executing and evaluating sales training program
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The document emphasizes the importance of sales training for developing the skills of sales personnel through structured programs, field coaching, and ongoing education tailored to their career stage. It discusses various training methods such as lectures, demonstrations, role-playing, and case studies, highlighting the need for continuous learning to adapt to market changes and improve performance. Additionally, it outlines the process of identifying training needs, selecting trainers, timing of training, and evaluating the effectiveness of training programs.
executing and evaluating sales training program
- 1. Dr. Gopal Thapa Nepal Commerce Campus
- 2. Training of salesmen is essential to make them skilled. Just as a gifted athlete needs coaching and practice to perform at his best, similarly a sales person also requires proper training and development. After selection, personnel should be given formal training which includes planned programmes complete with schedules, lesson plans, visual aids, other teaching devices and systematic reviews and evaluation. Informal training involves the continuous development of sales people
- 3. It is a prime responsibility of the supervisor and includes working with sales people, finding their activities and advising them on improvements that should be made. It is also known as field coaching. Training varies with the sales person's career cycle Sales persons have varied backgrounds, experience levels, learning abilities, etc. and therefore have their own training needs. Another factor deciding the type of training is the stage of the career of the sales person.
- 4. Sales person's career cycle is a conceptual framework which describes the stages through which a sales person passes in his career cycle. There are four basic stages of this cycle. 1. Preparation 2. Development 3. Maturity 4. Decline
- 5. For the sales person the emphasis should be on orientation and training. He should know about the environment in which he has to function and given information about the company and the products he has to sell. Selling instructions and basic selling techniques are all important at this stage. Sometimes experienced sales persons new to the company must also be acquainted with the policies and practices of the company.
- 6. This is the second stage when the salesman becomes productive. He should be supervised and provided field coaching. He should be able to identify the problems and be kept away from acquiring bad habits.
- 7. In maturity stage, the productivity of the sales person levels off. He works "smarter than harder". Sometimes refresher training is required to be given to him to retrain and acquaint him with new concepts and techniques. They can also be given new challenges and transferred to new areas, new territories or can be promoted to more responsible positions. Lack of relevant training hampers growth and development
- 8. In this stage the sales person is a problem for the management. A lot of motivational retraining is required. The productivity of the salesman decreases considerably and is difficult to avert. Training imparted at proper time develops right working habits and offsets the effect of detraining.
- 9. Defining the specific and general aims of a training program is the first step in training. General aims are translated into specific aims phrased in operational terms. These can be defined in two ways: 1. Identify initial training needs. 2. Continuing sales training programs.
- 10. The initial training needs of sales training program can be identified by the analysis of three main factors. Job Specification Trainee's Background and Experience Sales-related Marketing Policies
- 11. The identification of continuing sales training needs means to identify training needs of experienced sales personnel which are felt due to changes in market, product, marketing policies, procedures, organization and even in the sales personnel itself.
- 12. The selection of appropriate training method for a training program depends on the content of training. Few of the important and appropriate methods of sales training are: lecture, conference, demonstration, replaying, case-discussion, impromptu discussion, gaming, on-thejob training, programmed learning, correspondence courses.
- 13. Lecture is the method of learning through instructions from trainer to trainee. Trainees mainly watch and listen, although some versions of lecturing permit questions.
- 14. Advantages It is more economical as compared to other methods. It is the only method to cover the desired training content if initial sales training is brief. It is the only practical way to handle instructions when the training group is too large but it can also provide training appropriately to smaller training groups through summary of major topics. Disadvantages 1. Teaching is emphasized more than learning. 2. Only one-way communication between trainer and trainee prevails
- 15. The personal conference is an unstructured and informal method. It varies with the personalities of the trainer and the trainee and the topics discussed. The trainer and trainee jointly analyze problems such as effective use of selling time, route planning and call scheduling and also handling unusual selling problems.
- 16. The demonstration method of training is where sales managers plan and carry out a real selling call on a customer or prospect with the salesmen they are training present as silent observers. The method is most appropriately used for training new salesmen.
- 17. In this method first the trainer describes the situations and different personalities involved. Then the trainee is asked to play the role of those personalities in different situations. In the end both the trainer and trainee appraise each player's effectiveness and suggest how performance of each has been improved. Thus, role playing can be defined as "a method of human interaction which involves realistic behaviour in an imaginary situation".
- 18. Learning by doing is emphasized. Human sensitivity and interactions are stressed. The knowledge of results is immediate. Trainee interest and involvement tend to be high. Trainees learn to accept criticism from others and the group soon recognizes that sound suggestions benefit everyone. Role player's practice introspection through participating in the appraisal of their own performances. Role playing provides chance to learn valuable tricks and gain acting experience.
- 19. The case is a set of data (real or fictional, written or oral). Miniature description and summary of such data presents issues and problems calling for solutions or action on the part of trainee. Example: When the trainees are given cases to analyze, they are asked to identify the problem and to recommend tentative solutions through group discussions.
- 20. This method is somewhat similar to role playing with a unique feature that it uses highly structured and contrived situations based on reality and players receive information feedback. Advantages Participants learn easily because they involve themselves in game play. Players develop skills in identifying key factors influencing decisions. Games have built-in information feedback features.
- 21. Some minimum amount of time is required for playing, usually, three to four hours, which is not sufficient to provide desired learning experience. Since the game designs are based on ordinary decision making process their rules often prevent play on unusual or novel approaches. Poorly designed games may actually hinder instead of helping.
- 22. In this the salesmen are coached and instructed by skilled co-workers or by supervisors or by the special training instructor. They learn the job by personal observation and practice as well as occasionally handling it. This method involves three steps. First, the coach who is an experienced sales person begins by describing particular selling situations, explaining various techniques and approaches. Next, accompanied by pupil, the coach makes actual sales call, discussing each with the trainee afterward. Then, under coach supervision trainee makes sales calls, each one being followed by discussion and appraisal.
- 23. Programmed instruction involves a sequence of steps which are often set up through the central panel of an electronic computer as a guide in the performance of a desired operation or service of operation. It involves breaking down information into meaningful units and then arranging these in a proper way to form a logical and sequential learning program or package for use with the machine. But programmed instructions have not been widely adopted for sales training due to their high cost of operation and other constraints. It is most appropriate as an interim training method when trainees are scattered geographically but are assembled periodically for lectures, seminars, role playing and other instructions.
- 24. Execution is the fourth step of the A-C-M-E-E approach of sales training. It involves the following four key decisions: Who will be the trainees? Who will be the trainers? When will the training take place? Where will the training site be?
- 25. The general criteria to identify trainees are: Reward for good performance. Punishment for poor performance. Convenience of trainee and trainer. Seniority: The greater the seniority, the greater opportunity for added training.
- 26. The trainers who impart training during different training phases are: Initial Sales Training: If the initial sales training is a line function then training is assigned to top sales executive but if it is a staff function then the responsibility of initial sales training is given to personnel director. Continuing Sales Training: Responsibility for continuing sales training resides with the top sales executive.. Sales Training Staff: In large organizations the sales training director reports to the top sale executive. The director conducts some training by himself and the rest is given on decentralized basis by district sales managers. In small organizations top sale executives have assistant sales managers or district managers to impart the training. Outside Experts: Sometimes outside experts are also hired to conduct portions of sales training programs relating to sales techniques like selling by telephone, prospecting, etc.
- 27. Initial Sales Training Programs: Timing for initial sales training programs depends upon the number of new personnel trained each year and this in turn depends upon the size of the sales force, sales personnel, turnover and management plans for changing sales force size. Continuing Sales Training Program: The principle of an effective sales training Program is that learning must be continuous-new information must be assimilated and other concepts modified in the light of new developments. This requires that each sales person's training should continue as long as he is on the job.
- 28. Retraining helps in: (a) New refinements of selling techniques. (b) New product applications. (c) New customer problem. (d) New selling aids. (e) Overcoming the forgetting tendency of human brain.
- 29. Training programs are held either at centralised or decentralized points. The centralized program generally provides better product training but higher costs are incurred in bringing trainees to the central point. But decentralized training has even more serious defects. It cannot be executed properly unless supervised by top management. Hence, an adhoc basis for centralized and decentralized training should be adopted by top management
- 30. This is the last but not the least step of the training program. Evaluation involves the comparing of the training program's aim with the results and measuring its impact on the sales person. There is no direct method of measuring the impact of training but certain methods could provide indications whether the results are positive or not. These are: Market share percentages Written Tests Observers which work with sales personnel.