How do you transfer sales training to the field?

You risk making little impact if you skip this step. In addition, their must be alignment with managers on the topic, content and what’s needed from them to reinforce. 87% of new information is forgotten within a month absent of reinforcement. To find these high impact areas, Listen to buyer conversations, analyze sales data and interview the reps and their managers.

Practical Application is Key: Classroom-based sales training provides a foundation, but real learning often happens in the field. Salespeople need opportunities to apply what they've learned through role-play, simulations, and live customer interactions during and after the training. Practical exercises that mirror real-world situations help in transferring knowledge and skills effectively. During the training i make a major accent on implementation, as without it the training is useless !

One size doesn't fit all. Different members of the team will require different elements of the training ant varying amounts. Its also pointless to train anything and not coach it individually afterwards.

To be a successful sales manager, one has to be both accountable to himself, as much to his subordinates. If accountability, employee retention and loyalty are one's objectives, the sales manager has to go out of his way to promote his best people, their weekly "wins" and have them write "how to's" to their peers, in order to elevate their "status" within the sales rank's personna. In essance, we have to "promote" their sales skill sets, and in essence, elevate their skill sets to their peers.

To make sure the new skills are applied in the field try and create new skills that mirror closely what top performers are already doing.

It is very important to know the client's metrics in terms of annual revenue, weekly actions, and workflow. When the client works according to my method, we can identify right away if his/her new clients came from the new workflow we have implemented. It is also important to coordinate expectations with the clients that some changes take longer than others.

Es mag wie Lektion 1 des Verkaufshandbuches klingen, aber leider wird in meiner Branche die Bedarfsanalyse oft nicht sauber durchgeführt. Auch erfahrene Verkäufer wissen schon bevor sie zum Kunden kommen was der braucht... das ist sehr gefährlich. Im Vertriebstraining ist es daher aus meiner Sicht extrem wichtig die USPs und Vorteile mit einer sauberen Bedarfsanalyse zu verbinden - am besten mit spielerischen Aufgabe und Workshops die sich an der Praxis orientieren und so viele Prozesse wie möglich einbinden. Ich treibe das auf die Spitze mit einem Rollenspiel. Dabei ist es aber wichtig einen Weg zu finden, daß niemand bloßgestellt wird. Eine aktive Moderation ist dafür unbedingt notwendig!

I try to mix the theoretical and practical training so they will never forget it and it will be goes easily to their mind. Also I preside them to ask more questions.

A few things that I have done to facilitate transfer: - Training design that forces, active participation and demonstration of skills. I partner with subject matter experts and top performers to keep scenarios and role-plays during training accurate in real. - After training is over, I utilize Qstream for spaced repetition and forced recall. - I make sure resources are at their fingertips for just in time learning and reference in the flow of work.

Engaging trainings are key. You want participants on their feet and working within three minutes. A trainers job is to help them learn new skills. That is only achieved by practicing. As Arnold Schwarzenegger said “No one ever built muscle by watching me lift weights”. So many trainers use PowerPoints and talk at participants but information alone does not change behavior.

Sales managers play an incredibly important role here because salespeople go into the market every day with two powerful "adversaries" (customers who want our best for low prices and competitors who want to see us lose) that work to unwind sales training. Reinforcement, coaching, motivating, holding accountable, role play, etc... these are all critical activities of a sales manager who wants meaningful, sticky improvement in sales behaviors and sales results.

Companies don’t want sales training they want behavior change but behavior change does not happen overnight. It is vital that salespeople prioritize skills they will work on each week. If a salespersons goal is to make more cold calls and is currently making NO cold calls. They must become the kind of person that makes one cold call a day before they try and make 5 or 10 cold calls a day.

Boosting the sales training's field transfer is like fueling a rocket for success - with continuous support as the launchpad. Before the training, set the stage by spotlighting purpose, benefits, and expectations. Make sure the team is equipped with time, motivation, and resources to dive in. During the training, it's a collaborative carnival! Foster an environment for sharing, learning, and high-fives. Teamwork makes the dream work, so set those practical goals and get ready to soar. 🚀 After the training, be the wind beneath their wings! Follow-up sessions, coaching, peer learning - it's a post-training party that keeps the momentum alive. Keep the fire burning for sustained brilliance! 🔥💼 #SalesTrainingBoost

It is key to remember that sales are primarily driven by Sales targets, commission and numbers In designing and planning your training program, missing on those focus areas could result in losing the target audience -if not fully, but at least partially - from a mind focus dimension. And as such planning from a trainee point of view (customer/trainer centricity) is a crucial milestone for the success of your sales training It could be of great help for the trainer to spend one day with sales in the field either full co-habilitation or shadowing them !

During the class, it's fine to make mistakes- because they allow us to reflect and build upon our progress. After the training, consider setting up a community to allow others to share their experience, challenge and best practice.

Let’s be honest, most people don’t consider The, “what does success look like“ Instead, it’s a box to check that they took the training. All that matters is can they use it and is someone watching. If not, you’re pretty much still left with let’s make a deal. Which isn’t the result of sales training, just bad movies

In my humble opinion the success of any intervention of this kind rests with managers and team leaders and their ability - or lack of it - to coach the behaviours necessary. Sadly this is often because the managers were poorly trained themselves (very common) or lack the confidence to sales coach their people effectively (endemic). Even when trained and encouraged to coach many managers will do almost any other task in order to avoid direct and positive coaching. This varies according to industry and channel. However, there is also a darker side - namely where managers actively encourage the wrong behaviours (despite sales training having taken place) to drive lower value sales and disloyal behaviours (disloyal bonding) to hit targets.

Metrics are a really important part of measuring sales training success. Instead of unrealistic metrics that can never be reached and sales cultures where people feel like metrics are simply a 'stick to be beaten with', sales trainers/ consultants should be asking companies what key results they want to see and giving clear advice around what needs to be measured to ensure staff are implementing new training. These metrics should be a) realistic, b) designed to support learners + managers in troubleshooting any issues that arrive and c) held at regular intervals to keep a consistent track of activity.

After each key deadline, it's imperative to make the time to have a postmortem meeting with the trainee to discuss what worked, what didn’t, and what you would change. Then adjust the training accordingly to the salesperson profile. The sales training process must recalibrate during the monitoring process.

Track and Analyze Performance The last piece of the puzzle in translating sales training to real-world results is keeping a close eye on performance. It's about gathering and crunching the data – looking at things like sales performance, customer satisfaction, loyalty, and referrals. We also need to hear from our sales team and their managers, getting their take on how effective and efficient the training has been. It's all about measuring the return on investment and pinpointing where we can fine-tune things for even better results.

It is very important to set small and short goals. So that we can celebrate with our clients success after success. In addition, I suggest taking a testimonial video from the client right after the first success. It is the best time to ask for a testimonial.

Celebrating wins and success releases dopamine which leads to more wins as people chase the dopamine. I have left many global sales meetings wondering how many people were going to submit their resignations in the coming weeks. All too often, meetings are designed from the top down so the focus is often on the mistakes or problems (because those are the things keeping execs up at night). Spending a few days telling everyone they are failures followed by one evening "gala" where you celebrate the 10% who did well... doesn't cancel out that you spent days telling your team they suck.

Let's turn the spotlight onto your sales heroes and make success the star of the show! 🌟🎉 Fuel their passion by applauding when they hit sales goals or master new skills. And don't just keep the victories backstage; share those stories of triumph with the whole sales crew. 🏆🚀 By celebrating the champions, you're crafting a culture of awesomeness that energizes your sales squad for excellence. Let's give success a standing ovation! 🎊🎈

Don’t forget to celebrate the small wins too! This is especially important if your reps have a longer sales process. Examples worthy of celebrating: -Applied a concept from training that led to a positive outcome. - New pipeline created - Small upticks in baseline KPIs - Improvements in activity volume or quality of outreach - Great team collaboration/support - Personal accomplishments milestones the rep is comfortable sharing (e.g. finishing their first big 1/2 marathon, getting engaged, paid of student loans etc.)

Focus on the outcome. While executing on the 5 tactical objectives outlined here (Assess, Design, Support, Monitor & Celebrate) clearly communicate—early & often—the desired outcome, as specifically as possible for all involved (the firm, each trainee, the manager, the trainer, etc). When a trainee is laser focused on the outcome, distractions (including mistakes, objections & competitors) become less effective at distracting. Focus on the outcome.

So many ways... - Role-playing: Practice realistic sales scenarios during training to build confidence and muscle memory. - Shadowing: Pair new salespeople with experienced team members to observe real-world applications. - Microlearning: Break training into small, digestible chunks. - On-the-job coaching: Provide ongoing support and feedback. - Technology integration: Use mobile apps or CRM tools to reinforce training concepts in real-time. - Goal-setting: Establish clear, measurable objectives for applying new skills in the field. - Peer learning: Encourage salespeople to share experiences and best practices with each other. - Performance tracking: Monitor key metrics to assess the impact of training on actual sales results.

When I was a Sales VP, I hired a sales training company to teach my teams a methodology. I got frustrated because the method was not connecting well with my reps and adoption was slow. I decided to bring the training in-house. We customized the the methods to include our solutions in the messaging and role plays and it became widely adopted and very effective because it was real world.

In sales, every piece matters, but the salesperson is like the quarterback of the team. Picking the right folks is key. They need to bring motivation, positivity, and a hunger for results to the table. These qualities not only boost their success but also impact the entire customer experience. So, choose your sales team wisely and nurture these traits for a winning game!

Top down buy in is a key to great training creating real and lasting results. The managers must buy in. The leadership must buy in. If measuring the results and reinforcing the process is laborious and not supported with some zeal by management the technicians will recognize it and focus their efforts on the appearance of the process and not the process itself or the plausible results.