7 Sales Training Activities That Don’t Work

1. Expecting immediate results

All you have to do is have the sales team attend a sales training program and voila, things will be wonderful.

I like your positive thinking, but let’s make realistic goals, too. 

Unless the salespeople attending the program have never been exposed to sales before and a whole host of other conditions exist, there is little chance of thinking huge gains are going to occur.

2. Leaving out management

The second biggest mistake, and almost as damaging, is the belief if the salespeople attend, that will be good enough. There’s every reason for management or anyone else to attend and learn too. 

Nothing will deflate the motivation of a sales team faster than knowing they’re expected to do something their management is not willing to do themselves.

3. Failure  to provide pre and post-training support

Again, if people are expected to attend, but management fails to provide the support to help promote and explain the training before it occurs, you’re off on the wrong foot.

It’s just as important that management then follow-up and reinforce afterward, too.

4. Seeing training as a one time event. 

Training has to be seen as a 24/7 activity.  There are times when the intense full-day or multi-day program is best. But to make them really work, there has to be continuous reinforcement using other sales training activities.

5.  Not a good fit

The sales training selected doesn’t fit or is simply lousy.

You wouldn’t get on an airplane going to a location you don’t want to go to, right? You get on an airplane to go where you need to go.  Same thing with a sales training program — you select the one that is going to fit your needs.

6. No process to measure the results

No business buys anything just for the fun of it.  Businesses only buy things because there is going to be a return on investment.  Same thing for training. If it’s expected to work, then develop a way to measure the return on investment.

7. No training ever

It would be just as erroneous to think, “Because there is a risk the sales training program might not be effective, it would be better to not do any training at all.

Get your head out of the sand. The failure to invest in the development of people is one of the biggest reasons for employee turnover and low morale.

Our award-winning platform offers on-demand sales training  and tailored programs for salespeople seeking education, growth, and perhaps even a change of mindset. 

Become a Level 3 member of The Sales Hunter University and you’ll find Masterclasses, one-on-one meetings with me, and monthly coaching–in addition to access to a sales vault of videos and trainings, and weekly sales motivation emails. It’s an incredible value, and a great investment to help you reach your goals. 

Copyright 2011, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.

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