How to Increase the ROI of Sales Training

How to Increase the ROI of Sales Training     Are You Getting a Return on Your Sales Training? Even though $20 billion is spent on business sales training per year, more than a third of sales leaders admit that they do not have a clear idea of what measurable return they are looking for on sales training.  That is a costly mistake if you want to increase the ROI of sales training. While investing in solution selling training skills to boost sales performance makes sense, our training measurement research found that only 1-in-5 sales reps change their behavior and performance from stand-alone sales training.  Why? Because merely conducting sales training sessions (regardless of how good they are) does not guarantee improved sales results. The real challenge lies in fundamentally changing and reinforcing the key sales mindsets, behaviors, and skills required to consistently deliver higher sales performance. 7 Strategies to Increase the ROI of Sales Training If you want to move the needle, here are seven research-backed strategies to increase the ROI of sales training initiatives.  How does your sales training stack up?   Get the 7 Strategies to Increase the ROI of Sales Training       VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER   Robert Zeman District Sales Manager Aflac "This sales strategy and methodology moved my team from good to great, outperforming teams four times our size. We are now guides and managers of the sales process rather than pushers and pullers. Employing these techniques opened doors with decision makers who consistently denied access in the past. Bottom line, it worked in the toughest market we’ve ever faced."   See More Testimonials   Toolkits for Sales Leaders     Proven tools for sales leaders to boost performance   Get Toolkit Now   Proven tools for impactful sales training   Get Toolkit Now   About LSA Global     Strategic Clarity   High Performing Culture   Differentiated Talent     Get Aligned. Stay Aligned.™   Contact Us Today

Business Sales Training Programs Need Sales Coaching to Succeed

Sales success can be elusive. 

Based upon having measured sales training programs for the last 20 years, we believe that business sales training programs on their own are often an exercise in futility.

Sure, customized and targeted business sales training programs help sales reps to become more aware of what it takes to perform and the gain the specific consultative selling skills they need to succeed. But our research shows that business sales training program participants must be consistently held accountable, must believe the new skills and knowledge are required for them to succeed, and must have a competent sales coach to help them improve.  Without all three, only 20% sales reps change their behavior from business sales training.

Processes must be implemented to measure the progress of each sales rep and to encourage skill adoption when it matters most. And, to ensure continuous learning, each sales rep needs a sales performance coach who can provide the support to improve.

What does it take to be an effective sales coach...the kind of coach that capitalizes on and is a necessary part of any business sales training program?

1.  Believability. 

A sales coach is believable only if they have not only “carried a bag” successfully, but also if they have successfully managed and coached other sales force’s before. Sales coaches need to know what it takes to motivate and support behavior change in a way that works for each coachee. 

2.  Performance. 

The fundamental purpose of a sales coach is to help improve sales performance in a way that aligns with both the sales strategy and sales culture.  Make sure that expectations are clear, goals are defined and progress is tracked along the way.

3.  Feedback. 

The best sales coaches provide a mirror into strengths and weaknesses and focus on improving future performance. They know how to encourage with authentic, timely, accurate, and precise insights, feedback and encouragement.

If you want to improve skill adoption from your business sales training programs, incorporate targeted sales coaching into your training design.  Reps who receive consistent and frequent sales coaching outsell their peers 4-to-1.

Want to learn more about supporting solution selling training skill adoption and performance improvement?  Download The Truth about Sales Coaching and the Biggest Mistakes to Avoid

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

Wishing you good times, good cheer, 

and a wonderful new year.

All of us at LSA Global want to thank you for your business, loyalty, 

and support in 2015. Get Aligned in 2016! 

Top 10 Blog Posts for 2015

Be Smart...Some Revenue Is 10x Better than Others. Revenue is revenue is revenue, right? Not really. Solution selling training programs find that some revenue is better than others because it holds more promise and security for the future. Here is the revenue you should aim for.   The Optimum Frequency for Employee Engagement Surveys to Get 5x Greater Results. Employee engagement training organizations like ours that measure employee engagement annually see stronger improvements to engagement than those that survey less frequently. Read about why.   Do Not Set Your New Managers Up to Fail - Give Them Time to Learn Before They Lead. When you promote a star individual contributor to management, recognize that many of the traits that fostered high performance in one role do not necessarily carry over to the next role. It is not uncommon to under-estimate and under-appreciate what it takes to successfully lead others.   Research Report on the Relationship Between Employee Engagement and Manager Effectiveness. For decades, organizational effectiveness experts have believed that managers have an enormous influence on employee engagement and retention.  While most of us would intuitively come to these conclusions, this research report offers compelling data and insights based upon surveying over half a million employees across more than 5,000 organizations every year.   Organizational Alignment: The Missing Performance Ingredient. Leaders are being asked to do more with less, faster - and they cannot afford to miss the mark.  Getting aligned means configuring the critical elements of your company to optimize short- and long-term performance. Based upon our proprietary alignment research, we know that misaligned strategy, culture and talent cause poor performance in the short-term and, in the long-term unsustainable  organizational health in terms of revenue, profits, customer satisfaction and retention, employee engagement, leadership effectiveness and business performance.   When It Is Smart to Measure Training Impact. Overall, we believe that corporate training should be undertaken only when it is relevant to the participants, their boss and the company as a whole.  We also believe that training measurement should be a critical ingredient of any training initiative undertaken to change behavior and improve performance.   How to Significantly Reduce the Cost of Training. If you want a quick way to decrease the cost of training, consider this... the majority of training does not quantifiably impact the strategic priorities of the company.  Lessen the bottom line "cost" of training by eliminating any training that does not provide measurable business value and impact.   Sales Presentation Tools to Convert Your Audience from Negative to Positive. Have you ever faced an audience that was predisposed to just the opposite of your proposal or viewpoint? It can be very uncomfortable.   Convincing people to do what they don't want to do can feel like an impossible challenge. But sales presentation training offers a few tools to disarm a negative audience and thoughtfully convert them to your way of thinking or at least to consider a more broad perspective.   Four Training Assessment Warning Signs to Avoid at All Costs. Too many well-intentioned companies undertake surveys without a solid and implementable plan to take action in a way that makes sense compared to all of the other priorities on their plate.  Too many employee engagement survey results and skill assessments languish on the shelf before meaningful action is taken. No wonder so many groan at the mere thought of taking another survey. This phenomenon even has a name at many companies - "Survey Fatigue." It does not mean that people are tired of taking surveys. It means that they are weary of taking surveys that do not matter.   The Value of Scenario-Based Training. Getting a pilot's license used to involve simply showing your flight instructor that you could follow the steps to get from A to B. If you mastered the individual tasks required to take off, maneuver through the flight pattern and land safely, you were OK'd for your solo and the ultimate test of competency. Now, however, flight schools have realized that better training involves understanding not just what to do but why you do it. This is the value of scenario-based training.  And corporate universities should pay attention.

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

Top 10 Downloads for 2013

Wishing you health and happiness this Holiday Season and prosperity in the New Year.

Top 10 Whitepaper Downloads of 2013
Published articles and research to help high growth companies get aligned.

1. Alignment: The Critical Missing Leadership Ingredient
2. 5 New Lenses of Change Leadership
3. Top 5 Performance Environment Warning Signs
4. Becoming a New Leader: 5 Traps to Avoid
5. The 2 Biggest Sales Coaching Mistakes
6. Top 5 Warning Signs of a Bad Project Leader
7. Surprise: Is Your Culture Helping or Hindering Your Strategy?
8. A Smart New Way to Think About Change: The Agile Organization
9. 3 Science-Backed Steps to Building a Smarter Training Initiative
10. True Measurement of Training: 5 Easy Steps

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