1. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. P ART IV T RAINING THE S ALES T EAM

3. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. C HAPTER 10 T HE M ANAGEMENT OF S ALES T RAINING AND D EVELOPMENT

4. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.  What sales training is and what its purposes are.  How to plan a sales training program, including conducting a needs assessment.  That organizing a training program includes various training methods.  Who is involved in the staffing of a training program.  The motivating influence of a sales training culture.  The importance of an effective evaluation system. L EARNING O BJECTIVES To establish and maintain a productive sales force, an ongoing sales training program is essential. This chapter should help you understand:

5. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. W HAT IS S ALES T RAINING? Sales training is the effort an employer puts forth to provide sales people job-related culture, skills, knowledge, and attitudes that should result in improved performance in the selling environments.

6. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. R EENGINEERING T RAINING On-time training, one-on-one coaching, and behavioral-change training are just some of the strategies companies are applying to sales training curricula across the country.

7. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. C HANGE B RINGS A BOUT T RAINING R EENGINEERING

8. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. P URPOSES OF S ALES T RAINING Increasing customer satisfaction. Helping salespeople become managers. Orienting new salespeople to the job. Improving knowledge in areas such as product, company, competitors, or selling skills. Lowering absenteeism and turnover. Positively influencing attitudes in such areas as job satisfaction.

9. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. P URPOSES OF S ALES T RAINING Lowering selling costs. Informing salespeople. Obtaining feedback from salespeople. Increasing sales in a particular product or customer category. continued

10. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. FIGURE 10.1 A SALES TRAINING MODEL – DETERMINE HOW TO EVALUATE TRAINING WHEN PLANNING

11. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. P HASE O NE: P LANNING FOR S ALES T RAINING The first step when developing or maintaining an ongoing sales training program is assessing needs. Needs assessment entails determining the training needs of the sales force and setting objectives for satisfying those needs.

12. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. O RGANIZATIONAL A NALYSIS Value Focus Mass Duration Four principles ensure a successful training effort:

13. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. O PERATIONAL A NALYSIS A difficulty analysis uncovers and analyzes problems salespeople experience.

14. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. S ALES P ERSONNEL A NALYSIS The behavioral objectives identify the goals of the training program for both the trainer and the trainee.

15. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. C USTOMER A NALYSIS Incorporate “the voice of the customer.”

16. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. M AKING THE N EEDS A SSESSMENT 1.Identify the requirements of the position. 2.Determine the difference between performance objectives and results. 3.Determine why a difference exists. 4.Revise the training program (if needed). This requires the following sequence:

17. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. M AKING THE N EEDS A SSESSMENT continued 5.Develop training objectives. 6.Conduct the training program. 7.Evaluate the training program. 8.Revise the training program (if needed). This requires the following sequence:

18. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. FIGURE 10.2 REVISION OF TRAINING PROGRAM BASED ON NEEDS ASSESSMENT

19. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. S OURCES OF I NFORMATION FOR D ETERMINING T RAINING N EEDS Questionnaires. Interviews. Tests given during meetings for diagnostic purposes. Direct observation in the field. Analyses of sales, profits, and activity reports.

20. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. Failure analysis determines the reasons low- performing salespeople fail to achieve their sales goals. Success analysis is used to identify factors that appear to make salespeople successful. Other ways to assess training needs: Exit interviews determine attitudes toward the job.

21. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. P HASE T WO: O RGANIZING FOR S ALES T RAINING Training objectives to be accomplished. Number of trainees. Trainer’s experience. Each salesperson’s understanding of the subject matter.

22. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. P HASE T WO: O RGANIZING FOR S ALES T RAINING continued Each trainee’s ability to learn and past experience. Training materials available. The costs per trainee of each method. Extent of presession assignments.

23. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. T ECHNOLOGY- B ASED T RAINING M ETHODS Interactive multimedia training. Electronic performance support system. High-tech customer service. Distance learning.

24. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. R OLE P LAYING In role playing the trainee acts out an event such as the sale of a good or service to a hypothetical buyer.

25. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. O N-THE- J OB T RAINING The best and most frequently used training takes place on the job.

26. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. T RAINING L EARNING C URVES The shape of the learning curve indicates the extent to which the rate of learning increases, levels off, or decreases with or without training and practice.

27. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. Salespeople go through three phases of “usage” before true behavioral changes occur as a result of training. 1.Awkward usage. 2.Conscious usage. 3.Natural usage.

28. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. The nature of the material itself. The manner in which the material is presented. Time intervals between training. The extent of follow-up and OTJ training. The trainee’s attitude toward learning. Plateaus The rate of learning change will be influenced by factors such as:

29. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. FIGURE 10.3 A HYPOTHETICAL S-SHAPED LEARNING CURVE WITH A PLATEAU

30. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. Centralized training. Decentralized training. W HERE D OES T RAINING T AKE P LACE?

31. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. Training begins the first day of work. It continues throughout the career. Sales meetings serve as important training methods. W HEN D OES T RAINING O CCUR?

32. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. P HASE T HREE: S TAFFING FOR S ALES T RAINING Corporate staff trainers. Sales force personnel. Outside training specialists. W HO IS I NVOLVED IN T RAINING?

33. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. P HASE F OUR: D IRECTING T HE S ALES T RAINING E FFORT Sales culture is the set of key values, ideas, beliefs, attitudes, customs, and other capabilities and habits shared or acquired as a sales group member. T RAINING C ULTURE

34. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. S UPPORT FROM THE T OP L EADERSHIP PHASE FOUR: continued

35. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. P HASE F IVE: S ALES T RAINING E VALUATION 1.Determine what should be measured. 2.Determine the information collection method. 3.Determine the measurement methods. 4.Analyze the data, determine the results, and draw conclusions for making recommendations. S TEPS IN THE E VALUATION

36. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. Components to measure: Reactions Learning Behavior OTJ results W HAT S HOULD B E M EASURED?

37. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. Program Presenter Trainees OTJ results Groups to Evaluate:

38. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. Specific items to measure can be derived from training objectives. Items to measure:

39. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. 1.Questionnaires 2.Interviews 3.Tests 4.Observation 5.Company data What should be the information collection method?

40. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. 1.After only 2.Before/after 3.Before/after with control group What should be the measurement methods?

41. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. T HE B OTTOM L INE Effective sales training provides the foundation for an effective sales force. A director of a sales training program can divide the program into five equally important phases. Planning the sales training program, step one, involves determining the sales force’s training needs and establishing objectives to meet these needs. After the plans have been made, the next step is organizing the program.

42. Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. T HE B OTTOM L INE continued Once the training plans and evaluation procedures have been developed and organized, the next step is to determine who will do the actual training. The fourth phase in the sales training program deals with directing the training effort. Evaluation is the fifth and final phase in a sales training program.