Most all businesses say that they train their people, but does that training work? Does it stick?
My first experience with training organizations was with auto dealerships. Due to high turnover, slim margins and demands by the manufacturers for a positive customer experience, most auto dealers have a lot of attention on training their staff.
It became clear to me that most training is a reactive response to a sales person’s lack of production, turnover issues or customer experience concerns. However, great sales organizations deliver their sales training as a proactive enhancement of skills rather than a knee-jerk response.
Technological advances enables training to be delivered in many forms today. No matter how the sales training is delivered; onsite, offsite, online or in classroom, the number one reason sales training fails, is due to a lack of frequency. If you want ROI on your sales training, you must do it everyday, even multiple times per day. Use this one criteria for building your sales training solution and how it’s delivered and who delivers it will fall in place.
For 30 years, I have been customizing training programs for sales training organizations from automobile dealers, to manufacturers, Fortune 500 financial companies, software companies and even the United States Army. When I was working with the US Army a recruiter told me, “anything worth doing is worth doing everyday.” If your people don’t train everyday, they won’t get results that are significant enough to stay with it.
When any training doesn’t stick it becomes another failed initiative, not to mention a waste of time and money. It damages management’s credibility to implement future programs. Start your sales training criteria daily and it will guide you to the perfect solution.
When daily training is set as the single criteria for a successful sales training program, it will make you think in terms of how to develop it. If it’s going to be used everyday then it must be 1) easily available, 2) individualized to different needs and personalities, 3) quick so as not to take too much time, 4) engaging to the audience and a bonus would be 5) that it could solve problems in real time.
With the advent of smart phones, tablets and cloud-based delivery mechanisms all of the above is possible. You don’t have to send your team off to another city any longer, have them away from customers and family or, miss a deal. But you have to require that it is done daily. It’s not punishment, but enhancement. Having a reporting mechanism in order for it to stick and be successful is important.
Whether you pick us or Brian, Tom, Jeff, Joe, Alan or someone on your staff to do it, just make sure you get the key points handled and it will be successful.
- Train daily
- Make training easily available
- Hits ALL levels of ability
- Quick and efficient
- Solves problems in real time
- Engaging
- Trackable
Greatness doesn’t come without training.
Any athlete, any industry pro will validate that. If you need help with training in your organization, call my office at 310-777-0255 and we will be glad to help you.
You know you’re great. Don’t fight it.
