Why sales training doesn’t stick

The sales training challenge

As a sales leader who has invested in sales training programmes, have you experienced post-event disappointment?

Such as the disappointment about the failed take-up of the skills, process or methodology taught and the subsequent evidence showing improvement in sales KPI’s and top line revenue performance.

If so, you are not alone; the data suggests that 87% of the investment in sales training will dissipate and fail over 3 months.

The need for best practice
Best practice for organisational competence is to have a consistent sales process combined with a supporting skill set rather than leaving it to individual sales reps to make it up as they see fit.

• How can you achieve core organisational competencies?
• Ensure any training is relevant and totally aligned to the specific dynamic of the sales role in question.
• Ensure first line management are trained, recognised and rewarded to coach in the new skills.
• Role-play the skills process in sales meetings; in sport this is called practice!
• Recognise and certificate the programme, but only when individuals have demonstrated the skills in customer engagements.

It’s all about mindset
However, even with the above in place, you are often totally dependent on the self-determination of the individual. Their focus, resilience, motivation and confidence to put the learnt skills into practice. This in an un-chaperoned situation where nobody is usually auditing the process.

If we accept that individual focus, resilience, motivation and is core to organisational competency, why don’t we invest in training on the mindset issues these represent? Probably because we have never really thought about it and training companies don’t offer training in enhancing mental strength i.e. mindset… until now that is…

The mindset solution
About sales-mind:

The sales-mind approach to sales team development is very different from traditional skills training in that it addresses the mental side of sales work. Based on extensive research into the fields of sports psychology, business psychology and neuroscience, the content delivers a tool kit to enhance mental strength, namely focus, resilience, motivation, confidence and empathy. Aspects that rarely, if ever, would be uncovered in a training needs analysis but in our view represent the key to personal effectiveness and improved sales performance.

We believe the selling mindset is relevant to all and we offer both in-house, open workshops and individual 1-2-1 coaching to corporations and individuals investing in their own self-development.

Please contact us for more information.