How By Answering These Three Questions Can Dramatically Improve Sales Training
How By Answering These Three Questions Can Dramatically Improve Sales Training
Yet this same organization and many others who research the benefits of training and development continue to suggest that training delivers less than 5% positive results to the bottom line. In other words, most training becomes a liability, a cost instead of being an actual investment.
Sales training programs are no exception. Research within those who are involved in selling suggests that up to 50% of all leads are not followed up. Additionally, 90% of all sales professionals make no more than four contacts with a potential customer even though 80% of all sales are earned between the fifth and twelfth contacts. Most sales managers to CEO to even those who deliver training when questioned about this research would eventually have to admit the rationale for existing learning needs to be re-examined.
So this leads to answering these three critical questions:
Identifying the desired results up front seems like everyday common sense. However, from my experiences in working with my continuous business process improvement and sales coaching clients this is not necessarily true. Also, the results should be measurable so that they can be easily tracked. If the result is to increase the number of sales with an existing client, then both the number and the value along with the profitability of those results need to be tracked along with the sales professional’s time to achieve this goal.
Finally, existing curriculum within the Human Resource or any proposed sales training problem needs to include attitude and habit development. To improve attitudes and establish sustainable habits begins with infusing a proven goal achievement process into the existing sales and marketing plans. Performance assessments probably also need to be part of the answer to this question as well as reviewing exit interviews of past employees.
By answering these three questions, you can improve sales training programs and deliver a positive return on investment. Remember training, learning or professional development (whatever you call it) needs to be always considered an investment and not a cost if your organization or even yourself truly wishes to achieve the goal to increase sales.
How By Answering These Three Questions Can Dramatically Improve Sales Training - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
According to American Society of Training & Development (ASTD), in 2007 U.S. business invested over $134.39 billion dollars in training. This equates to almost $1,500 per employee.
Yet this same organization and many others who research the benefits of training and development continue to suggest that training delivers less than 5% positive results to the bottom line. In other words, most training becomes a liability, a cost instead of being an actual investment.
Sales training programs are no exception. Research within those who are involved in selling suggests that up to 50% of all leads are not followed up. Additionally, 90% of all sales professionals make no more than four contacts with a potential customer even though 80% of all sales are earned between the fifth and twelfth contacts. Most sales managers to CEO to even those who deliver training when questioned about this research would eventually have to admit the rationale for existing learning needs to be re-examined.
So this leads to answering these three critical questions:
- What is the real problem poor sales skills or something else?
- What results do you want this learning experience to deliver?
- How much emphasis do you place on sales skills when the obstacle to success is existing behaviors (attitudes and habits)?
Identifying the desired results up front seems like everyday common sense. However, from my experiences in working with my continuous business process improvement and sales coaching clients this is not necessarily true. Also, the results should be measurable so that they can be easily tracked. If the result is to increase the number of sales with an existing client, then both the number and the value along with the profitability of those results need to be tracked along with the sales professional’s time to achieve this goal.
Finally, existing curriculum within the Human Resource or any proposed sales training problem needs to include attitude and habit development. To improve attitudes and establish sustainable habits begins with infusing a proven goal achievement process into the existing sales and marketing plans. Performance assessments probably also need to be part of the answer to this question as well as reviewing exit interviews of past employees.
By answering these three questions, you can improve sales training programs and deliver a positive return on investment. Remember training, learning or professional development (whatever you call it) needs to be always considered an investment and not a cost if your organization or even yourself truly wishes to achieve the goal to increase sales.
How By Answering These Three Questions Can Dramatically Improve Sales Training - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
|||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
|||
Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Leanne's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | ||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
 |
 Entrepreneurship Or Job? Powerful Living Business Financing Pro-Forma Template Mental Imagery |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009 | |
 |
Top 50 Blogs For Startups
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||