How To Choose Sales And Sales Management Training Programs
Whether you are entrepreneur needing to increase company revenues, a sales manager wanting to improve your team's performance, or a sales representative looking to invest in yourself,choosing the right sales or sales managment training programs requires you to evaulate your options properly before buying. All courses are not created equal and a high price tag does not necessarily guarantee success.
Choosing The Right Sales Training Courses
Sales and sales management training courses must take into account how people learn to produce [measurable results|be successful]. According to Sullivan et al, successful adult learning requires eight components:
- The pupil should be ready to learn.
- The course should build on what the student already knows or has experienced.
- Students should know of what they need to learn.
- A variety of training methods and techniques works best.
- It is essential for skill acquisition and competency for students to have the opportunity to practice what is being learned.
- Repetition is needed for the skill to be learned.
- Learning is more efective when the classroom setting is realistic.
- Feedback should be instantaneous, encouraging and nonjudgmental.
Each participant must have the opportunity to actually practice their newly learned skills in order to be successful (as opposed to just being lectured to), and each new skill introduced must build on a previous one learned. It is also critical that the students have access to their trainer/coach after the training program is finished for ongoing coaching and support. Unfortunately, most sales and sales management training seminars are lecture based, so they do not provide any of this. Therefore, they ultimately fail to provide the desired results.
Listed below are other questions to consider when assessing sales and sales management training seminars. These are in addition to the need for practical exercises and ongoing coaching support discussed above.
- Do the sales practices and materials being taught actually deliver measurable success? Is a guarantee provided for the training programs? Its one thing for sales training companies to say they have great sales trainingseminars but it quite another for them to stand behind them with a guarantee.
- Are you learning from a qualified sales trainer? Anyone can attempt to provide sales training courses by reading a book and delivering a seminar. To be successful, your sales trainer should be experienced, knowledgeable and have a proven track record of success.
- Can the sales training courses be modified to you and your product? You dont just want to talk about concepts on how to sell any product, you want to be able to put those theories into practice so that you begin to sell your product.
- To ensure that the participants are learning the materials, is there a mechanism like testing or certification exams in place? If you dont keep score, how do you know you are winning?
- Are the sales training seminars broken into sessions over a period of time or are they a one shot deal? Sales is a process that can be repeated, but no one ever learned to play the violin in one afternoon.
- Are the sales training programs available in different formats, like self study programs online interactive seminars, as well as just the traditional onsite courses Travel time and expenses must be considered when evaluating your sales training options. If you are short on time or money, todays e-learning alternatives can be a great fit.
There is no doubt that investing in yourself or your sales team will help you to achieving your sales potential. However, if you want to improve your sales or sales management training results, then you have to change the way you deliver your sales training programs!
To help you choose sales training courses that are right for you, download a copy of our free white paper How to Choose A Sales Training Program, including the B2B Sales Connections Sales Training Courses Decision Matrix from the B2B Sales Connections Download Centre on our website. Whatever sales or sales management training program you choose, we wish you nothing but success in your future.
Aim Higher!
Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
Choosing The Right Sales Training Courses
Sales and sales management training courses must take into account how people learn to produce [measurable results|be successful]. According to Sullivan et al, successful adult learning requires eight components:
- The pupil should be ready to learn.
- The course should build on what the student already knows or has experienced.
- Students should know of what they need to learn.
- A variety of training methods and techniques works best.
- It is essential for skill acquisition and competency for students to have the opportunity to practice what is being learned.
- Repetition is needed for the skill to be learned.
- Learning is more efective when the classroom setting is realistic.
- Feedback should be instantaneous, encouraging and nonjudgmental.
Each participant must have the opportunity to actually practice their newly learned skills in order to be successful (as opposed to just being lectured to), and each new skill introduced must build on a previous one learned. It is also critical that the students have access to their trainer/coach after the training program is finished for ongoing coaching and support. Unfortunately, most sales and sales management training seminars are lecture based, so they do not provide any of this. Therefore, they ultimately fail to provide the desired results.
Listed below are other questions to consider when assessing sales and sales management training seminars. These are in addition to the need for practical exercises and ongoing coaching support discussed above.
- Do the sales practices and materials being taught actually deliver measurable success? Is a guarantee provided for the training programs? Its one thing for sales training companies to say they have great sales trainingseminars but it quite another for them to stand behind them with a guarantee.
- Are you learning from a qualified sales trainer? Anyone can attempt to provide sales training courses by reading a book and delivering a seminar. To be successful, your sales trainer should be experienced, knowledgeable and have a proven track record of success.
- Can the sales training courses be modified to you and your product? You dont just want to talk about concepts on how to sell any product, you want to be able to put those theories into practice so that you begin to sell your product.
- To ensure that the participants are learning the materials, is there a mechanism like testing or certification exams in place? If you dont keep score, how do you know you are winning?
- Are the sales training seminars broken into sessions over a period of time or are they a one shot deal? Sales is a process that can be repeated, but no one ever learned to play the violin in one afternoon.
- Are the sales training programs available in different formats, like self study programs online interactive seminars, as well as just the traditional onsite courses Travel time and expenses must be considered when evaluating your sales training options. If you are short on time or money, todays e-learning alternatives can be a great fit.
There is no doubt that investing in yourself or your sales team will help you to achieving your sales potential. However, if you want to improve your sales or sales management training results, then you have to change the way you deliver your sales training programs!
To help you choose sales training courses that are right for you, download a copy of our free white paper How to Choose A Sales Training Program, including the B2B Sales Connections Sales Training Courses Decision Matrix from the B2B Sales Connections Download Centre on our website. Whatever sales or sales management training program you choose, we wish you nothing but success in your future.
Aim Higher!
Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
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