Chapter 10 – Sales Training: Objectives, Techniques, and Evaluation
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Chapter 10
Sales Training: Objectives, Techniques, and Evaluation
Learning Objectives for Chapter 10
• Identify the key issues in sales training.
• Understand the objectives of sales training.
• Discuss the development of sales training programs.
• Understand the training of new sales recruits and experienced salespeople.
• Define the topics covered in a sales training program.
• Understand the various methods for conducting sales training.
• Discuss how to measure the costs and benefits of sales training.
Definition of Key Terms in Chapter 10
• Sales training analysis
o A review and analysis of the training needs of the sales force designed to
answer three basic questions: (1) Where in the organization is training needed?
(2) What should be the content of the training program?, (3) Who needs the
training?
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• Role-playing
o Individuals (sales trainees or experienced salespeople) perform in front of
others and then critiqued by management or other more experienced
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III. The Development of Sales Training Programs
A. Creating Credibility in Sales Training
a. Analyze Needs
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B. Measurement Criteria
C. Measuring Broad Benefits
D. Measuring Specific Benefits
E. Recent Trends in Sales Training Evaluation
IX. Summary
X. Key Terms
XI. Breakout Questions
XII. Leadership Challenge: Train What?
XIII. Role-Play: Bass Brokers, Inc.—Part C
XIV. Mini Case: Fletcher Ball Bearings
PowerPoint Program—each chapter of the text has been captured in animated PowerPoint
slides
Chapter Outline with Suggestions for Class Discussion
• Military Training and Sales Success
Suggestion: Start by showing the relationship between sales training and performance using
the following diagram:
Define skill as an individual’s learned proficiency at performing the necessary tasks.
Note also that skill level can change rather quickly with learning and experience.
Ask students to identify other factors that change and how these changes relate to the
need for continuous sales training activities.
SKILL PERFORMANCE
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Then describe the relationship between role perceptions and sales training. Sales
training is useful for improving role accuracy and reducing role ambiguity. Since the evidence
shows that older sales representatives experience less role ambiguity, point out that sales
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Suggestion: Considerable variation in the content and length of sales training programs exists
across industries and by companies within an industry. What happens is largely a function of
company philosophy.
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Suggestion: Finally, ask students to identify the broad and specific objectives of sales training
discussed in Chapter 10. Then review the measurement criteria, asking students what
measurement methods they would apply. It is useful to review the various levels of
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Regardless of the method used, sales managers need to be more concerned about the
1. Charm school: Increasingly, consultants and sales managers agree that etiquette
training is an appropriate subject for sales training. To evaluate the effectiveness of etiquette
training would require that management evaluate the effectiveness of sales reps that have
completed the training program and compare the results against sales reps that have not
completed the program. The following exhibits provide questions and answers to situations
that involve etiquette. Can a training program appropriately include advice on dress and
etiquette? One might ask how such things would improve a salesperson’s performance.
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POP QUIZ
Chapter 10 – Sales Training: Objectives, Techniques, and Evaluation
Another example. A few years ago a young salesperson met a CEO of a large
multinational consumer products company. The executive had invited the salesperson to his
2. Good questions: A sales consultant once stated: “All too often, salespeople ask
peripheral questions that don’t engage the client in complex thinking in order to solicit their
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3. Top performers ask better questions and listen more constructively to
4. Sales superstars manage the use of their time and territory coverage
more effectively.
6. Sales achievers regard their relationships with key customers as
advisers, consultants, and partners.
7. Top performers are masters at collaborative negotiation.
However, it is also true that a person would have had to sleep through the last fifteen
years to suggest that training remains the same. Fifteen years ago sales training didn’t address
Leadership Challenge: Train What?
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customers. At the same time, professional sales consultants argue that critical people skills
and other important topics (for example, sales ethics as identified in the Challenge) are best
delivered in person at a meeting of sales professionals. These questions represent the essence
of the question for Susan Jamison in this Challenge.
Answers to Leadership Challenge Questions
1. Understanding the products and services offered by the company (and competitors)
provides some very important benefits to the salesperson. First, it can improve productivity
and morale. By giving salespeople information that will be helpful in addressing customer
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same time, important topics like sales ethics have become much more important, making it
even more difficult to spend time talking about products.
2. This question should generate some interesting discussion. Some students will argue
that it is impossible to train someone to be ethical. That, however, is not the right question.
The real questions are: does the company have a clear ethical policy that senior management
stands behind and lives day to day? Also, do salespeople really know the policy and the
implications of violating that policy?
3. Sales training events do require managers to make choices; some things have to be
excluded, as time is limited. However, sales training is an ongoing process, and Jamison
needs to consider the best method to deliver all the information. In this case, delivering
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product knowledge is vital, particularly in light or recent problems with the introduction of
new products.
Role-Play: Bass Brokers, Inc. C
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• After the role-play, classroom discussion can center on the overall importance of
training and development to the success of salespeople, as well as the cost (both
1. In order to have received a higher training budget, Chase should have explained to
Fletcher’s Board all of the specific benefits which come from training: increased productivity,
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• Conduct a sales training analysis.
• Determine specific, realistic, and measurable objectives.
2. Fletcher’s training covers the basic and essential training topics: company orientation
information, information on specifications of the ball bearings, and competitor information.
Again, because ball bearings are such a technical product, more time should be spent on this
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3. Currently, Fletcher’s training has been administered by internal company managers
with good industry knowledge. This type of classroom is a common and effective approach,
4. As evidenced by the negative comment by employee Joe Rodgers, the “everything to
everyone” approach of training is not working, and all levels of training cannot be lumped
together. Experienced salespeople have very different training needs from new personnel.
New salespeople need longer, intensive training at the beginning of their employment to
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