Training

Assessing Training Needs

• Management objectives
– products, customers, relationships
• Sales force observation & survey
– time, problems, needs, successes, concerns, etc..
– focus groups analysis
• Customer observation
• Company records (10-1)
– Trends & relationships: sales, new customers,
turnover, calls per day, etc..
• Setting objectives: skills vs. information
 Training

Assessing Training Needs

• What other companies do (10-2 & 3)

• Steps in performing training analysis (10-4)
 Training
Evaluating Sales Training

Level One: Reactions Are trainees satisfied? This also

provides information so that the
parts they don’t like can be improved.

Level Two: Learning Did the training change attitudes,

increase knowledge, or improve the
skills of the trainees? This usually
requires testing before and after
the training.
 Training
Evaluating Sales Training

Level Three Behavior Are salespeople using their knowledge

and skills on the job? This may be
measured in a variety of ways: asking
salespeople, sales manager observa-
tion of salespeople, and questioning
customers.

Level Four: Results What effect does the training have on

the company? The bottom line
results of training can include
increased sales, higher profits, more
new customers, and reducing costs.
 Training
In-Class Exercise 10-1
1.What special problems exist in this scenario?
2.What are some of the unstated problems that may
exist in this situation?
3. If you were the sales manager, what additional
directions would you give the marketing
manager in preparation for presenting the
training plan in the second scene?
4. Does the sales manager run any risks with
respect to this training session?
 Training
In-Class Exercise 10-1
5. What will salespeople want to know
about the new product?

6. What are the alternative approaches or

pedagogy that you could use in training?

7. Give a detailed outline of how you would

run this meeting. Include time segments
for each part of the meeting.
 Assess Setting Setting
Training Objectives Budget
Needs

What Where Training Trainers?

Topics? to Train? Methods?

Evaluating Training

Follow-Up Training
 Training

How much to spend on training?

Averages for new salespeople
$$$$ Time

Consumer $5,513 4.2 months

Industrial $8,913 4.1 months
Service $8,014 4.1 months

Source: Dartnell Corporation: Sales Force Compensation Survey, 1996

Table 10-1 Cross-Tabulations from Company Records

Average Order
Size per New Customers Total Customers
Salesperson per Salesperson per Salesperson

Experience
Less than 2 year 392 21 86
2-5 years 593 29 145
5-10 years 565 5 152
Over 10 years 470 8 139
Regions
Northeast 528 6 140
Southeast 520 8 161
Midwest 512 18 107
Southwest 421 26 111
West 544 21 131
Table 10-5 Sales Training Evaluation Practices

Criteria Importance
Measure Type Rank

Trainee feedback Reaction 1

Supervisory Behavior 2
appraisal
Self-appraisal Behavior 3
Bottom-line Results 4
measures
Customer appraisal Behavior 5
 Training
Evaluating Sales Training
Experimental Design

Notation: O1 = Results before sales training

X1 = Sales training
O2 = Results after sales training
O2 - O1 = Difference in results

Experimental Group O 1 X1 O 2
Control Group O3 O4
Sales Training effect (O2 - O1 ) - (O4 - O3 )
 BUILDING A SALES TRAINING PROGRAM

1. Treat all employees as potential career employees.

2. Require regular re-training.

3. Spend time and money generously.

4. Salespeople and sales managers must take the lead in

developing what goes into the program.

5. In times of crisis, increase, rather than decrease, the

training program.
 STEPS IN PERFORMING A TRAINING ANALYSIS
1. Interviewing key members or management to find out what changes are needed in performance
of the sales force.
2. Sent an anonymous questionnaire to customers and prospects asking:
• What do you expect of a salesperson in this industry?
• How do salespeople disappoint you?
• Which company in this industry does the best selling job?
• In what ways are its salespersons better?
3. Sent a confidential questionnaire to each salesperson asking:
• What information do most of our salespersons need?
• What information do you want to learn better?
• What skills do most of our salespersons need to improve?
• Other suggestions for ongoing training?
4. Did field audits (making sales calls) with 20% of the sales force?
5. Interviewed sales supervisors.
6. Analyzed the information gathered in Steps 1 through 5 to determine trainable topics and separate
them.
7. Discussed and agreed on training priorities with management.*

*James F. Carey, “Assess Your Personal Needs,” Sales and Marketing Management, (November, 1977),
Special Report.
Table 10-2 Average Cost and Training Period for Sales Trainees

Consumer $5,513

Industrial $8,913

Service $8,014

4.20
Consumer Months
4.10
Industrial Months
4.10
Service Months
Table 10-3 Average Cost and Training Period for Veteran Salespeople

$4,887
$5,000
$4,021
$3,834
$4,000
Median spending

$3,337

$3,000 $2,498

$2,000

$1,000

$0
Under $5 $5-$25 $25-$100 $100-$250 Over $250
Million Million Million Million Million

Company size
 Training
Allocating training time
Average
• Product knowledge 35%
• Market/Indus Information 15
• Company Orientation 10
• Selling Techniques 30
• Other topics 10
\
Total 100%
 INDUSTRY JARGON

“What does HCFA say?”

“DRG’s are killing us.”
“Is this level II in the POL regs?”
“The LTC market’s future looks good.”
“The HME industry is changing rapidly.”
How about: Reflotrons
Spirometry
Holters
Oxygen Concentrators
Thoracic Catheter
 INDUSTRY JARGON

“What does HCFA say?”

“DRG’s are killing us.”
“Is this level II in the POL regs?”
“The LTC market’s future looks good.”
“The HME industry is changing rapidly.”
How about: Reflotrons
Spirometry
Holters
Oxygen Concentrators
Thoracic Catheter
 OJT SALES TRAINING
Eighty percent of a new field salesperson’s training should be focused on
developing customer profiles, digging out account survey data, and building
working relationships in the field. Fifteen percent of his time can then be
invested in learning about how your product or service is used by existing
customers. The field is the place to gain product knowledge, not from an
engineer or home office instructor.
Only 5% of a new field salesperson’s time, then, should be spent on
developing selling skills. Again, the place to do this is face-to-face with real
customers: setting and testing real precall objectives and asking for real
opportunities to do business. Understanding what has to be done to build selling
skills can be mastered in 15 minutes. Doing it takes years of actual, not simulated
practice.

Jack Falvey
Contributing Editor
Sales and marketing Management
Source: “To Develop The Best Salespeople, Let Them Do It Themselves,” Sales and Marketing Management,
(November 1988), p. 87.
Table 10-2 Average Cost and Training Period for Sales Trainees

Consumer $5,513

Industrial $8,913

Service $8,014

4.20
Consumer Months
4.10
Industrial Months
4.10
Service Months
Table 10-3 Average Cost and Training Period for Veteran Salespeople

$4,887
$5,000
$4,021
$3,834
$4,000
Median spending

$3,337

$3,000 $2,498

$2,000

$1,000

$0
Under $5 $5-$25 $25-$100 $100-$250 Over $250
Million Million Million Million Million

Company size
 Training
Why train salespeople?

• Reduce turnover - high among new staff

• Improve customer relations
• Better morale & confidence
• Control - consistence message
• Increased sales
 Determining Training Needs*
Judgement of:
Top Management 68%
Sales Management 73%
Training Department 60%

Interview With:
Salespeople 59%
Customers 25%

*Percent of firms indicating they often use these assessments to determine training needs.
Source: Robert Erffmeyer, K. Russ, and Joseph Hair, “Needs Assessment and Evaluation in Sales Training
Programs,” Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 11,1 (Winter, 1991), p. 21.
 Determining Training Needs
Continued*

Performance Measures:
Sales Volume 56%
Customer Service 51%

Other Measures:
Observation of
Salespeople 38%
Attitude Surveys
28%

*Percent of firms indicating they often use these assessments to determine training needs.
Source: Robert Erffmeyer, K. Russ, and Joseph Hair, “Needs Assessment and Evaluation in Sales Training
Programs,” Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 11,1 (Winter, 1991), p. 21.
 Evaluating Training Effectiveness*

Reactions:
Trainees 86%
68%
Supervisors
Learning:
63%
Performance
Pre-vs. Post Training 31%
Behaviors:
Supervisor’s Appraisal 64%
Customer Appraisal 41%
Results:
Bottom Line 40%

*Percent of firms indicating they often use these evaluations to measure training results.
Source: Robert Erffmeyer, K. Russ, and Joseph Hair, “Needs Assessment and Evaluation in Sales Training
Programs,” Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 11,1 (Winter, 1991), p. 21.