Are you wondering why your sales force won’t use the skills you taught them? Maybe they did for the first week or two but have reverted to their old ways.
This is a typical problem amongst sales leaders and results in billions of dollars wasted. Studies indicate that participants in typical sales training programs forget more than 90 percent of learning within 30 days. It’s alarming to think 90% of the money, time, and energy you spend teaching your employees goes down the drain. Yikes!
To increase the return on your investment, create a training program that’s effective, scalable, and sustainable. Doing so will improve retention in your team dramatically!
Create an EFFECTIVE structure
Make sure your sales methodology aligns with your company’s vision. Too many companies create lofty mission statements touting consumer-centric practices, only to hire a trainer who contradicts this message with hard-sell techniques.
Further, on-boarding is often a one-off session in which reps are expected to absorb large amounts of information that’s presented in a one-to-many format. Instead, create a culture of learning and development. Offer reps ongoing coaching and evaluation with interactive exercises and tools. Remember, people don’t believe it when we say it, they believe it when they do it!
Use a SCALABLE Platform
Technology extends the reach of sales managers and allows them to impact reps all over the globe with the click of a mouse. With a geographically diverse sales force, leveraging technology is crucial to create consistent messages, eliminate bad habits, set priorities, and clarify accountabilities.
The average millennial changes devices 25 times per hour. Therefore, they are far more likely to complete the training if it lives next to their Instagram and Airbnb accounts.
Build it For SUSTAINABILITY
Depending on your age, you may remember the cartoon the Jetsons. George Jetson worked for Mr. Spacely at Spaceley’s Sprockets. An episode rarely went by without Spacely shouting, “Jetson you’re fired!” Unless you can fire your external training company or replace your training manager, you haven’t built a sustainable training program.
The only way to ensure sustainability over time is to teach your coaches the skills needed to coach their teams. A good coach unlocks the potential of each member on your team and knows how to listen rather than simply consult. They ask questions that teach sellers to think, show empathy and let the trainees arrive at their own solutions. Because most coaches receive little training on how to coach, the trainees don’t learn or replicate the skills over time.
The rigor and time you invest in training your team will be duplicated with your current and potential customers.
For a free consult on how to effectively build your training program contact me here.
