee feedback Reaction 1Supervisory appraisal Behavior 2Self-appraisal Behavior 3Bottom-line measures Results 4Customer appraisal Behavior 5

1. Treat all employees as potential career employees.

2. Require regular re-training.

3. Spend time and money generously.

4. Salespeople and sales managers must take the lead in developing what goes into the program.

5. In times of crisis, increase, rather than decrease, the training program.

Building a Sales Training Program

Assess Setting Setting Training Objectives Budget Needs

Assess Setting Setting Training Objectives Budget Needs

What Where Training Trainers?Topics? to Train? Methods?

What Where Training Trainers?Topics? to Train? Methods?

Evaluating TrainingEvaluating Training

Follow-Up TrainingFollow-Up Training

Instructional Methods Used in Training

49%

50%

57%

63%

92%

Role Plays

Audio Tapes

Case Studies

Games/Simulations

Videotapes

Why Train Salespeople?

• Reduce turnover - high among new staff

• Improve customer relations

• Better morale & confidence

• Control - consistence message

• Increased sales