Ssm lecture-10 & 11 (training & development of the sales force)

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By :

Prof. Amit Kumar

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“A student pursuing management education from IILM- Graduate School of Management, for example may find himself or herself placed in a firm as a Sales Manager. Our goal is to prepare the student for the exciting challenges related to leading sales organizations in today’s hyper-competitive global economy”.

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Importance of this course

Selling & Sales Management

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Selling & Sales Management

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Contents• How Important is Sales Training?• Challenges in Sales Training• Role of Trainer• The Training Process

– Training Need Assessment Phase– Designing & Developing the Sales Training Program– Training Delivery Method– Access the Training Efforts

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Selling & Sales Management Training & Development of Sales Force

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How Important is Sales Training?

Have you ever dealt with a salesperson who was not knowledgeable about the product or

services he or she was selling and you were extremely interested in it? It probably was not a

reassuring experience.

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Organizations that utilize sales training do so because they see a number of benefits from this investment:• Their sales representatives are more knowledgeable about

the firm’s Products and Services • more knowledgeable about the market in which they operate• more knowledgeable about the selling process

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The following statistics show: (US Data)• Nationwide, across all industries, nearly $60 billion is spent

annually on formal training efforts.• Compared with other area of training, sales training receives the

most funding.• Over 35% of firms report that their salespeople receive over 6 days

of training every year.• Nearly half (47%) of sales executives ranked ‘enhancing sales

training’ as the most important area in which their firm planned to make operational improvements.

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When you think of it, would you want to have a relationship with a company that doesn’t make

an investment in the ongoing training of its sales personnel?

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Challenges in Sales Training

Will the training program be effective in solving a problem?

Will the investment in it be justified?

Will it produce the desired or intended results?

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Role of the Trainer

The success of the training program depends on the ability, skill, and motivation of the sales trainer.

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The Training Process• The sales training program will be different for each firm depending upon its size, resources and the markets in which

it operates.

• Regardless of an organization’s size or the resources it has, the process sales managers should follow to develop effective sales training programs for the personnel is the same.

• Generally, a four stage sales training cycle from planning to delivery.

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The Sales Training Cycle

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Identify the Firm’s Training Needs

• Determine the objectives of thetraining and the areas in whichsalespeople need training

• Determine who needs training

Access the Training Efforts

• Determine the training’s value tothe individual salesperson

• Determine the training’s value tothe organization

Develop the Training Program• Determine the content to include

in the program• Develop the objectives• Determine the program’s

staffing needs• Develop the delivery method

Deliver the Training

• Schedule the training• Facilitate the transfer of learning

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1. Determine the objectives of the training

2. Determine who needs training

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The Sales Training CycleIdentify the Firm’s Training Needs1. Determine the objectives of the training

• Most experts recommend that sales managers consider three levels of information during the training planning stage-

– Information from the organizational level– The task level– The individual level

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Development of Firm’s Sales Training

Programs

Organizational Analysis:How does the training program align with the firm’s goals?

Task Analysis:How does the training program help salespeopleDevelop the KSAs they needed?

Individual Analysis:How does the training program matchSalespeople’s needs for training?

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• At Org level, information should reflect from the firm’s mission statement, strategy as well as firm marketing and sales objectives.

• Task level, focus is on identifying level of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) are needed for a firm’s sales jobs. Jobs descriptions are a good place from which to acquire these information. Task level information can be generated from sales manager’s observations, input from the customers.

• Individual level information is available from salesperson performance reports.

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Input from

Sales ManagerJob IncumbentsUpper ManagementTraining PersonnelCustomers

PerformancemeasuresSales VolumesService LevelsCustomer ComplaintsTurnover RatesNo of Sales CallsProfitability

Others

Org. objectivesSales training goalsObservation of salesperson skillsCommercially availablesales training program

Determining Sales Training Needs

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Training Needs

Identification of specific problems Anticipating impending and future problems Management requests Interviewing and observing the personnel on the job Performance appraisal Questionnaire survey Checklist Attitude survey Interpersonal skill test

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The Sales Training CycleIdentify the Firm’s Training Needs2. Determine who needs sales training

• Not all the salesperson need the same sales training program.

• Sometimes groups of sales representatives who need training can be easily identified, such as newly hired or newly promoted representatives. New hired are also likely to begin on-job-training (OJT) or ‘ride along’ with experienced sales personnel.

• Also, when a company or competitors, launches a new product or service, enter a new market, or adopts a new technology.

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• Determine the objectives of thetraining and the areas in whichsalespeople need training

• Determine who needs training

Access the Training Efforts

• Determine the training’s value tothe individual salesperson

• Determine the training’s value tothe organization

Develop the Training Program• Determine the content to include

in the program• Develop the objectives• Determine the program’s

staffing needs• Develop the delivery method

Deliver the Training

• Schedule the training• Facilitate the transfer of learning

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Designing and Developing the Sales Training Program

1. What content is needed?

2. Staffing the training program

3. Selecting the training delivery method

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The Sales Training CycleDesigning and Developing the Sales Training Program1. What content is needed?

• Although it was not identified in this survey, ethics training is becoming more common. Additionally, some org. will include instruction on networking and time management.

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0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Managerial Skills

Organizational Techniques

Communication Skills

Computer Skills

Sales Skills

Product Knowledge

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Can You Teach Sales Ethics?


• Selling out-of-date products• Sending gifts to customers• The value and time of the gift giving• Presenting false and misleading information about the

products and selling unproven solutions• Exaggerating the extent of support firm can offer• Filling inaccurate expense reports

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Training should focus on business ethics such as:

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The Sales Training CycleDesigning and Developing the Sales Training Program2. Staffing the training program

• Once decisions about the content and desired outcomes of a proposed program have been determined, a number of questions about staffing of the program need to be addressed.

• These includes:– Internal versus External Resources– Time Pressures and– Cost Considerations

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The Sales Training CycleDesigning and Developing the Sales Training Program3. Selecting the training delivery method

• Historically, it was face-to-face or instruction-led training. Sometimes results in heavy doses on one way communication.

• Today, the use of technology-based delivery methods nearly tripled between 2001 and 2006. It might involve sending trainees printed materials and/or audio and videotapes to watch.

• Today, many companies allow their new sales representatives to access similar information online when and where they need to. This is referred to as on-demand (self-paced) training.

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• Instructor-led conference calls are another alternatives. So are Web conferences. It allows a presenter to deliver information remotely to trainees’ individual computers.

• A web cast is a one-way flow of communication. It is suitable for quick, world-wide training needs.

• A webinar typically is designed for a smaller audience. It incorporates a two-way flow of communication including feedback from the receivers either via phone lines and/or text messaging.

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• A webinar typically is designed for a smaller audience. It incorporates a two-way flow of communication including feedback from the receivers either via phone lines and/or text messaging.

Canon USA used webinar to train its large network of dealers to use new document management

software complementing Canon’s copier products. Dealers quickly received the training they needed at

a low cost.

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• Recently two other technology-based delivery options have become available to the sales training scene: podcasting and use of wikis.

• Podcasting involves delivering information to a salesperson’s iPod or other similar device.

• Wikis are a quick-response training vehicle. A wiki allows all people who have access to the site to post material on it. Wiki participants act as instructors when they post information about how they were able to successfully sell to the firm’s customers.

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Training Methods contd..

Visual supportParticipativeConferences SeminarsDiscussionsRole playCase studyWorkshopsTransaction analysis

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Types of Training

Cross-functional training

Team training

Creativity training

Literacy training

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Types of Training

Cross-functional Training

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A method of job enrichment where employees are trained to perform activities and duties in functional areas other than their assigned job responsibilities. Job rotation is one of the methods in which salespeople in a territory are either rotated through other territories or given additional responsibilities.

In Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, salespeople are sometimes given corporate responsibilities in

between field responsibilities, so that they understand the versatility and nature of the sales

job from a different perspective.

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Types of Training

Team Training

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In B2B selling and high technology product selling, sales teams function in place of individual salespersons. Companies like, Hughes Telecom, Infosys, and Satyam train salespeople by taking them outdoors and inculcating team skills and spirit through experiential learning. Outdoor training program also increase communication skills and improve the motivation function of salespeople.

Compaq & IBM India, take salespeople to team training program and adventure games like white water

rafting, bridge building in high mountains, and escape exercises in backwaters as part of the team training.

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Types of Training

Creativity Training

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A popular approach of creativity training is brainstorming. Here, the sales trainee is given the opportunity to generate ideas without fear of judgment.

Bajaj Auto Limited took participants to a school where managers were asked to present their

problems to students. The students were then invited to solve these business problems. It was found that

students solved the problems presented to them without any prejudice. The managers discovered this process of ‘unwinding’ at the program and enjoyed

the sessions in which the 16-year-old students solved complex business problems.

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Types of Training

Creativity Training

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The next round of training covered logical reasoning and the managers participated in the

process of rationalization of the solutions offered by the students.

• Du Pont, uses the creative techniques to test why new product innovations work in the laboratory and not on the shop floor.

• Pepsico India with its brand of potato chips saved huge costs by creative training.

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Types of Training

Literacy Training

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Literacy, in the sales context, means the mastery over basic and functional skills. Basic means salesperson’s basic selling skills. Functional means area of specialization.

Companies like, GE, AMEX, Infosys and Patni Computers sponsor candidates for undertaking

interactive on-site learning programs conducted by leading business schools in the country for junior level

managers with a minimum work experience of 3-years.

Ssm lecture-10 & 11 (training & development of the sales force)

Leadership & Management

Transcript of Ssm lecture-10 & 11 (training & development of the sales force)