How to Spot a Successful Sales Training Program

What makes a sales training program successful and what makes one unsuccessful? Most sales training programs implemented by companies fail for the following reasons:

1) Program failed to motivate first
2) Information isn't current and relevant
3) Fails to motivate and train daily
3) Training is made optional (major mistake)
4) Training can't be measured
5) Solutions aren't available after the training ends

Whether you're training for the UFC, a better golf score, the NFL, or developing the skills of a professional sales team, the challenges are the same. The first thing your training program must do is motivate and give hope to those being trained. Many instructors don't motive they just educate -- MISTAKE! (see poll at link below) Also organizations that are committed to improving the sales skills of their sales and management team must make a training facility and equipment available. Where's the training room? How often is it used? What materials are in the facility? Are they easy to access?

Great organizations make their people train and even make it part of the employee agreement. You think the NY Giants don't have to train? It's not an option for even the best players. It's a requirement. They're forced to train, not asked if they want to. While many organizations make attempts to train, they fail in their ability to measure the understanding of the participants. We can do this now with interactive virtual technology that allows us to engage the sales person and get clarification every 3-5 minutes to measure their understanding. Lastly, the biggest missing piece for training programs is that the training must provide tools that provide solutions during the game (in this case the sale) long after the training ends. Watch any quarterback with a full cheat sheet of plays on his arm and an ear set getting direction from the sidelines. The organization doesn't trust just the motivation, the training, or even the pay but also provides support in 'real time' as he or she needs it.

Sales training programs fail because training is more educational than motivational and fall on deaf ears. Then, it isn't delivered often enough to actually improve anyone's skill set. Two sales meetings a week don't count as sales training nor will they improve the attitudes or the skill set for the rest of the week. Another major reason for failing and creating the 80/20 Rule is that all training is focused on the newest people and ignores the rest of the organization. This is because most sales training doesn't continue to advance the skill set of veteran sales people and sales management. The fact that there is no physical facility, equipment, and sales training technology whereby sales people and sales managers have a place to go to and are trained daily AND held accountable for their improvement is just validation of an organization that's dependent upon the economy improving rather than improving the actual skills of their people. If you're waiting for this economy to improve, you're in for a long wait. And the best organizations will take their training to another level by also providing solutions and reminders throughout the organization to assist and remind the sales team of ways to solve problems in real time. We created on-demand, real-time solutions with our desking software, Epencil (tm) and most recently with our Quick Fix Technology whereby your people can access me over their phone or computer and in "real time" find out what I would do in a particular sales situation.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Have the skills of your people improved even though the economy is more difficult?
• Is the person that delivers the training motivational first?
• Do you agree that motivation is senior to sales people?
• Do the sales and management team respect the person delivering the training?
• Is the information current and relevant?
• Do you believe that your people will improve themselves if it is just an option?
• Is your sales training measurable?
• Do you have a facility with the equipment, tools, and technology available for them to train?
• Do you have mandatory sales training daily?
• Do you have training material for all levels of your sales team including management?

You will continue to have retention problems every time you answer "No" to the questions above. Regardless of how good, motivated, and willing the new sales recruit is you still have to provide them with ongoing motivation, education, and assistance to ensure their success in sales. Business owners have told me for years, "Give me someone with a great attitude that is motivated to work, and I can teach them the skills."

Here's the bottom line on sales training - it doesn't work because it isn't done often enough. Look at this graph of an organization after just 30 days of 8 training sessions a month to 4x that. (Check Graph Below)

Replace your sales meetings with daily sales training that is current, relevant, and firstly, motivational. Make it daily, make it mandatory, and be sure it is measurable and then provide your people with solutions in real time/on-demand (when they need it) and your training program will result in increased sales and increased retention.

I recently created a poll for a major automobile manufacturer to prove to them that their training initiative's focus on product training was what's most needed by automotive sales people and managers. While the results of this poll are still incomplete, I think most people will be shock by the results.

Grant Cardone, NY Times Best Selling Author and International Sales Training Expert