How to Make Sales Training Profitable
Sales Training is Broken
Traditional sales training is an annual event. Its content is canned, just like last year. Its primary presentation mode is lectures and "death by Powerpoint bullets," just like last year. The audience tunes out sooner each year.
Shortly after the event, sales rise a little. Within a few months, the surge is gone. It's as if the sales training event never happened.
Why It Matters
Billions of dollars are spent each year on sales training, with an extremely low return on investment.
How to Fix It
You can have a high return on investment in sales training, but change is required.
Change #1: Sales training cannot be an isolated event. You can leverage its content when you make it part of your ongoing sales program. Make it a production, but make it part of your year-round program. Produce mini-events that lead up to the main training event. Then produce mini-events afterwards, to keep up the momentum.
Change #2: Sales training content must be relevant. Otherwise, your audience will quickly tune out. Crowdsource some of your content. Visit with sales leaders to learn the sales goals and the reasoning behind them. Visit with sales reps to learn their challenges.
The Outcomes You Want
When you make it about them, your sales reps will be engaged before, during and after your sales training event. Their performance will improve. They will close more sales.
Start Today
Isn't it time to re-evaluate your sales training plans? You might want to try my white paper as a starting point.
