Sales Training:Is it worth it?

How does a manager decide the nature of training that should be imparted to a
sales team? Should the team be trained only on the product they are selling or
should they be trained on soft-sell skills as well?

Talk about training the sales team and immediately a
lot of questions are thrown up. How is the cost of the training justified as
compared to its return? How can the returns be gauged? And finally, how
important is a sales training, anyway?

Training is one of the most important activities of and for a
sales person. In fact, for a manager, imparting training should be his key
result criteria. Training also provides succession in the organization as well
as a clear path for delegation of the work.

Identifying training needs

For an individual's growth, training provides newer skills
and latest updates which makes him more effective. A simple corollary is our
training in school wherein we study from kindergarten up to MBA levels. This
gives us the assurance to be able to hold our own in a competitive world. And it
also gives us the skillsets and a wider knowledge base.

Training needs are identified at organizational or
departmental levels. It can be is arranged internally where people in the higher
strata of the company share their knowledge base with their peers. Or it can be
outsourced peers to external agencies or people can be made to attend programs,
seminars, conferences and workshops arranged by vendors.

Any training, especially for the sales team, must be very
scientific and its objectives must be predefined. Is the training being held for
overall upgradement of the person or to eliminate his shortcomings? Once these
objectives are identified, then the HR manager can decide whether the
salesperson should attend an internal session or go for an external program.

Constant training

Training is a continuous process. This is one rule that most
sales managers forget, which means that their team will lag behind, over a
period of time. The goal must be to bring general management competencies to a
salesperson so that he performs his job more effectively and handles higher
responsibilities, thereby adding value both to himself and his organization.

Ideally one week of training per year must be made for all
sales personnel. Most large organizations, especially with a manufacturing base, create
a training center with fulltime trainers.

For a sales person as well, training not only upgrades his
working skills but also boosts his career opportunities. This is because with
every session he attends, he will gain more knowledge about his chosen field of
expertise and will also get certified for it. And there is no better ground for networking than training
meets.

Gauging the direct returns of any training program is not
merely difficult but almost impossible. Training is a cost, which every
organization must account for. But it is not just an outflow of funds. Instead
it is like watering a plant, which will bear fruit someday.

Similarly, a sales person who has been well trained will be
in a position to sell more effectively. He will therefore, bring in more
business to his company, which justifies the amount they have spent in training
him.

Rajesh Goenka

The author is Divisional Head Rashi Peripherals