The Problem with Sales Training
A recent report by Selling Power indicates that corporations spend over seven billion dollars per year on sales training. The vital issue, with an investment this large many companies do not provide a means to understand whether it leads to a return on investment. And, many sales representatives do not adopt the sales methodology! In present economic times, the cost of capital is to high not to have measures.
Our firm has spent over 25 years in the field and we have seen this trend too often repeated. There is simply no reason to measure productivity, manufacturing and talent management, and not measure training return on investment.
When the concern is for both sales and growth there is a vital need to form a link. We have found that there are several issues that break the connectivity:
• The sole metric used is new sales or new clients.
• While many companies conduct sales training, it is event based.
• Many selling representatives do not adopt the prescribed methodology.
• “Eighty seven percent of training is lost within one month.”
• Training is not tied to the corporate business strategy.
• Executive buy-in is narcissistic.
Conventional wisdom says people change jobs for pay and morale, but lack of training leaves a chasm of frustration. The sales department is the most important asset of any organization. Executives are unpaid, vendors are unpaid, products are not developed until something is sold. End the training gap and begin to invest in the most vital asset of any organization- selling!
©2008 Drew Stevens Ph.D. All Rights Reserved.
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July 11th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Drew:
Well said. As a marketer I always find this phenomenon frustrating (as do my client marketing teams) when trying to support sales as well. It’s difficult to break out of the “it’s marketing’s fault! no it’s sales’ fault!” discussion without solid metrics generated from a process everyone adheres to. On the other hand, in most of my experiences where there have been poor metrics, the lack of discipline comes right from the top. Maybe there should be more Sales Management training? I know the accountability issues are frightening from a Sales Manager’s point of view, but a committed Sales Manager/Executive can make all the difference in adopting a system that really drives metrics and improves processes.
Thanks for bringing this up.
Dana