Are Our Sales Teams Missing Out Without Retraining? What Would Truly Benefit Them?

In my company, I have noticed a lack of retraining sessions provided to employees. Retraining, in this context, refers to sessions offered after the initial training session. The majority of our workforce consists of sales and marketing professionals.

Another aspect that comes to mind is whether sales personnel truly require retraining. If so, what type of training can we provide that would benefit the company as well? I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on this matter.

Dear Deepali,

The follow-up to the main training is called retraining or refresher courses. Here are some for salespeople:

- Human Relations in Selling
- Planning of Sales
- Time Management
- Prospecting New Clients
- Opening the Sales
- Customer Relations
- Sales Presentation
- Customer Servicing
- Sales Negotiation
- Persuasive Selling
- Sales Communication
- Psychology in Selling
- Sales Counseling
- Probing Techniques
- Consultative Selling
- Handling of various types of customers
- Handling Objections
- Building Goodwill
- Organization of your daily work
- Listening Skills
- Setting Goals
- Telephone Techniques
- Selling Benefits
- Competitor's Knowledge
- Pre-call Planning

You should pick those elements that are your priorities and work on them. Hope this is useful to you.

Regards,
Leo Lingham

Hello, Mr. Leo,

I believe you have the exact answers to my questions, which is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks a lot. However, I would like to learn more about the practical aspects. What you have provided is more focused on behavioral aspects.

Dips

Hey,

Retraining is provided either to bridge the gap between the training provided and if the desired result is not achieved during the actual performance at the job, or to update the trained employees with any additional skills (enhancement).

If the retraining is to bridge a gap, frequent retrainings could mean one of the two things:

1) the training is not effective (it is unable to achieve its objective)

2) if only a few trainees require a refresher course or retraining compared to the others who have undergone the same training, we need to assess the trainees. The deficiency may be in the trainees or there could be a problem in the training need identification.

Especially for sales and marketing people, there is a need to keep them frequently abreast of the changing market conditions and new skills. Retraining could provide them with a competitive edge. But again, it goes without saying that only relevant retraining should be given.

Care should be taken that retraining provides value addition and not just another run-of-the-mill training that they have already been to or know of.

It may seem obvious that retraining, if not made interesting or if the trainees are not shown the value proposition associated, would question why they would have to go through it as they have already been through a similar training session.

Warm regards,

-Anjali

Hi,

You are quite right. Let's consider a challenging situation: a new executive has received training for all aspects of the role, and he has been posted in another city. He works there for six months, and his performance is average. However, during this time, no new trends have emerged in that particular sector, and the company has no new plans for the near future. In other words, everything remains the same as it was before. In this scenario, do we still need to provide further training, even if the conditions stay the same for the next two years?

Best,
Dips

REFRESHER / RETRAINING COURSES FOR SALES

Refresher courses are a must for salespeople, provided the company can afford it. The refresher courses are not just stand-up and delivery sessions. They provide multipurpose benefits to the individuals as well as the company.

- First, salespeople don't remember everything they learn at the first training programs.
- There is a need to fine-tune skills frequently.
- There is a need to update skills regularly.
- Bonding session for the salespeople, who are out in the field most of the time.
- Team-building opportunity.
- Meeting HO personnel to sort out outstanding problems.
- Discussing exceptional sales cases.
- New product introduction by the marketing team.
- New applications for the current products.
- New sales strategy.
- New customer servicing strategy.
- KEY ACCOUNTS REVIEW / STRATEGY.
- Product training by product managers.
- Sales director address to the team.
- Marketing director address to the team.
- Pricing/trading terms discussion.
- Changing market situations, which are never static.
- Competitive situation.
- New competitors/how to manage them in the field.
- Case studies discussion.
- New merchandising procedures.
- Sales tactics for the current year.
- Recognition of outstanding performers, etc.

THERE ARE MILLIONS OF THINGS YOU CAN DO IF YOU WANT TO, BECAUSE THE MARKET IS NEVER STATIC.

REGARDS,

LEO LINGHAM

Hi,

With due respect to the views expressed in the previous post, I would like to disagree on some points. First, let me totally second the view about:

"First, salespeople don't remember everything they learn at the first training programs.
- There is a need to fine-tune skills frequently.
- There is a need to update skills regularly."

Few other points mentioned refer more to team briefings and meetings than a refresher course or retraining. For example:

"Sales tactics for the current year.
- Recognition of outstanding performers.
- Key accounts review/strategy.
- Product training by product managers.
- Sales director's address to the team.
- Marketing director's address to the team."

-Anjali

Retraining

Refresher courses are always blended with some theory refreshers, some new materials, and some in-house programs, etc. I have done these over a number of companies and in various industries over the last 25 years.

Regards,
LEO LINGHAM

Hello everybody,

Sales training and retraining!

"First, salespeople don't remember everything they learn in the first training programs. There is a need to fine-tune skills frequently. There is a need to update skills regularly."

It is not only sales that require fine-tuning of skills. Everybody needs it! Apart from the routine matters mentioned (like discussions with HO, new product strategy, etc.), sales teams need training on certain basic matters, perhaps once a year, depending on the organization. These include:

- Negotiation skills
- Key Account management
- Large contract management and closure
- Presentation skills
- and many more

Last but not least - the subject of today's world - "customer delight."

Thanks,
Bala

Hi,

I agree with most of the points. Now, Mr. Leo, I am again confused. These terms sound good, and I wish I could propose most of them to the management, but I have to provide facts about what could be the ROI for these trainings.

Salespeople are often out of the office, far from headquarters, in multiple locations, so won't these trainings disrupt their daily routines?

In my company, sales and marketing employees have focused solely on sales. I have observed that training and retraining are not high on their list of priorities; everyone, from juniors to seniors, is fixated on increasing sales and business.

Therefore, the first step is to analyze the need for training without disrupting the existing process. How can I redirect the management's attention to this issue?

I recently joined this company and am the only HR person. Additionally, the company is undergoing significant expansion, so recruitment is also underway.

Regards,

Dips

Your comments.

I agreed to most of the points. Now, Mr. Leo, I am again confused. These terms sound good, and I wish I could propose most of them to the management, but I have to give facts about what could be the ROI's for these trainings.

Because salespeople are most of the time out of the office, far from head offices, multilocation, so doesn't these training hamper their daily training.

Actually, these sales and marketing people in my company have worked and are working only and only sales. I found that things like trainings and retrainings are hardly a matter of their concerns, and everybody, be it a junior or a senior, is running after increasing sales and business.

So, firstly analyzing the need for training and then the process, not hamper it. Then what should I do to make management turn their attention towards this...

Here I would like to tell that I have recently joined this company and am the only person in HR. Secondly, my company is going for mass expansion. So recruitment is also going on...

Your situation is not unique. In a number of companies, when sales are surging fast forward, training is the last thing they think about.

But the current sales achievements could be due to a number of factors:

- Growth in demand, outstripping supply
- New customers coming into the market
- New products
- New applications
- New market segment appearance
- etc.

There are many reasons why sales are booming.

It is also possible your company could be spilling more than it is drinking due to a lack of sales competence.

My suggestion at this junction:

- Focus on the new entrants
- Provide sound induction, which includes training in sales, tuned to your company's product/markets.

Then, you have to find out the weak links in the sales team. For this, you should do a quick needs analysis.

First, sit down with your sales manager (national or all-India sales manager) and discuss the needs as seen by him:

- What is the market size?
- What is your company's share (market share)?
- What market segments are we strong in, and why?
- What market segments are we weak in, and why?
- What is the market growth rate?
- What is your sales growth rate?
- What is the nature of competition?
- How do we stand against the competition?
- How do we gain new customers?
- How good are we in prospecting?
- Do we have a prospecting system?
- How do we rate our salespeople in prospecting?
- How do we rate our salespeople in market knowledge?
- How do we rate our salespeople in competition knowledge?
- How do we rate our salespeople in product knowledge?
- How do we rate our salespeople in sales introduction?
- How do we rate our salespeople in sales approach?
- How do we rate our salespeople in determining customer needs?
- How do we rate our salespeople in probing questions?
- How do we rate our salespeople in locating product applications?
- How do we rate our salespeople in advocating our products?
- How do we rate our salespeople in selling benefits of our products?
- How do we rate our salespeople in motivating customers?
- How do we rate our salespeople in managing objections from customers?
- How do we rate our salespeople in closing sales?
- How do we rate our salespeople in managing KEY CUSTOMERS?
- How do we rate our salespeople in managing MAJOR CUSTOMERS?
- How do we rate our salespeople in managing regular customers?
- How do we rate our salespeople in customer servicing?
- How do we rate our salespeople in sales planning?
- How do we rate our salespeople in territory planning?
- How do we rate our salespeople in customer profiling?
- How do we rate our salespeople in developing/implementing sales strategies for the territory?
- How do we rate our salespeople in developing/implementing sales strategies for individual customers?
- How do we rate our salespeople in negotiation skills?
- How do we rate our salespeople in relationship marketing?
- How do we rate our salespeople in business partnering?
- etc.

As you discuss/analyze his replies, you would see a few rings of gaps appearing, which are the real/perceived needs.

Based on the above discussion and with the sales manager's approval, design a needs analysis questionnaire for the sales team. The inputs from the team/sales manager could be the first starting point for determining the sales training needs.

Here you may use some of the headings I have provided you.

Because of the good sales position, you need not rush for a sales training program but prepare the ground for sales training.

Now to your question of 'ROI':

This could include outcomes such as:

- Improvements in market knowledge
- Improvements in customer penetration
- Improved customer retention
- Improved customer relations
- Quality selling
- Incremental sales volume in units
- Incremental sales in rupees
- Improvements in gross margins/total sales ratio.

These 'ROI' can be worked out if you are sensitive to the market/sales situation.

I have another suggestion:

- Spend a couple of days with salespeople in the field, locally.
- At least two reps, randomly selected.
- See exactly what/how they are performing.

This would give you a good insight into what they perform.

I am suggesting this because I carry this out with everyone of the trainings I have conducted. It helps to build your credibility too.

Regards,

LEO LINGHAM

Hello Mr. Leo,

Now you have got me going crazy for your replies. What should I say, simple and to the point answers, I wish I could meet you and ask all my queries.

Thanks a ton. I will do all these things and will let you know how I am performing. Thanks for providing such small but important points. I am sure your help and suggestions will increase my credibility in my company.

Thanks once again.

Dips