Most
sales training initiatives fail to deliver.
At
a minimum, the ROI is fuzzy, bolstered by only a few anecdotal stories
strategically captured to make everyone FEEL a bit better about making the
training investment.
The
critical question...why do most sales training programs fall short and what
can we do about it?
From
our experience at implementing hundreds of sales training initiatives over
the last two decades, we have put together a list of the top six pitfalls-the
most common mistakes organizations make when rolling out a sales training
program-and a checklist of how to avoid them.
Pitfall
1 - Focusing on the What vs. the Why
The
first hurdle of any change initiative, whether in a one-to-one coaching
session or in a classroom, is ensuring there is actually a desire to change
and grow. With so much to learn, most programs are designed to jump into the
learning without investing the appropriate time to ensure participants
understand (1) change is needed and (2) it's in their best interest to
change.
The
first step for senior leaders is to "get the troops on board."
Consider the following Four P's to ensure participants will embrace the need
to change.
Personal Goals
People
change for two simple reasons. First, because they believe it's in their best
interest to change and, second, because they believe that change is possible.
You need to position any sales training initiative as a resource to help reps
reach THEIR personal goals and not a workshop designed to "fix
them" for the sole benefit of the company.
Ensure
participants understand the personal payoff for change and that the
organization has the will and the means to fully see the change through to
completion.
Principles
Then address the "why" to change by identifying the
principles that support every pillar of the program. There are fundamental
laws at work for every effective approach to selling. Whether you are trying
to improve response rates to emails or creating receptivity to a
presentation, there are principles that, if understood, remove the mystery as
to why one approach fails and others succeed. These principles provide a
framework to guide hundreds of decisions. If you define and gain agreement to
the guiding principles for each core competency to be learned, you ensure
that the recommended approach will be embraced.
As
you think about the design of your sales program, have the fundamental
principles been defined for building the relationship? The sales process? How
you engage a new prospect? Discovering needs? Building value or advancing the
opportunity? Negotiating and responding to resistance?
Problem-Based Learning
The
next step is to describe situations or scenarios in which the desired outcome
was not achieved and the principle was ignored (the problem). Buy-in grows as
participants roll up their sleeves to address the problem and share their
assessments of the recommended approach. The student becomes the teacher and,
if the principle is sound and applied to the situation, success is guaranteed.
People
Lastly,
the person chosen to deliver the program is at least as important as the
design itself. Choose a facilitator the participants would want to emulate.
When they throw out situations or challenges they face, will the facilitator
be able to respond in a way that builds credibility with the audience? Can
the facilitator go off script and apply the model to any situation, based on
real life experiences? If not, buy-in diminishes and the learning objectives
are jeopardized.
This
also holds true for the development of exercises, examples, and training
simulations. You need an instructional designer with "street
experience" or participants will decide the program was built by a
person who never "carried a bag" and the engagement level and
chance for behavior change and improved performance plummets.
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About LSA Global
Founded in 1995, LSA Global is a leading performance consulting and training firm that helps high growth technology, services, and life-science companies create a competitive advantage by powerfully aligning their culture and talent with their strategy. Learn more about getting aligned
