Case study one – Dealing with training the sales force.

Puneet Ahuja

163819

College of New Caledonia

HRPR 303 103 – Training and Development 2023F

Mary Edel Toner-Rogala

October 15, 2023

1. According to the given case study, the main objectives of the training program were to implement new

ways which can help the Telecommunications company to improve their sales of products and services

by giving them important skill sets and positive attitudes, by enhancing their sales knowledge and

communication abilities, etc. During the training process, the company should have found new ways to

deal with the existing problems related to sales. Still, they used an outdated need analysis process for

the sake of earning profit early and to keep the cost low and they decided to buy a generic and off-the-

shelf training program package from a local vendor who delivered the training to employees over the

web. Even after getting the training, six months of data suggested there was not any improvement in

sales and salespersons reported that the training program was slow and boring and without an

instructor their critical doubts could not be cleared, and they should have adopted different training

methods to deal with the situation.

After considering all the drawbacks of the above case, I have made a training program where the main

objective of the training program will be as follows: -

Firstly, the main problem for the salesperson of the Telecommunication company was they were unable

to sell the company’s product, as a result, sales were down for the third quarter in a row. In the new

training program sales representatives will be given training to communicate with 10-15 new customers

on a regular basis where they will extensively explain all the details of the products and services like their

benefits, uses, plans, etc. to their customers. Regular sales targets will be set for employees which they

must meet to maximize the efficiency of their training program.

Secondly, during the training process, every salesperson in the training program will be allotted a

separate area to perform his job, where he can communicate with customers and can work on his

fundamental required skills like how to deal with the public, bargaining skills, learning about project

management principles, different software navigation programs, reporting, and analytical skills, etc.
Thirdly, different standards will be set to analyse the overall performance of the salespersons, like

whether have they been able to make 700-800 hundred calls to new customers and how much profit has

been generated because of such calls. Regular assessment of training objectives needs to be done and

they should be flexible enough so that if any changes are required, companies can make them easily.

The above training objectives are clear to understand which will lay a foundation for trainees to learn

crucial skills easily and will allow them to use such measures in the real world. Apart from that, trainees

would become more knowledgeable about their work and managers do less supervision and can pay

more attention to their managerial work which ultimately helps business to grow.

3. According to Chapman, a ‘Request for proposal’ (RFP) is a document which helps businesses identify

and hire a potential vendor or consultant who can train their employees and achieve their objectives.

Vendors and consultants also get the chance to review the ‘Request for proposal’ and determine

whether they will be able to provide the required training or service to the organizations. It’s a necessary

document which helps to have a clear vision, create a proper scope for the project, create a vendor

scorecard, etc. and meet the requirements of both sides (Chapman, 2004).

If the telecommunication company had made the ‘Request for Proposal’ before hiring the vendor, then

the result they got after the six months could have been changed because it helped them to choose a

better vendor by doing a comparative scorecard analysis. During this process, they would have had a

clear knowledge of what their fundamental needs, their vision and scope for the projects were and they

could change their plan if something does not match their objectives.

5. Using the online web as the sole way of providing training to employees can be beneficial if the

company wants to reduce the overall cost of its training project, does not have much efficient time, or

wants to get its employees to learn something quickly through tailor-made software. Web-based training

software offers flexible and scalable solutions for employee training and development programs as it

allows employees to go through a piece of information again and again if they don’t get something in
first time without any outside pressure. The telecommunications company also purchased web-based

courses from a local vendor, but they did not provide the ‘Request for proposal’ to display what their

employees needed the most from the course.

Below are some of the advantages of web-based courses: -

1. Cost efficient: - Web-based training courses are quite cost-effective as they save lots of money.

2. Accessible: - Due to the internet, Web-based training courses have more worldwide reach.

3. Consistency: - Everybody gets the same course in a more standardized and consistent way.

Below are some of the disadvantages of web-based courses: -

1. Limited hands-on experience: - Web-based courses do not provide hands-on experience.

2. Lack of immediate support: - Sometimes the learner does not understand the Subject Matter

knowledge and needs immediate support, but web-based courses do not provide it.

3. Isolation: - Web-based learners always find themselves in isolation because during learning there

is hardly any social interaction and collaboration among employees.

The telecommunication company could have used other more effective methods to train its employees

but due to negligence, they have failed to provide proper training for employees. If I were allowed to

select a training program, then I would choose one of the methods of Error-Management Training ( EMT

) which encourages trainees to make errors during training so they can learn from them, or I would bring

Subject Matter Expert ( SME ) who is familiar with the knowledge, skill and abilities required to perform

sales tasks in better way, or I would choose blended training method approach in which a combination of

on the job, off the job and technological methods would be used to train employees.

6. If I were given the chance to design the training program, then the following areas would be changed

a) Training Objectives: - First, I would update or revise the need analysis process in which I would

conduct thorough research to understand which specific skills and knowledge are needed in the sales

force. After getting basic information, tiny goals would be set in the training program for trainees
 related to performance (i.e., sales techniques and communication skills) which would be done under

specific conditions with certain criteria performance will be judged through metrics.

b) Training content: - Due to a lack of knowledge the sales force of the Telecommunication

company was struggling to sell products and services in the market that’s why customized content like

multimedia presentations on how technology can help to sell products, understanding different sales

concepts, organizing workshops to understand customers’ mindset, market competition etc. should be

included to deal with these issues.

c) Training methods: -The biggest mistake the Telecommunication company made was that they

chose a training program which was only provided on the web. Instead, they should use a blended

learning approach in which classroom training, on-the-job training and computer technology training

should be used to train employees. Training programs neither should be slow nor boring. Organizations

adopt this technique to train their employees.

d) Active practice and conditions of practice: - Since all the training was given to employees on the

web, they had nobody to get practical help and as a result, it was not active practice. If I were allowed to

choose a program, then active practice where employees get practical knowledge and instant feedback

under realistic scenarios would be designed to train employees.

e) Active learning: -Active learning is an important aspect for learners as this approach gives them

control to track and monitor their performance. Similarly, in a telecommunication company, employees

should be given control over their learning process so they can track their performance.

By adopting all the above changes, my training program would be more aligned with the specific needs

of the Telecommunications company’s sales force, where I would use different training objectives with

proper training content and methods where active practice and learning would be given equal

opportunity. My program will be more effective in comparison to the Telecommunication company as it

would resolve all the necessary issues which the company has faced.
References: -

Chapman, B. (2004). Creating the ideal RFP. Training Magazine, 41(1). 40. Trainingmag.com

http://www.chapmanalliance.com/download-documents/Creating%20the%20Ideal%20RFP.pdf

Saks, A.M. & Haccoun, R. R. (2019). Managing Performance Through Training & Development. (8th ed.).

Nelson.