Did you know that sales training doesn’t last? It’s a fact, because training deals with skills, not behavior. Better performance comes from a well-coached process of discipline. If you're a seasoned sales rep or manager, you'll most likely agree.
A sales team can be one of the best investments a business makes: attracting new business and closing profitable deals while maintaining customer loyalty and promoting the company’s image.
Working hand in hand with marketing and driving forward with a powerful sales methodology, a strong sales manager can steer the ship toward hidden treasure. However, sales training is not enough to navigate your sales crew.
Relying on sales training alone, sales leaders can soon lose control, with their teams struggling against a tide of inefficiency and declining sales.
Why sales training alone isn't enough
- Once learned, often forgotten: Sales training can make reps feel valued and managers feel secure. But once the feel-good factor wears off, these skills soon fade. According to the Association for Talent Development, 80% of new skills are lost within the first week if they are not applied. Xerox puts it at 87% after 30 days.
- Reinforcement is lacking: New skills are only useful if they are used. With no ongoing coaching and no system to apply training consistently, there is no engine to keep prospects moving forward.
- No accountability to influence behavior: Without a practical way to see which techniques are being used, the reason to keep up good habits is lost.
- CRM software fails: From lack of use to not delivering, CRM systems often don’t work because they fail to drive behavior.
- No pipeline management: Salespeople need a system that shows them how and where to apply their skills at each stage of the sales process.
What it costs you
Relying on training alone can actually move a business backwards.
- Sales managers under pressure: If the team isn’t delivering value for money, bosses will question whether the leader is.
- Goals not reached: Ineffective habits mean lost opportunities and weaker results.
- Lost revenue: A team without a clear, workable sales system will see sales, turnover and profits dip.
- Motivation slumps: Sales should be a welcome challenge, not an uphill struggle. Otherwise people lose their drive.
- Wasted time and money: More spending on training that doesn’t deliver a sustainable return doesn’t add up.
- Staff turnover: A sales decline drives faster turnover, which is costly and creates a culture of insecurity that makes growth hard.
What works instead
We must always be committed to serving our customers and remember that our profession exists because of them. What directs salespeople toward success is a sales system and a platform for coaching that drives behavior: a pipeline process with very clear stages, one that separates weak opportunities, is transparent, encourages accountability and accelerates deals with a confirmed next step. And each step must also be in the customer's calendar.
Originally published on LinkedIn on November 2, 2015.