Winning Edge: September 2017 - Tools for Today

Page 18

FEATURE | PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

MAKING SALES TRAINING STICK DARREN SPENCE suggests the top 10 causes of failed sales training – and how to prevent them

J

ust as top athletes “train insane” to stay ahead of the competition and win, the same is true for top sales teams. Effective people development is an essential prerequisite to successful business development. Unfortunately, while any investment in people development should be applauded, most of it will prove to be a waste of money and regretted, simply because it doesn’t deliver the lasting behavioural change needed. So what are the main reasons why sales training fails? Here are my top 10, along with some practical measures to overcome them. The top 10 reasons are broken up into three important categories: training content, sales management, and marketing teams.

CONTENT-RELATED REASONS 1. Too much emphasis on SKILLS training and not enough on BEHAVIOURS The problem with relying solely on programmes that are skills orientated is that having the right sales skills is only part of what is needed for salespeople to be successful. Just as a topperforming athlete will find ways of optimising their diet, mental attitude and training regime, salespeople require the same kind of multi-faceted approach. In addition to tuning their sales skills, salespeople also need to develop the right 16 WINNING EDGE

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