How to Evaluate Sales Training

Evaluation can be made more efficient with emerging technology.

Evaluating sales training is a necessary function to ensure the new and current sales force is maximizing its sales skills and leveraging company resources. Accurate sales training evaluation is even more important today due to tighter budgets and the need for better employee productivity. Evaluation can be made more efficient with employee input and emerging technology. The most effective sales training providers use quantifiable methods that utilize ongoing employee surveys and sales training. They also track individual sales success to better evaluate and improve sales training programs.

Instructions

1. Examine current training methods and the training procedures that occur after the initial training. Make sure course materials facilitate learning and have documented effectiveness. Implement programs that offer continuing education that build upon the initial training.

2. Survey sales training participants immediately after training and store results of survey and post-training testing in a database. Ask participants to honestly assess how much of the training they considered useful. Use the database for ongoing testing and follow-up. Dave Stein, president of Effectiveness Solutions, recommends a web-based system where training participants can log into a web page to ensure anonymity. Here they will complete surveys and answer additional test questions.

3. Create time lines and benchmarks for required training and testing. It could be after three months or after six months, for example. Compare results of testing to the sales success representatives have achieved. Look for correlation between increased product knowledge and sales success.

4. Include surveys that address participants' behavior and overall feelings on company culture. These questions differ from the initial post-training survey and are based on their experiences working for the company. Sample questions include "Do you feel you are being provided with adequate resources and management support to make sales?" Match those results against the sales success of the representative.

5. Use results from the ongoing surveys and testing to improve future sales training sessions. Compare how participants who scored higher on testing fared with their sales results. Dave Stein says that sales training should be a significant investment. By offering continuing training and matching individual sales results, you are able to maximize the return on investment and properly evaluate sales training.

6. Adjust sales training for different individuals. Sales training consultant Paul Cherry says that participants retain only 10 percent of what they learn at training within 30 days. Quantify which demographics required additional training and consider segmenting sales training into different groups of existing reps, new hires or senior sales representatives.

References

• All Business: "Evaluating Sales Training Companies;" Dave Stein; November 2005
• Performance Based Results: Paul Cherry