Sales Training Article: A Closer Look at Why Sales Training Fails
By John Holland & Frank Visgatis, Co-founders & Co-authors of CustomerCentric Selling®
The desire for immediate gratification has steadily increased its hold on our society. People seek results without wanting to expend the effort needed to achieve them. When a test reveals high cholesterol levels, medication rather than life style change is the more popular option. Liposuction has become an alternative to dieting. Oddly enough, The Biggest Loser's popularity may be a function of viewers being inspired by the efforts and sacrifices of participants who aren't merely "taking a pill."
Without realizing it, many companies expect miracles when contracting for sales training. They want increased revenue and better control of their pipelines, but the burden of achieving these results is mistakenly put on sales training vendors. How can a training organization facilitate improved sales results if management is unwilling to take ownership of that objective and commit the ongoing effort needed to modify the behavior of their sales staff?
Too often sales training is an event yielding limited short-term benefits that wane over time. The management team gets to "check a box" that training has been done, but 6 months later it is hard to remember exactly what the sales staff learned. In our experience there are seven (7) common reasons that contribute to disappointing results. They are pitfalls to achieving the desired return on a sales training investment.
No management commitment
How often do sales managers tell a person to attend sales training and upon their return ask what were the "1 or 2 keepers" they took away? If the manager has 8 salespeople what does it say if each keeper's list is different? Allowing sellers to choose from an a la carte menu of skills compromises efforts to institute best practices and makes managing a group of salespeople more difficult.
While it takes commitment and effort, a better approach would be for the management team to attend the training first, modify it to fit their selling environment and create the expectation that everyone will walk away with a common set of skills and approaches that should empower them to improve sales performance. This approach also allows sales managers to have a foundation from which to assess and develop their staff.
Marketing has no involvement in sales training
At some point tactical sales training should address the content or dialogue with buyers during sales calls. If a manager's 8 people attend training and leave with no guidance on positioning offerings, how can there be consist qualification of pipeline opportunities? Adding to the problem is the increasing number of buying cycles that start electronically. Unless Marketing has a way to standardize messaging it will be virtually impossible to synch their efforts with sales (or vice versa).
Training vs. behavior modification
Many organizations fail to decide if the desired outcome of sales training should be knowledge or skills. A person can read golf books for years, but learning to hit a golf ball properly requires professional coaching and practice. If someone has been selling for 5 or more years, knowledge of how to make calls differently will be of little help if they don't make the words come out of their lips during the training in role plays. After the training, managers (who have been through the course previously) can then coach their staff with each having a common skill set learned during the training session.
Generic training
We've all heard the term that one size does not fit all. Given a choice, the vast majority of salespeople would prefer not to attend sales training for two reasons:
- They think they already know how to sell
- They received minimal residual benefit from past training
When experienced sellers come to a workshop with a negative attitude, giving them reasons to conclude the training isn't relevant compromises what they'll take away. A trainer that lacks credibility or content that doesn't directly apply to the type of offering or environment the salespeople work in every day can be deadly. It is unreasonable to expect salespeople to "connect the dots." Selling situations vary greatly. Consider the differences between selling software versus hardware; a transactional versus a $400K sale; etc. Failure to customize or customize content accurately will compromise the student experience and ultimately the results achieved.
The training is not supported by internal software
One of the biggest barriers companies face with CRM software is acceptance by the sales staff. In the same way attendees reject sales training that isn't relevant, so it is with supporting the workflow of different types of transactions. According to a 2008 CSO Insights report, 68% of sales executive had no formal sales process. But for the 32% that claim to, how well do the milestones reflect the steps sellers must execute in a sale?
Many companies base their single set of milestones on large transactions. While better than having no milestones, consider how many different types of sales you may have. Beside large sales there can be many other types such as add-on business with existing clients, small transactions with a new accounts, renewals, professional services, maintenance, etc. I hope you would agree the steps in a major opportunity far exceed the steps in most other types of transactions. Failure to match required input with opportunity complexity is a step toward having CRM become "shelf ware."
Tying in deliverables with forecasting is a lynchpin of driving usage and acceptance of CRM software. Consider having as many milestones as possible be auditable events so the manager can help make qualify/disqualify decisions.
Limited reinforcement after the training
Steven Covey says that making a new skill a habit requires that an activity be done about 20 times. After a training session, the objective is to have sellers make new acquired skills habits. If they don't meet with immediate success the first few times they try a new skill, human nature is to fall back on their old habits. In order to stay on track, it is usually necessary for managers to coach and reinforce new behaviors. To be effective, the sales manager must master the new skills and serve as a mentor for his or her direct reports. This can be accomplished in 3 major activities:
- Making calls with sellers and demonstrating how to execute.
- Discussing areas where sellers are having trouble and offering coaching
- Role playing situations with sellers to help them achieve mastery
Ultimately the objective is to have the skills learned become part of the sales culture of the organization.
No consequences for non-compliance
Our recommendation after training is that sales managers adopt a trust but verify approach with their people. Salespeople have a tendency to do what you inspect, not what you expect. Adherence to what an organization has deemed to be best practices is not optional. Some salespeople take a "this too will pass" attitude and refuse to embrace new skills. They choose to wait until the enthusiasm for this new approach drops off. As mentioned earlier, executive commitment to implementing the new process is vitally important in overcoming this attitude.
Tying deliverables from executing the process into pipeline reporting is one of the most effective ways to encourage compliance. Sellers that resist will not be able to provide meaningful pipeline information and forecasting. Some of our clients will not allocate technical resources to opportunities unless sellers provide process deliverables. Another client has formalized Green and Black Belt programs earned by demonstrating mastery of the process.
Summary
Having a sales staff embrace sales training or process is a challenging undertaking. Companies that are successful can identify, share and execute best practices. This can result in superior buying experiences, one of the few sustainable competitive advantages.
Sales training isn't a "pill" that provides better results. Senior executives that are committed and take ownership of making training part of their sales culture will reap the greatest rewards.
