(NC)-Successful sales managers recognize that an ongoing training program is a key element in developing the skills of their sales team, as well as ensuring they stay sharp and at the top of their game.
Sales training is a significant investment when one considers not only the financial cost, but also the opportunity cost of taking your sales team off the road for several days to attend the training. Like any investment, you want to ensure that your organization generates a significant return on that investment (ROI).
The first step to ensuring a ROI is to understand the level of performance that you are starting with, the baseline. From a quantitative perspective this can involve understanding the key sales metrics for your organization, such as number and dollar value of proposals, and the closing ratio. Add a qualitative perspective to this through ride-alongs and observation of the sales team in action. A well structured observation form should provide significant information about their performance baseline. This information can then be compared to post training sales metrics and ride-along observations to quantify and qualify the improvement.
It is also important to ensure that your sales team is committed to learning the material and developing an action plan to implement their newfound knowledge and skills while seeing that the sales leadership team is actively involved in the process.
Another way to ensure your sales team is committed to learning and applying the training material is to test and certify the team post training. This is a process offered by the Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA), through their Certified Sales Professional (CSP) designation. Research shows that 86 per cent of CSP's said they now have a competitive advantage in selling and almost two-thirds increased their sales by 15 per cent or more. And after all, aren't increased sales what a measurable ROI for sales training is all about?
The Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA) provides training for all sales levels and roles, highlighted by our Skills for Sales Success programs. Training formats include public seminars, customized programs, performance consulting and online learning. More information is available online at www.cpsa.com.
- News Canada