Why Most Sales Training is a Waste of Money

From our interviews with more than 6,000 sales professionals, we estimate that 85% of the dollars companies spend on sales training and customer service training is wasted. The goal of training is to educate and change behaviors, and we all know you don't change habits over night. In other words, sales and customer service professionals have to practice new behaviors for at least a month before they become part of their professional DNA. That's why a follow-up component is essential. Without it, employee behaviors regress back soon after the training event.

Our research shows that a 6-8 week follow-up program is the most effective way to iron in the new attitudes, habits and skills that were learned during training. During the follow up sales and customer service professionals need to work side-by-side with their managers to ensure that the performance of the team continues to improve long after the training program is over. Here are six best practices for effective follow up:

1. Communicate expectations: Sales and customer service professionals need to know what is expected of them. This means that expectations have to be communicated often in different forms (e.g., emails, in meetings, memos, postings, etc.)

2. Inspect what we expect: Sales and customer service professionals need to be observed using the new skills and behaviors with live customers.

3. Realistic feedback: Sales and customer service professionals need to hear real feedback including positive reinforcement (to keep them doing the right behaviors) and constructive feedback (to remind them to do the right behaviors)

4. Skill transfer sessions: Managers and coaches need to continue to teach and refine the skills and behaviors learned during training. These skill transfer sessions can be 1-on-1 and/or in a group.

5. Acknowledge and reward: New behaviors stick best when they are acknowledged and rewarded.

6. Reinforcement training: Typically conducted 90-120 days after the initial training
By following up sales and customer service training with these six best practices, you will make sure that your training dollars are not wasted. In fact, implementing an effective follow-up program is your best guarantee to getting a great return on your investment on sales and customer service training.

Paul Bartick is a director at Outsell Consulting, a leading sales training firm which works with companies that sell to consumers such as Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Bank of America, Charter Communications and DirectTV. He is co-author of Silver Bullet Selling: Six Critical Steps to Opening More Relationships and Closing More Sales. Download the preview e-book at http://www.silverbulletselling.com