aEURoeWell, here we go again! All of the gurus of business are preaching aEUR~trainingaEUR(TM) and employee development. All of the companies who do sales training are calling for appointments to show me how to train sales people. Nonsense! Sales training doesnaEUR(TM)t work.aEUR?

Sound familiar? Have you hired one of those aEURoemotivate & evaporateaEUR? wizards to work magic with your sales people, only to find later there is no real change? Has your training been like a bad vaccination -- a few weeks later you find out it didnaEUR(TM)t take?

More often than not, training is given to aEURoecureaEUR? some other problem. Training is given to treat some symptom in the sales organization. aEURoeThey lack motivation.aEUR? aEURoeTheyaEUR(TM)re not closing well.aEUR? aEURoeThey donaEUR(TM)t manage their territory well.aEUR? All of these may or may not be true, but the symptom was a fundamental problem -- poor sales.

As someone who provides consulting and training to companies, I look at the sales program from a aEURoeholisticaEUR? point of view. LetaEUR(TM)s examine the typical scenario as it unfolds for me, a supplier of services to sales organizations.

First we must understand the marketing and sales environment involved. When we work with a client we divide the process into aEURoemarketingaEUR? (those activities which get qualified prospects to identify themselves to the seller) and aEURoesalesaEUR? (those activities which explore options and maximize the opportunities to sell). Good sales people know the three levels of need in the typical sale: the aEURoePerceived Need,aEUR? the aEURoeQualified Need,aEUR? and aEURoeThe Special Concern of the BuyeraEUR? (the aEURoeW.I.I.F.M.aEUR?-- WhataEUR(TM)s in it for me?).

Marketing generally caters to the perceived need of a buyer. MarketingaEUR(TM)s function is to create traffic, not sell product. My favorite example is the tire industry. The buyer will acknowledge the need for tires when they perceive their existing tires need replacement. They will go where aEURoeTiresaEUR? are advertised for sale. When a customer goes into the store and asks, aEURoeHow much for a set of tires?aEUR? he is buying at the perceived need level, and the sale will be focused on acquisition cost and price driven.

My favorite ad for tires is the one with the baby sitting inside the tire while the voice announcer says, aEURoeThereaEUR(TM)s more riding on your tires than just your car!aEUR? This manufacturer is marketing to the second level of need, the aEURoeQualified Need.aEUR? They know that the buyer will pay more for the safety of the family than they will for just tires. aEURoeSafetyaEUR? is the qualified need.

When the buyer decides on the aEURoequalified needaEUR?, the buyer will look for a supplier who is easy to deal with, has a convenient location, is open extended hours, has easy terms, or takes credit cards (and it may be the companyaEUR(TM)s reputation, or the roadside warranty that adds value). These are the aEURoeSpecial ConcernsaEUR? of the buyer -- aEURoeHow do you make it easy for me to do business with you?aEUR? When a supplier satisfies the three levels of need, aEURoePriceaEUR? becomes a secondary issue -- not the primary driving force of the sale.

Companies and sales people who sell at the aEURoePerceivedaEUR? level will always wind up in a aEURoePriceaEUR? selling situation.

Perceived need selling is always selling to the buyeraEUR(TM)s perceived solution, not to the buyeraEUR(TM)s real problem. The perceived solution, to keeping their family safe while driving, may be new tires. Unless the seller changes the focus from acquisition cost -- aEURoeHow much for a set of tires?aEUR? -- to the cost of ownership -- aEURoeWhat is my most economical buy which satisfies my need for safety, longevity, durability, etc.?aEUR? the sale will be price driven. The odds of the buyer getting the aEURoerightaEUR? product for their overall needs are poor. You end up with an unprofitable sale, and an unhappy customer.

What does that have to do with sales training? Most sales training is a aEURoePerceived Need.aEUR? The training is seen as a solution to a much larger problem -- lack of sales. When sales training is given to aEURoefixaEUR? the sales people, it is doomed.

If we view aEURoelack of salesaEUR? as the true problem (the aEURoeQualified NeedaEUR?), then we can look at the real causes of non-performance. Whatever behaviors you observe in your sales people right now are the product of your aEURoePolicies, Procedures, Practices & Processes.aEUR? Until and unless you are ready to change those elements that generate the behaviors you are getting now, you will waste your time and money on sales training.

Sales training does not change behaviors! Sales training transfers knowledge! Using that knowledge over a period of time will change behaviors. Training is not an aEURoeevent,aEUR? it is a process!

The other reason most sales training doesnaEUR(TM)t work is the structure of the training program itself. If the structure of the program is not designed for long term reinforcement and evaluation, the training is not effective. When the training is designed to satisfy the aEURoeperceived needaEUR? of a sales or marketing manager, and not deal with the long term aEURoequalified need,aEUR? the effects will be minimal and temporary.

If, on the other hand, the training is well designed to deal with the aEURoequalified need,aEUR? and integrates the reporting, the planning, the compensation, the coaching, the marketing objectives, and the skills training (and has a commitment from management to reinforce the aEURoeprocessaEUR?) the training will pay big dividends.

There is no such thing as aEURoeno trainingaEUR? in a company. When people come to work for your company, they begin to be trained from the employment interview onward. Where we fail the employee most often is in not being clear on what it takes to do a aEURoegood job.aEUR? Because we are not clear ourselves, we often donaEUR(TM)t recognize a good job when it is being done. All too often sales people are trained by the buyer, for the buyeraEUR(TM)s benefit.

A good training program establishes a aEURoelearning protocolaEUR? so that a continuous process of performance improvement can be sustained. It creates performance criteria which tells the employee what a good job is, and gives management a firm benchmark to recognize a good job when it is being done.

If you create a good training culture and protocol in your company you will get 1000% return on investment, and more! There is no more profitable investment for a company than in developing and training its sales organization -- no junk bonds, no derivatives, no aEURoered-hotaEUR? Wall Street tip -- nothing! In a recent study by the Labor Department, Motorola shows a $30 return for each $1 spent on training. Across the board -- training doesnaEUR(TM)t cost, it pays!

The question is, aEURoeDo you train deliberately and get desired results, or do you let your customers train your people and live with the consequences?aEUR?

YouaEUR(TM)re right! aEURoeTraining doesnaEUR(TM)t work.aEUR? Someone must make it work!

About the author,

Bob Ayrer is a successful sales consultant and popular speaker at conventions and sales rallies. Bob is the creator of FUNdamental SELLING. Bob can be reached through the contact page of this program.