Sales training is designed to optimise sales staff, but costs can top billions of pounds every year. A huge proportion of that spending goes down the drain.
Surveys show recently trained staff performance in meeting revenue targets, tends to taper off drastically after the initial benefits of the training are experienced, often going straight back to the same level it was before the training was conducted.
Identifying where these training experiences go wrong is vital to making sure you don’t waste money on sales training with questionable results. But also to securing revenue for your business.
How much sales training is wasted
As much as half the content delivered on training days can be lost within five and a half weeks, after three months as much as 84% of what’s taught could be lost. After a year has passed, less than a tenth of what was originally covered remains. This leaves behind a malformed combination of old, new and half-formed information.
Why sales training falls short
It peaks too soon
Training is often a relatively short, intense experience for the sales staff. Across multiple days, the volume of information thrown at the staff can massively exceeds the amount of information they are able to absorb, retain, and employ in their day to day work.
Asking staff to absorb game-changing amounts of information in short periods of time is like asking them to pick up a professional new skill in a week and employ it the following week.
Training deviates from proven sales processes
Techniques and skills make up a great deal of what’s covered on sales training courses, but as we discussed earlier it’s not plausible to overrule a sales staff’s existing skills in a short period of time. New ideas and skills have to be built to complement existing skills. To make sure employees aren’t forced to choose between new philosophies and their existing, familiar practices.
Fragmentation prevents continued learning experiences
To maximise effectiveness over a long or short period of time. Sales training should embrace a blend of learning styles including digital learning, live events and education top ups. Rather than intense, disparate, easily forgotten episodes.
Training isn’t specific enough
Individual industries need highly bespoke training to address the specific needs of the prospects. Too few sales training exercises focus on the specialised skills necessary to make strategically valuable sales for specialised prospects.
Sales management teams get overwhelmed
Introducing a new philosophy or process your sales management needs mentoring and backing from their senior leadership to encourage new ideas. Ultimately sales management are responsible for their numbers. A high-pressure environment of hitting targets isn’t always conducive to nourishing new ideas without robust support.
The quality and quantity of your company’s revenue depends on sales training not being poured into one ear and falling out of the other. Whether your business is designing your own training courses or using a 3rd party. Training should be structured and delivered, this maximises the positive outcomes on your sales staff’s abilities.
