Does sales training really work?

1. How do you know if sales training will work?
2. Why do companies invest so much money in something that can be so difficult to measure?
3. What proof really exists that it will work?

The above 3 questions are not easy to answer. I often say to my clients if you were a racehorse trainer and had 10 horses to train how would you decide to invest your time and money? Would you allocate 10% of your time to each horse or would it be better to allocate the majority of your time to the top 2 or 3? Maybe get rid of the non-performers or send them off to the fairground to give pony rides to little children.

What to consider when developing sales people

• Positive Attitude
• History of embracing new ideas
• Willingness to learn
• Can handle rejection
• Strong desire to succeed for a variety of reasons (cash flow / debt / status / ego)
• Proof that they are adopting the changes you are working on
• Results – How long do you give them before you let them go?

What do you think about sales training? Do you think it can make a difference?

Posted in Sales; Tagged Sales, Sales Management; Posted 21 April 2009 by Steve Herzberg