7 Tops Tips to Increase Sales Force Training Results for Your Business in 2007
Increase sales training is necessary if you wish to make 2007 better than 2006. Given that most companies now compete in a global market, today's sales force must be trained to close more sales. These 7 tips may help you increase your sales force training results.
- Align sales force training to the strategic plan
Before establishing any sales force training, the strategic plan needs to be reviewed to ensure alignment between the training and the existing plan. If there is not a strategic plan, then the executive management needs to develop a strategic plan immediately. Alignment is critical to the success of any organization especially when establishing goals from sales force training to marketing.
- Infuse a proven sales process
The benefit of a proven sales process is in the sales process steps. Clearly defined steps allows individuals to know when to proceed forward during the sales and when to stop. Additionally, a proven sales process helps to make the necessary course corrections not to mention identifying any mis-steps during the selling activity.
- Include mentors as part of communication feedback
Mentors can provide communication feedback. This tips allows the sales force training participants to share what is working and provide some guidance from those who have more experience.
- Develop attitudes and habits
Attitude is everything. Unfortunately in most sales force training, attitudes are not consistently developed. The continued focus on knowledge and skills to improve performance through sales force training while performance failure more often than not is due to poor attitudes and habits demonstrates why most sales force training is ineffective to non-sustainable.
- Identify desired results to ensure positive return on investment (ROI)
When the sales force training is aligned to the strategic plan, the sales training is immediately aligned to the desired results. If this is not the case for your business, then identify the desired results to include pre-determined benchmarks such as number of leads, number of appointments, number of meetings, number of closes, number of follow-ups and number of referrals.
- Schedule training on consecutive weeks
Many sales force training engagements are one to two days without reinforcement. Scheduling training and development on a weekly basis for no more than 2 hours each session will increase cognitive retention, provide opportunities for practice and constructive feedback. Research suggests that a one time exposure to a learning event after 16 days delivers 2% cognitive retention while multiple exposures to that same learning event deliver 65% retention. What makes more sense to you?
- Combine sales force training with corporate coaching
Corporate coaching provides opportunities for continued reinforcement after the initial sales force training or developmental sessions have been completed. Given that research confirms that one on one executive coaching delivers a significant return on investment, including corporate coaching will only increase the return on investment.
Are these the only 7 tips for improved sales force training? No, but they do provide a solid foundation from which to create a high performance sales force.
Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S. undestands how to create a high performance culture beginning with a strategic plan that aligns training and development to the desired results. She helps individuals and organizations to close the knowing doing gap by through both proven process and proven tools.
One quick question,if you could secure one new client or breakthrough that one roadbloack holding you back from success, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give Leanne Hoagland-Smith a call at 219.759.5601 to experience incredible results.
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