The Truth on Sales Training
It has been said that 80% of sales training programs are of no value 6-12 months after the program was delivered. Who is to blame, the training company or the client? It can be both. If your sales training consultant does not spend the preparation time understanding your business, your sales cycle, and your clients, the program will be a flop. Fine-tuning a program to your sales environment is critical to providing long-term value. It is also paramount that management support the program being delivered. Without that support, the training will not bring the change that was expected. Any skill acquired during a training event must have a follow-up program for it to become effective.
Sales training events are like a golf lesson. They both develop a new approach to something you want to get better at. For sales people, it can be a better way of listening and asking questions; for the golfer, it can be to eliminate a slice. My golf pro usually recommends students get to the range at least three days a week to reinforce what they are taught. My problem is that I don’t get to the range for that reinforcement, so what was the point of the lesson? It’s not the pro’s fault that my slice persists. The same is true in sales training. Unless there is practice and use of the new skills on sales calls, the impact of the training fades and old habits take over once again. Reinforcement is critical. If there is no effort to change, there will be no change. Management must support the training they have delivered to their teams and encourage the changes needed to bring improvement and success!