As Seen in:
WARM UP TO ROI-DRIVEN SALES TRAINING
Why the time is right to unfreeze your sales-training budget
With training budgets in defrost mode, now’s the perfect time for your sales team to learn new skills. The economy is improving, and at the same time, competition among sales trainers has never been so fierce. This trend works for companies looking to lower the overall cost of training. Even better, training firms have not only expanded their offerings, but also they are making better use of technology to enrich the learning experience. This renewed opportunity for high-quality sales training creates a challenge for the sales executive, though. With so many options available at such attractive prices, sales executives need guidelines to ensure they’re getting the right training at the right price. Does the sales trainer have the right resources? Rolling out a major training campaign is a large undertaking, so your prospective sales-training firm should have the stuff to do the job correctly. Be certain the instructors have the background that will command respect among your sales team. Somebody who sells millions of dollars of product a year isn’t likely to listen to a freshly-minted MBA who’s still wet behind the ears – but that’s only the start. “Find out who is going to be creating, customizing and supporting your training effort,” suggests Linda Richardson, president and CEO of Richardson, a seminar and elearning sales-training firm located in Philadelphia, PA. “Are they full-time employees of the sales-training firm or just ‘stringers’ who’ve been hired part time?” Your relationship with the trainer doesn’t end once the first round of training is complete. Your team will probably need follow-up training and skill reinforcement. It’s also likely the training will need to evolve as your organization evolves. Be certain your sales trainer can provide those services. If the sales training involves computer-based instruction, the salestraining firm should have a plan for supporting any software that’s part of the course. This is not a trivial issue. If you plan on adding features to your CRM system, for example, the sales-training modules will probably need to be adapted to the new system. Does the sales trainer have high-quality materials? Examine the sample training materials from the firms you’re considering. “Training materials should be well designed, innovative, clear and interesting,” advises Richardson. Because your organization’s environment is unique, the materials that will actually be used in your training will probably need to be customized. If so, you should make certain the trainer has the design staff required to make necessary changes. If you’re training a global or multilingual organization, be certain the materials can be easily translated and (just as important) the training firm can do the translating work. If some materials are computer based, be sure the prospective training firm has the expertise to adapt the training materials to your computing environment, including your RM system. For hard-copy materials, find out if the sales-training firm will let you save money by doing your own printing. If you’re planning on using the training system for a long time, you might want to think about putting your corporate logo and brand on the training materials.