11 Ways to Make Sales Training Stick

3. DELIVER CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION FROM THE TOP

Sales leadership—extending all the way up to the CSO—must be committed to the training initiative, and a consistent message should be articulated organization-wide so that expectations are uniform.

According to Toman, organizations must “have a narrative around why they are trying to do things differently.” Sales professionals should understand exactly why they are being encouraged to adopt the proposed behaviors, and what they mean on a grand scale to the organization.

“Sales leaders have to be on board in delivering the right messaging—the change message,” Grodnitzky explains. That is, “why are we doing this, what do we want to see and what are the outcomes we’re looking for, and how do we connect that to the strategy of the organization?”

4. CUSTOMIZE ACCORDING TO SKILL LEVEL

Each rep will bring to the process her own strengths and weaknesses. It’s a mistake to assume that each rep is at the same level or requires attention in the same areas.

Grodnitzky says that many organizations today, for instance, have “multigenerational workforces,” consisting of different age groups used to particular ways of working. Younger employees might thrive in social selling techniques, but struggle when it comes to calling prospects on the phone and addressing the appropriate points of conversation. Similarly, older reps might find it hard to regularly use their CRM systems. These disparities need to be taken into account.

Reps should be made aware of their own strengths and weaknesses early on, Grodnitzky says, so they know how they stack up and what they need to work on.

Richardson and other sales coaching services provide skill assessment tests and tools that enable individuals to figure out their strengths and weaknesses according to the competencies the organization has outlined.

5. REQUIRE COACHING FOR MANAGERS, TOO

Sales managers should also be involved in the sales training process, experts agree. “Sales managers are the force multipliers in any organization,” Grodnitzky says. “If you are undergoing some kind of performance improvement or sales training initiative, you absolutely have to include your managers on that journey.”

“If a company is looking to change a sales approach, the most important person in the entire formula is the sales manager,” Toman adds. “You have to get them on board with the behavior change.”

Sales managers must know what their reps are being taught and learn the common language so they can communicate about the same things. “If we’ve got sales 2.0 sales force reporting to sales 1.0 management, we’ve got a problem,” Dickie says. “We’ve got to be giving managers the coaching skills that they need to go out and work with reps.”

When reps gets stuck, they’ll often look to a manager for advice on how to move a deal forward, and if the manager is giving them tips that conflict with what they are being encouraged to do in training, they’ll likely drop those behaviors and follow the manager’s lead.

Because sales managers have often reached their current standing thanks to their own selling achievements, it’s likely they must also undergo special training programs—to become better at coaching others.

In fact, Grodnitzky argues that it is often the case that sales managers need more coaching than reps. “What made them good at sales won’t necessarily make them good as a sales manager,” Grodnitzky says. “You’ve got to teach them on how to do developmental coaching, how to improve people’s behaviors, and it’s not an easy skill: I actually think it’s harder for managers to learn and change their behaviors than it is for salespeople, because they were rewarded in the past for doing exactly what they’ve always done, and based on their selling skills got promoted to a manager.”

Dickie jokes that during an interview with the head of sales enablement at one company, he mentioned that 80 percent of the training budget goes to salespeople and about 20 percent goes to managers, but that he was tempted to reverse it. And Toman points out an extreme case in which Xerox trained sales managers for a year before rolling out the training for sales reps.

Related Articles

LevelEleven Adds Metrics-Driven Tools to its Sales Activity Management

The new tools aim to help sales organizations develop strategies around key performance indicators.

Xactly Sharpens its Sales Performance Management Tool Set

The enhancements enable managers to coach their sales reps in alignment with company goals, and adjust compensation plans according to industry best practices.