No Clarity
Why Sales Training Programs Fail
Reason #9:
Imagine you could accelerate your decision-making process around sales training, thereby accelerating the success of the launch of the right sales training, and ultimately accelerate your revenue.
To learn more about how we help companies expedite the decision-making by helping them with how to choose the right training partner, check us out at https://www.tramazing.com/
After participating in initial conversations with prospects and even some customers, it never seems to amaze me. And what I am talking about here is clarity. The decision to provide sales training for the team seems like an easy one and it is. It only becomes confusing when too many people get involved in the decision-making process.
The CEO and sales leaders know what’s broken and where the need to pay attention exists. They also know when the competition is getting close, and a sharp CEO and savvy sales leadership will take measures and look to continuously provide training. Making sure that their teams are best equipped to compete in a very tight market. They look for that slight edge.
Here is where the lack of clarity comes in. The sales team and leadership will put the request into the hands of Learning and Development, and sometimes include Human Resources. And lastly, they will invite one or more folks from their Sales Enablement teams. Now we have a first discussion about who to train, why we are training them, what content or program we should use. And there are typically people in the room nominating a company that they prefer. Then someone else on the team brings up a different preferred partner that they also used in the past.
Other companies, unfortunately, stayed with a training company even though it wasn’t going well. And other times it was a complete failure, and the company that hired the trainer or training company ends up terminating their agreement. With so many people getting involved in the decision-making process they create chaos and there is too much input. And then the questions come up again: Why are we doing this training? How much is it going to cost? What are we hoping they get out of this? How long will this take? Do we have the right resources to manage this? Do we have someone who comes from sales who can help? And many other questions. So many questions and very little clarity.
And choosing the right trainer never has to be a leap of faith, training never has to be a check the box initiative. Visit us at tramazing.com and we can work through your decisions about sales training and answer any questions you may have when it comes to why, who, what, when, and how the training will take place, including how to build a training roadmap that can be managed too.
Best Practice #1: Begin with the why. Why are we choosing to train our company now? Sometimes, it’s because the numbers are down and have been trending down for some time now, or at best, they are flat. So, to avoid confusion and gain clarity, start with why you are training in the first place. Be very specific about the KPI’s you are crushing or being crushed by.
Best Practice #2: Avoid having too many influencers or decision-makers giving guidance. Unless you are really good at managing the flow of information and the opinions of many, you would do your best to limit the group and make sure one of you is recognized as the ultimate decision-maker.
Best Practice #3: If you are convinced that the timing is right for sales training, work with a consultant who has working knowledge and intimate information about each company you will be considering. You want to know if their culture is the right fit. You will want to if their content will be appropriate for your team. You will want to know if the process they adhere to is a process you can work with. If you are working with a set budget, the customer may need to compromise other things so that the quality and integrity of the training program delivers the best value, and helps with any growth goals of the organization.