This is a guest post by David DiStefano, president and CEO of Richardson.
In 1999 film The Matrix, mild-mannered Neo becomes a Kung Fu master in seconds by downloading information from a computer directly into his brain. If only sales training worked that way. In the real world, organizations invest time and resources in sales training, yet when your Neo is in the field, he might not remember what he learned at his last sales conference.
How long your sales team retains what they learned in training has a financial impact. Sales reps make quota less than 50 percent of the time with sales process alone; however, when training programs combine with coaching and the right sales enablement technology platform, that number rises to more than 90 percent according to a study we commissioned.
Training cannot occur in isolation and companies must establish a strategy up front to reinforce the skills and behaviors taught in the classroom. Companies must evaluate their needs, tailor training to suit those needs, and make sure sales managers understand the strategy behind the changes before the training even occurs. Nearly 50 percent of companies’ report that reps revert to their old ways 30 to 90 days after their sales training is completed. When training is part of a larger strategy that includes pre-training planning and post-training reinforcement, the numbers change: the reps retain that information 63 percent longer, allowing them to reach that 90 percent effectiveness at meeting quota.
As I’m sure you can imagine, technology plays a big part in any sustainment strategy. There are many ways technology can help you to make your sales training stick. For example, SAVO Sales Process Pro™ for Richardson is an easily configurable sales enablement technology platform that brings your sales process to life within a company’s CRM (client relationship management) system. A sales enablement platform is a powerful tool for both gathering data for metrics, and ensuring that reps implement methodologies and retain information so that they have the knowledge they need when they need it – in the field.
For more information about making your sales training stick, watch David DiStefano’s presentation “Sustainment and Mobile Reinforcement Strategies Ensure Sales Training Delivers Results” from SAVO’s 2014 Sales Enablement Summit
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