CHAPTER SIX

TRAINING THE SALES TEAM

Training salespersons in any organization is an important and ongoing
activity. Training makes salespersons more skilled so that they can perform
better in an ever-chaining environment. Building a sales training program
requires five major decisions: aim, content, method, execution and
evaluation. The aim of training is to identify the experience and needs of
salespersons for training. The content consists of product data, sales techniques
and market. The method of training varies according to the situation and needs
of an organization. Execution of training includes how and where the training
will take place. Evaluation of training finally judges the effect of a training
program on the organization and salesperson. Training varies with the
salesperson’s career cycle. Salespersons have varied backgrounds, experience
levels, learning abilities, etc., and therefore have their own particular training
needs.

6.1 Identifying the Initial Training Need

The initial training needs of a sales training program can be identified by the analysis of
three main factors.

1. Job specification: The qualifications needed to perform a job are detailed in

job specification. The set of job specifications needs scrutinizing for clues as
to the areas in which new personnel are most likely to need training.
2. Trainee’s Background & Experience: the gap between the qualifications
in the job specifications those a trainee already has represents the nature
and amount of training needed.
3. Sales related Marketing Policies: The analysis of sales-related marketing
policies is also necessary to determine initial sales training needs because
the difference in products, markets and their selling practices and policies
determine the difference in training programs. For example, selling of highly
technical goods involves training with lot of product information while selling
of non-technical goods involves only sales training programs.

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Identifying Continuing Sales Training Programs

The identification of continuing sales training needs means to identify those

training needs of experience sales personnel which are considered necessary
due to changes in market, product, marketing policies, procedure, and the
organization and even in the sales personnel themselves.

6.2 Content of Training

The content of training is not the same for all sales training programs. It varies
from company to company because of differences in products, markets,
company policies, trainees’ ability and experience, and organizational size. In
every initial sales training program, companies mainly focus on product data,
sales techniques, markets and company information.

Product training depends on the nature of the product- if the product is highly
technical, more than half the program would be devoted to product training; if
the product is non-technical, then minimal amount of the product training is
required. The predominant views are that new sales personnel need basic
instructions in how to sell. The salesperson needs to know who the customers
are, their particular locations and the particular products in which they are
interested. Besides, the salesperson should also know about their buying habits,
motives and financial conditions. But the training in this context should not be
stagnant; it should be continuous because markets are always changing. The
company should essentially inform the salesperson about the company’s pricing
policy, product services, spare parts and repairs, credit extension and customer
relations.

6.3 Challenges of Sales in Competitive Environment

Seven sales challenges that organizations must meet if they are going to
survive in the competitive marketplace:

1. Distinguish between similar products and services. Success in sales

requires more than just having an exceptional product or service. The

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 proliferation of ‘me too’ products is causing buyers to become confused.
Excellent salespeople are needed to capitalize on product differences: that
their offerings are better than the competitor’s.
2. Putting together groups of products to form a business solution. As
customers’ requirements are continually becoming more complex, single
product or service selling is becoming obsolete. Their needs can only be met
by a ‘package’ of products or services. The salesperson will have to be highly
trained to put together a package to satisfy these needs.
3. Handling the more educated buying population. Today’s customers are
willing to work harder and take time to shop around for what they need. They
are also more aware of the product features, benefits, options and prices.
Today’s professional salesperson must thus work harder to close the sale.
4. Mastering the art of consultative selling. The salesperson now needs to
understand the specific business issues and problems faced by customers.
Their role is to lessen customers’ responsibility to discover their own needs,
and show how the product and service being offered will fill these needs.
5. Managing a team selling approach. In the future a team selling approach
will have to be adopted to satisfy customer needs. The salesperson will have
to draw on knowledge of technical staff, marketing staff and experts in other
product areas.
6. Knowing the customer’s business. Future sales will require in-depth
knowledge of the customer’s business, with salespeople well versed in the
requirements of the market segment in which they sell. Relationship building
with the customer is paramount and the customer’s best interests are always
placed at the forefront. Accurate marketing information is needed to provide
each customer with the best possible service.
7. Adding value through service. When a product reaches a commodity
status the salesperson’s perceived value is diminished. They are reduced to
‘order-takers’. Companies must continue to build up their relationship with
customers by adding value through services such as business consultations
and ongoing product support. Thus competition has increased and only the
companies that are prepared to meet these challenges will survive.

Producing the best available product or service is not enough – it has to be sold.
If companies are to survive they must attach the utmost importance to training
their field sales force, not just pay lip service to the concept. Top management
must be totally committed to training and authorize sufficient investment for
this to occur. They must also accept that the benefits derived from sales training
may not be immediate; they take time to show through. The potential benefits
of sales training are immense, ranging from enhanced skill levels, improved
motivation and greater self-confidence in one’s ability to perform well at selling,
a factor that has been shown to be related to improved sales performance.

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 On the whole, insufficient attention is paid to training. Presumably it is believed
that salespeople will learn the necessary skills on the job. This approach ignores
the benefits of a training program that builds a reference frame within which
learning can occur and provides the opportunity to practice skills with feedback
which is necessary to identify the strengths and weaknesses of performance.
For training to succeed the salesperson must accept that there is a problem with
their performance, otherwise they are unlikely to try to rectify the problem.

Another approach to the training problem of new salespeople is to send them

out with an experienced salesperson to observe how selling is done. This in itself
is insufficient for successful sales training. Its virtues are that the trainee may
gain insights not only into techniques which appear to be successful in selling,
for example, certain closing techniques, but also into the kinds of objections
rose by buyers.

6.4 Benefits of Training

However, its value is greatly enhanced if supplemented by a formal sales

training program conducted by an experienced sales trainer who is skilled in
lecturing, handling role-playing sessions and providing constructive feedback in
such a way that it is accepted by the trainee. Sales training provides particular

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challenges in the international environment. Differences in language and culture
mean that care must be taken when training overseas sales teams. Indeed, as
individual nations become culturally diverse there is a growing need for cultural
diversity training for companies that do not trade internationally.

6.5 Skill Development

There are four classic stages to learning a skill. The first stage defines the
situation before a trainee decides to enter a career in selling. They are
unable to carry out the skills and have not even thought about them. By
reading or being told about the skills involved, the trainee reaches the
second stage of being consciously unable. They know what to do but
cannot successfully perform any of the skills. At the third stage (consciously
able) the trainee not only knows what to do but is reasonably proficient at
putting the skills into practice individually. They are like a learner driver who can
engage gear, release the clutch, look in the mirror, gently press the accelerator
and release the handbrake as a series of separate operations, but not in a co-
ordinate manner that successfully moves the car from a standing start.

The trainee may be able to make a presentation successfully, handle objections

and close a sale, but may be hopelessly adrift when they need to handle
objections, continue making the presentation and all the while look for signs to
close the sale.

A successful training program takes the trainee through this difficult barrier to
the fourth stage (unconsciously able) when they can perform all the skills at
once and have the ability to think a stage in advance so that they have control
of the selling situation. A car driver reaches this stage when able to co-ordinate
the skills necessary to start, move and stop a car without thinking; the timing of
gear changes and braking, for example, become automatic, without conscious
thought. Similarly, the salesperson can open the interview, move through the
stages of need identification, presentation and handling objections in a natural

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manner, and can alter the approach as situations demand, before choosing the
right moment and most appropriate technique to close the sale.

When salespeople become unconsciously able they are likely to be competent

although, like a driver, football player or cricketer, there will always be room for
further improvement and refinement of their skills.

6.6 Components of a Training Program

A training program covers a combination of knowledge and skill development.
Five components can be identified:

1) The company (objectives, policies and organization).

2) Its products.
3) Its competitors and their products.
4) Selling procedure and techniques.
5) Work organization and report preparation.
6) Relationship management

 The first three components are essentially communicating the

required level of knowledge to the salesperson. The first component
will probably include a brief history of the company, how it has grown and
where it intends to go in the future. Policies relevant to the selling function,
for example, how salespeople are evaluated and the nature of the
compensation system will be explained. The way in which the company is
organized will be described and the relationship between sales and the

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 marketing function, including advertising and market research, will be
described so that the salesperson has an appreciation of the support they are
receiving from headquarters.
 The second component, product knowledge, will include a description of
how the products are made and the implications for product quality and
reliability, the features of the product and the benefits they confer on the
consumer. Salespeople will be encouraged to carry out their own product
analyses so that they will be able to identify key features and benefits of new
products as they are launched. Competitors will be identified and
competitors’ products will also be analyzed to spotlight differences between
them and the company’s products.
 Some training programs, particularly within the industrial selling arena, stop
here, neglecting a major component of a training program – selling
procedures and techniques. Five selling steps: opening sales calls; effective
listening; objection handling; closing and follow-up.
 The next component of the program– work organization and report
writing – will endeavor to establish good habits among the trainees in areas
which may be neglected because of day-to-day pressures. Work organization
training includes time and territory management skills. The importance of
these activities on a salesperson’s performance and, hence, earnings will be
stressed.
 Finally, the importance of building relationships means that training
programs will place heavy emphasis on people skills. The components of the
program involve people and communication skills.
6.7 Objectives of Sales Training
Although the specific objectives of sales training may vary from firm to firm,
there is some agreement on the board objectives. Sales training is undertakes to
increase productivity, motivate, improve turnover, improve customer relations,
and produce better management of the time and territory.

1. Creating Credibility in sales training: Many sales trainers believe their

programs lack credibility. Cost- cutting efforts are too often directed at
existing sales training programs. Sales training programs have to be sold,
just like any other product or service. Well-designed programs are easier to
sell to management than those put together with little thought.
2. Analyzing Needs: The starting point in creating credibility is to analyze the
needs of the sale force. One way to do this is to travel with sales
representative, observing them and asking what they need to know that will
help them perform more effectively.

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3. Determining Objectives: setting specific, realistic and measurable
objectives adds to the credibility of sales training programs. The objectives
may include learning about new products, new techniques, or new
procedures. It pays to keep the objectives simple. Management may want a
10 % sales increase, which then becomes the broad objective of the training
program. The specific objective might be to teach sales representatives how
to call on new accounts, which will help lead to the broad objective.
4. Developing and Implementing Program: Many companies, both large
small, use outside agencies for conducting sales training programs. Small
companies may farm out most of their training needs. Large companies
usually develop most of their own programs and use outside agencies to
handle only their specialized needs.
6.8 Methods of Training
The selection of appropriate training method for a training program depends
on the content of the training. Some of the important and appropriate
methods of sales training are:
 The lecture: This method is useful in giving information and providing a
frame of reference to aid the learning process. The lecture should be
supported by the use of visual aids, for example, professionally produced
PowerPoint. Trainees should be encouraged to participate so that the
communication is not just one way. Discussion stimulates interest and allows
misunderstandings to be identified and dealt with.
 Films: These are a useful supplement to the lecture in giving information
and showing how a skill should be performed. They add an extra dimension
to a lecture by demonstrating how the principles can be applied in a selling
situation. In terms of the stages of learning skills, lectures and films take the
trainees up to the point of being consciously unable. They will show what
they are required to do, but they will lack the experience to put the theory
into practice successfully.
 Role playing: This learning method moves the trainees into the stage of
being consciously able to perform a skill. It allows the trainees to learn by
their own successes and failures in a buyer–seller situation. Feedback is
provided by other group members, the sales trainer and by audio-visual
means. Seeing oneself perform is an enlightening and rewarding experience
and can demonstrate to the trainee the points raised by other members of
the group. Without this dimension some trainees may refuse to accept a
fault, e.g. losing the buyer’s interest, simply because in the heat of the
selling discussion they genuinely do not notice it. Playback allows the trainee

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 to see the situation through the eyes of a third person and problems are
more easily recognized and accepted. Role playing has its critics. Some
say that trainees do not take it seriously enough and that by its very nature it
is not totally realistic. Its main value is in teaching inexperienced salespeople
the basic skills of selling in a less threatening environment than real selling.
The selling process can be broken up into a series of activities, e.g. opening
and need identification, sales presentation and overcoming objections, each
of which requires a special set of skills. Role playing can be used to develop
each set of skills in a series of exercises that gradually build up to a full sales
interview. The degree of success achieved by role playing is heavily
dependent upon the skills of the sales trainer. When the trainees have at
least a modicum of sales experience, it is good practice to allow them to
devise their own sales situations based on actual experiences. The briefs so
produced are then exchanged between trainees so that each is presented
with a situation which is new to them but which, at the same time, is
realistic.
 Gaming Simulation: This method is somewhat similar to role playing,
with the unique features that it uses highly structured situations based on
reality and players receive information feedback.
 Case studies: Case studies are particularly appropriate for developing
analytical skills. Trainees are asked to analyze situations, identify problems
and opportunities and make recommendations for dealing with them. They
can be used, for example, in setting call objectives. A history of a buyer–
seller relationship is given and the trainee is asked to develop a set of
sensible objectives for their next visit.
 In-the-field training: It is essential that initial training given to trainees is
reinforced by on-the-job training. The experience gained by real-life selling
situations plus the evaluation and feedback provided by the sales manager
should mean that the salesperson moves solidly into the final stage of the
learning skills process – unconsciously able. The salesperson does the right
things automatically, just as a driver can co-ordinate the set of skills
necessary to drive a car without consciously thinking. Although unconsciously
able is the final stage in the learning process, it does not describe a finite
position beyond which improvement cannot take place. Field training is
designed to improve the performance of the experienced as well as the
newer salesperson.

In order to achieve this sales manager needs to do the following:

 Analyze each salesperson’s performance;
 Identify strengths and weaknesses;
 Gain agreement with the salesperson that a weakness exists;

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  Teach the salesperson how to overcome the weaknesses;
 Monitor progress to check that an improvement has been realized.

There may be a strong temptation during a sales interview for a manager to

step in when it is obvious that the salesperson is losing an order. Whether they
succumb to this temptation will depend upon the importance of the order, but to
do so will undoubtedly reduce the effectiveness of the training session. Ideally,
the sales manager should use the situation as an opportunity to observe and
evaluate how the salesperson deals with the situation. Stepping in may save the
order but cause resentment on the part of the salesperson, who loses face with
the customer. This may jeopardize future sales and damage the manager’s
relationship with the salesperson. Generally, salespeople will respect criticism
that they feel is fair and constructive. To achieve a sense of fairness, the sales
manager should begin the post-interview assessment session by listing the
positive points in the salesperson’s performance. They should then ask the
salesperson to relate any aspects of the sales interview that could be improved
on.

If the salesperson realizes that they have a weakness, then the manager does
not have the problem of convincing them that a difficulty exists. It is inevitable
that some weaknesses will not be exposed in this way and the manager will
have to explain them to the salesperson. However, since the manager has
earlier praised other aspects of performance, the salesperson is unlikely to
reject the manager’s criticisms out of hand. Having gained agreement, the sales
manager will then suggest methods to overcome the problem. Perhaps they will
take the role of the buyer and engage in a role-playing exercise to rehearse the
way in which a problem should be dealt with before the next call, or simply
instruct the salesperson and suggest that they apply what has been said at the
next call.

 E-learning: The heavy time constraints place on modern salespeople mean

that taking days off work to attend a traditional sales training course may not
be feasible. Technological advances mean that an alternative method of
disseminating information is via the internet. Using technology to package
information is an inexpensive and effective alternative to traditional
programs. This approach means that training can take place over long
distances and at a time which fits in with salespeople’s work patterns.
 On- the-Job Training: When a salesperson joins any organization, he is
given training in the product and its technical features, competition, and its
customers in the marketplace and within the organization. In this the
salesmen are coached and instructed by skilled co-workers or by supervisors

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 or by the special training instructors. Sometimes the first sales call made by
the salesperson is made under the supervision of the trainer so that any
mistakes made by the salesperson can be rectified.
 Correspondence Courses: Companies with highly technical products and
small but widely deployed sales forces use correspondence courses to
acquaint the experienced salespeople with new product development and
applications. These courses provide written material given to the trainees
who can read and understand the same. If the initial sales training is a line
function then training is assigned to top sales executives but if it is a staff
function then the responsibility of initial sale training is given to the
personnel department. The responsibility for continuing sales training resides
with the top sales executives. Sometimes, outside experts are also hired to
conduct portions of sales training programs relating to sales techniques.
6.9 Evaluation of Training Courses

Evaluation of training programs involves the comparing of the training programs

aim with the results and measuring its impact on the salesperson. There is no
direct method of measuring the impact of training but certain methods are
available for ascertaining whether the results are positive or not. These are:
 Market share percentage: judged by the increase/decrease in the market
share.
 Written Tests: taking a test of the sales people who were trained.
 Observers who work with sales personnel: the performance of sales
people is judged by the trainer, who observers the actual selling situations.
A widely adopted framework for evaluating the effectiveness of sales
training is the four-stage training model proposed by Kirkpatrick.
1. Participants’ reactions to the training course. Reactions are measures
of how the sales trainees feel about various aspects of a sales training
course. They are, therefore, similar to traditional measures of customer
satisfaction. It is assumed that when salespeople dislike a training course,
little effort will be put into learning and using the material. Conversely, if
sales trainees enjoy the training they will learn more and be more motivated
to use the material. Typically, reaction measures focus on value adding
aspects of the training such as satisfaction with the instruction, satisfaction
with the course content, and general course satisfaction. Research by Leach
and Liu suggests that there is a positive link between reaction measures and

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 knowledge retention, i.e. the more trainees are satisfied with a sales training
course, the more they retain selling knowledge from it.
2. Acquisition and retention of knowledge and attitude change.
Acquisition and retention of knowledge can be assessed by pen and paper
tests when the training objectives are the provision of information (e.g.
product and competitor information). When training objectives involve the
teaching of selling skills, pen and paper tests will be supplemented with
evaluated role plays. The study by Leach and Liu indicates that trainees
whose level of knowledge acquisition was higher were more likely to transfer
learned material to the marketplace.
3. Changes in work behavior. Behavior change evaluations measure the
extent to which salespeople modify their job-related behavior due to sales
training. This is often referred to as ‘transfer of learning’ and is crucial to the
success of a sales training course. Learning transfer evaluations often involve
direct observations of the sales trainee in the workplace by sales managers.
The Leach and Liu study suggests that assessment of the degree of learning
transfer to the job is an important aspect of evaluation since it is linked to
organizational outcomes, i.e. the more trainees apply what they have learnt
from the sales training course, the better their achievement of desired
organizational outcomes such as improved selling effectiveness, enhanced
customer relations and higher levels of organizational commitment.
4. Organizational outcomes. These evaluations measure the extent to which
a sales training course has contributed to the achievement of the objectives
set out by the company. Six organizational sales training objectives are often
used: increased sales volume; improved customer relations; increased
salesperson commitment leading to lower levels of staff turnover; decreased
selling costs; improved control of the sales force; and better time
management.
6.10 Training Sales Managers
To succeed as a sales manager requires the following:
 Developing close relationships with customers and an in-depth understanding of
customers’ businesses;
 Partnering salespeople to achieve sales, profitability and customer satisfaction
goals;
 Co-coordinating hybrid sales forces of telemarketers and field salespeople;
 Keeping up to date with the latest technologies impacting the sales function;
 Learning marketing skills to identify potential business opportunities and
recommend strategies;
 Working with other functional areas to achieve overall corporate goals through
customer satisfaction;
 Continually seeking ways to exceed customer expectations and create added
value in buyer–seller relationships;

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 Creating a flexible, learning and adapting environment for the sales team;
 Developing teaching, analytical, motivational, organizational, communication &
planning skills.

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