Chapter 10

•THE MANAGEMENT OF
SALES TRAINING AND
DEVELOPMENT
 What is Sales Training?
• Sales training is the effort an employer puts forth
to provide sales people job-related culture, skills,
knowledge, and attitudes that should result in
improved performance in the selling
environments.
• Re-engineering training:
• On-time training, one-on-one coaching, and
behavioral-change training are just some of the
strategies companies are applying to sales
training curricula across the country.
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 Purposes of Sales Training
• Increasing customer satisfaction.
• Helping salespeople become managers.
• Orienting new salespeople to the job.
• Improving knowledge in areas such as product,
company, competitors, or selling skills.
• Lowering absenteeism and turnover.
• Positively influencing attitudes in such areas as
job satisfaction.

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 Purposes 2:
• Lowering selling costs.
• Informing salespeople.
• Obtaining feedback from salespeople.
• Increasing sales in a particular product or
customer category.

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 FIGURE 10.1 A SALES TRAINING MODEL – DETERMINE HOW TO EVALUATE
TRAINING WHEN PLANNING

P la n n in g O rg a n iz in g S ta ffin g D ire c tin g E v a lu a tio n

P hase P hase P hase P hase P hase

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 Phase 1:
• The first step when developing or maintaining an
ongoing sales training program is assessing
needs.
• Needs assessment entails determining the training
needs of the sales force and setting objectives for
satisfying those needs.

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 ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS

• Four principles ensure a successful training

effort:
• Value
• Focus
• Mass
• Duration
• A difficulty analysis uncovers and analyzes
problems salespeople experience.

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 SALES PERSONNEL ANALYSIS

• The behavioral objectives identify the goals of

the training program for both the trainer and the
trainee.
• Customer Analysis:
• Incorporate “the voice of the customer.”

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MAKING THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

This requires the following sequence:

1. Identify the requirements of the position.

2. Determine the difference between performance
objectives and results.
3. Determine why a difference exists.
4. Revise the training program (if needed).

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MAKING THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT continued

This requires the following sequence:

5. Develop training objectives.

6. Conduct the training program.
7. Evaluate the training program.
8. Revise the training program (if needed).

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 FIGURE 10.2 REVISION OF TRAINING PROGRAM BASED ON NEEDS
ASSESSMENT

Jo b D e s c r i p t i o n T r a i n i n g O b je c t iv e s

Jo b O b je c t i v e s T ra in in g R e v is io n T ra in in g P ro g ra m

Jo b E v a lu a t io n T ra in in g E v a lu a tio n

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 SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR
DETERMINING TRAINING NEEDS
• Questionnaires.
• Interviews.
• Tests given during meetings for diagnostic
purposes.
• Direct observation in the field.
• Analyses of sales, profits, and activity
reports.

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 Salesperson Analyses:
• Failure analysis determines the reasons
low-performing salespeople fail to achieve
their sales goals.
• Success analysis is used to identify factors
that appear to make salespeople successful.
• Exit interviews determine attitudes toward
the job.

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 PHASE TWO: ORGANIZING FOR
SALES TRAINING
• Training objectives to be accomplished.
• Number of trainees.
• Trainer’s experience.
• Each salesperson’s understanding of the
subject matter.

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 Technology in Training
• Interactive multimedia training.
• Electronic performance support system.
• High-tech customer service.
• Distance learning.

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PHASE TWO: ORGANIZING FOR
SALES TRAINING continued
• Each trainee’s ability to learn and past
experience.
• Training materials available.
• The costs per trainee of each method.
• Extent of pre-session assignments.

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 Training Techniques
• ROLE PLAYING
• In role playing the trainee acts out an event such
as the sale of a good or service to a hypothetical
buyer.
• On-the-Job (OJT) Training
• The best and most frequently used training takes
place on the job.

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 Learning Curves
• The shape of the learning curve indicates the
extent to which the rate of learning increases,
levels off, or decreases with or without training
and practice.
• Here’s where hiring bright people pays off.
• Nevertheless, there is always a learning curve
and it varies by type of topic/skill required.

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 Phases of “usage”
• Salespeople go through three phases of “usage”
before true behavioral changes occur as a result
of training.
1. Awkward usage.
2. Conscious usage.
3. Natural usage.

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 Plateaus in learning:

• The rate of learning change will be influenced by

factors such as:
• The nature of the material itself.
• The manner in which the material is
presented.
• Time intervals between training.
• The extent of follow-up and OTJ training.
• The trainee’s attitude toward learning.
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 Where to Train:
• Centralized training.
• Decentralized training.

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 When to Train:
• Training begins the first day of work.
• It continues throughout the career.
• Sales meetings serve as important training
methods.

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 Phase 3: Staffing for Training
• Corporate staff trainers.
• Sales force personnel.
• Outside training specialists.

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Phase 4: DIRECTING THE SALES
TRAINING EFFORT
TRAINING CULTURE
Sales culture is the set of key values, ideas, beliefs,
attitudes, customs, and other capabilities and
habits shared or acquired as a sales group
member.
Support from the top is absolutely essential. This is
a leadership role for management.

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PHASE FIVE: SALES TRAINING
EVALUATION
1. Determine what should be measured.
2. Determine the information collection
method.
3. Determine the measurement methods.
4. Analyze the data, determine the results, and
draw conclusions for making
recommendations.

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 What to Evaluate
Components to measure:
• Reactions
• Learning
• Behavior
• OTJ results

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 Groups to Evaluate
• Program
• Presenter
• Trainees
• OTJ results

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What should be the information collection
method?

1. Questionnaires
2. Interviews
3. Tests
4. Observation
5. Company data

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 The Bottom Line:
• Effective sales training provides the foundation for an
effective sales force.
• A director of a sales training program can divide the
program into five equally important phases.
• Planning the sales training program, step one, involves
determining the sales force’s training needs and
establishing objectives to meet these needs.
• After the plans have been made, the next step is
organizing the program.
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