Why Sales Training Fails

Sales organisations of all types spend a huge amount on training their sales people each year. Research shows, however, that most training has little impact in the long term. Here we look at what needs to be done to make sure training works - and the new generation of training approaches.

　

If you’ve ever wondered why your sales teams struggle to consistently achieve sales targets despite investment in sales training, development and management, you’re not alone.

Despite their best efforts most organisations are failing to achieve their full potential from sales training due to four main reasons;

1. Most sales training has at best a short-term effect on performance because of a failure to consistently implement, apply and reinforce what is learnt.

2. Sales managers (often top sales achievers themselves) lack a proven methodology to be truly effective at getting top performance from their sales team.

3. Salespeople often find it difficult to maintain the correct balance between prospecting, presenting, negotiating, closing and client nurturing which can lead to sales ‘feast and famine’ and lost opportunities.

4. Sales leaders and managers find it hard to run sales meetings and sales training sessions that are relevant, motivational, and impactful for both highly experienced and inexperienced salespeople at the same time.

So how do sales leaders address these critical issues of skill and knowledge if 'traditional' sales training approaches simply can't offer the level of flexibility and interaction needed to embed learning?

The answer lies in designing and providing a new generation of development toolkits which sales managers can use with their teams. These toolkits can give the manager total flexibility to address the specific development needs of his or her team based on the situation at the time. In addition, they should provide the opportunity for a high degree of team interaction as well as best practice learning materials which can be delivered in a fun, energetic and bite sized fashion.

Global oil giant, Shell, amongst others, is at the forefront of using such systems to empower their field sales managers using a new system called 'The Sales Activator®'. The creators of The Sales Activator® say it has been specifically designed to address the critical shortcomings of 'traditional' sales training. It's a self contained system which gives the sales manager the tools, framework and learning content to take charge of their sales team's development on an ongoing basis.

Commenting on Shell's experience of using The Sales Activator® to overcome the weaknesses of sales training, Elza Muller - Learning and Development Manager at Shell - says; "People learn without realising and get the added benefit of learning from additional input from delegates who have years of experience. It can be done as and when there is a team meeting - no extra resource is required. The coaching role can be shared across teams, within teams spreading the skill of coaching [and] the business manager is present dealing with the system and context issues around training."

Why is a Salesperson like a Refrigerator?

Let me ask, have you heard the joke about the light being on inside the fridge? You know, where you were asked to open the door of the fridge and voila, the light was on. Now I know you know the light only comes on when you open the door. But the refrigerator is always on! It has to be to do its job.

Top sales professionals, like fridges, are always "on". This is especially true for those who need to prospect to find new clients.

One individual I know worked many years as an electrician for a major U.S. automobile manufacturer. At the suggestion of a good friend, he decided to pursue a sales career in the financial services industry. This was a pretty major change in vocation; he went from dealing with watts and volts to handling people’s investment and insurance needs.

Was he a success? Well, in his first full year he shot up to becoming the top rep in North America for his company. To prove he was not a one hit wonder, he repeated this feat his second year, and yes, the third year too! To this day, he remains one of the top reps with his company.

So how did an electrician, now a salesman, become so successful? If you ask this modest man, he will say "It's simple really, you do the best you can for your client, and you always have to be on."

To meet this gentleman, you would know someone with an insatiable appetite for learning. He wanted to know everything he could about financial planning and the products he represented. He was a keen student of his sales manager and a constant observer of the successful reps around him. He was a sponge.

One day, I asked him what he meant when he said being "on". He told me "To be successful I have to meet a lot of new people. I have to be able to tell them quickly what it is I do and how I can help them." He went on to say, "I look at everyone as an opportunity." "When I go to the super-market I look for the longest line and stand in it, I know I’ll have a chance to strike up a conversation with the person in front of me, and the person who comes behind me." Talk about captive audience.

I marvelled at one story he told me about when he went shopping for a bed cover and pillows. After he completed his purchase he thought, "I've done business with you, you should do business with me." He proceeded to book an appointment with the sales clerk who had sold him his pillows. He also asked if she would introduce him to her manager and the other sales clerks. He left the store that day with five appointments booked in his day timer.

Why? Because he was always "on".

Top sales people maintain a laser like focus combined with a strong desire to succeed.

Don't be as cold as a refrigerator, but do think about being "on" all the time.