SALES TRAINING AND

MARKETING CONCEPT
Reporter: Tricia Pauline Andromeda
G. Regalado
MM-21
 SALES TRAINING
 Sales training is the effort put forth by an
employer to provide the opportunity for the
salesperson to acquire job-related attitudes,
concepts, rules, and skills that result in
improved performance in the selling
environment.
 Purpose of Training
There are specific purposes for training other than improving general sales
volume. They relate to the type of training offered and include these
goals:

 Helping salespeople become better managers.

 Orienting the new salesperson to the job.
 Improving knowledge in areas such as product, company, competitors, or
s elling skills.
 Lowering absenteeism and turnover.
 Positively influencing attitudes in such areas as job satisfaction.
 Lowering selling costs.
 Informing salespeople.
 Obtaining feedback from the salespeople.
 Increasing sales in a particular product or customer category.
 Training Methods
The three basic training methods are discussion,
role playing, and on-the-job training.
 DISCUSSION
 The discussion approach to sales training can
be used in several ways, including case studies
and/or discussion groups. Case studies are
usually included in presession assignments.
 ROLE PLAYING
 In role playing, the trainee acts out the sale of a
product or service to a hypothetical buyer.
Often the trainee’s presentation is videotaped
and replayed for critique by a group, the
trainee, and the trainer.
 The role-playing procedure is generally a
variation of the following:

 Define the sales problem.

 Establish the situation.
 Cast the characters
 Brief the participants.
 Act out the buyer–seller situation.
 Discuss, analyze, and critique the role-playing.
 ON-THE-JOB TRAINING
 On-the-job training may take several forms.
New salespeople may accompany their
managers and observe sales calls. On-the-job
training includes observation and curbside
counseling by the sales manager.
Where Does Training Take Place?
 A salesperson may receive some form of training
any place, any time of day or night. Sales training
is continuous. In a broad sense, training occurs
any time the superior does things such as
commenting on a salesperson’s reports, talking on
the phone to the salesperson, working in the field
with the salesperson, or conducting a meeting.
The two broad categories of sales training are
centralized and decentralized training.
 CENTRALIZED
 Training at a central location is primarily
intended for instruction of salespeople from all
geographical areas served by the company.
Programs typically are held at or close to the
home office/manufacturing plant, in a large
city, or at a resort.
 DECENTRALIZED
 The main form of sales force instruction,
decentralized training, may be conducted
anywhere. It can be done in a branch office, in
the salesperson’s car, at the customer’s place of
business, in a motel room, or at the
salesperson’s home.
 ADVANTAGE
 Costs are usually lower.
 Many sales managers feel their salespeople
receive as much knowledge and motivation
from their peers in informal sessions as in
regular training.
 Finally, supplies, samples, and tools can be
provided to take home after the session.
 DISADVANTAGE
 Centralized training is expensive due to the cost of
travel, meals, and facilities.
 It is expensive for salespeople to be out of their
territories, and trainees may not want to be away
from their families for a prolonged time.
 Salespeople may come to the meeting unprepared,
really only wanting to get away from regular work.
 Finally, customer sales may be lost. The cost of lost
sales must be offset by increasing productivity and
efficiency through training.
 Who Is Involved in Training?
 Typically, the three basic kinds of sales trainers
are corporate staff personnel, regular sales
force personnel, and specialists from outside
the company.
 CORPORATE STAFF TRAINERS
 Staff trainers are responsible for the creation,
administration, and coordination of a firm’s
sales management and sales force training and
development programs.
 SALES FORCE PERSONNEL
 Senior sales representatives and district and
regional sales managers are the primary
trainers of the sales force. These people bring
to the training program years of sales
experience that help the trainee relate quickly
to the instructor and the material.
OUTSIDE TRAINING SPECIALISTS
 Trainers drawn from outside the company may
be consultants specializing in sales training or
representatives of programs. Smaller firms
may rely heavily on outside trainers. This
practice affords them the training without the
cost of maintaining a training staff. The
courses may be standardized or customized for
the company. A company must carefully select
outside trainers based on individual needs.