A meeting of sales training professionals recently discussed the difficulty of getting behavior change after a training has occurred. I have noticed when people leave a training session they are often enthused, "this was the greatest session I have ever attended!" After a month, "it was a good session." After 3 months, "I seem to recall attending that session." When you train sales people on something new, why doesn't it always become part of the culture/processes of the sales force? Why doesn't management support it and follow up it? How can we increase retention?

The group brainstormed several reasons. One of the primary reasons seemed to be: People are busy. As sales forces are reduced and companies look for efficiencies, many people are doing more. There is often a lack of management support for the same reason. If they don't communicate their expectations to the sales people, and follow up, it will go down on the priority list. If people don't experience it right away on their job, they will lose it. If the training is not tied to the strategy of the company, supporting it's vision, it will likely not be viewed as important. One might ask, if this isn't a priority of leadership - why are we spending time on it?

Training can be an event, not a process. If the training was not effective, or as effective as it could have been, people will leave less than thrilled. If the training is not just in time, either too soon or too late, it won't be helpful. Training can be viewed as a flavor of the month, this year the topic is hot. Next year we'll move onto something else that is hot.

With so many things that can interrupt getting the behavior change you are looking for, what's a trainer to do? We'll look at this issue from a standpoint of what to do before, what to do during, and what to do after the training event to ensure integrating it into the organization.

First let's look at what should be done before the training happens. How do we communicate before the session? It is important to communicate with participants in advance, addressing two issues: Are the participants ready and how will this fit in with their real world? It is helpful to get participants at the same level on the training topic before they come to training, if that is possible. This can often save a day of training and people will be more receptive during the session. Covering material you already know or do is very boring and causes people to check out mentally. Relating the material to participants past experiences is important. It honors their experiences and engages them.

Before the training, we need to think about the training environment. Managing details like coffee and lunch may seem small, but it matters. These details may cause an upset, however small it may seem. These details would include beverages and breaks, training materials being in synch with the session, the room setup not being cramped. If there is an upset, it is important that it be managed sensitively.

Selling the training internally needs to be done before the training ever happens. Having an executive sponsor will help ensure behavior change after the session. If the VP of Marketing believes in it and wants it to happen, you increase your odds greatly. If the organization is working towards making a 90 day sales number and the training budget can be cut at any moment, the sales force receives the message. It's not that important. If the training helps solve a problem organizationally, you have just increased your odds again. Tying the training to competencies can help make the internal sale. If the competencies are seen as critical to doing a good job, training that increases skills for a given competency can provide a needed link. A needs assessment that shows that training is the solution to a problem is one way to build a case, across business units if possible. Just the act of the assessment, conversations with stakeholders, creates momentum in the organization. Organizational buzz will start building excitement for the solution. This will help establish credibility. After that, a strategy is needed, aligning business leaders to this cause. Once a strategy is in place, nothing a sales person does should conflict with the mission/strategy and the process that supports it.

Now we have some preliminary plans and support in place for the initiative to be successful. A good start. So, what can be done during the session?

Relating everything to the business need is key. Having participants work on their own customers or REAL case studies (related to their industry without being too close to their actual business) will help them stay interested and implement the new concepts after the training. When they are asked to leave the class and write an account plan, the behavior change odds slim down. When they leave the class with an account plan, the job is half done. To get behavior change, there needs to be consequences of doing it and consequences of not doing it.

Trainer prep is a key to success. Internal trainers can connect to each group - have in their hip pocket examples of accounts in the room, competitors, leadership priorities, how participants will apply and use the skills/knowledge they are there to learn.

For any trainer, setting a respectful environment helps the training event to be a success. This includes a place people feel safe and open to talk, to discuss experiences and to learn collaboratively. Thinking about learning styles comes into play here. People learn by seeing, listening, experimenting with, or internally figuring out. Many people train to their own learning style (I have been guilty of this.). Having a variety of teaching methods helps ensure different people will regularly connect to the content.

Let's say we have been stellar with planning, communicating and conducting a session. Now, what are the things that should be done after the training to ensure success? Training key managers on coaching points and concepts will help ensure follow up. Helping managers understand how to coach the topic, what the questions are that should be asked every time they work with their people. The manager having performance goals related to reinforcement will help ensure change, as well as performance expectations of the sales people.

Incentives can be used to reinforce learning. Your goal up front is to get people to try this new behavior or process. Incentives should typically be based on behavior, rather than results. Many things can contribute to getting results. Getting the right behavior is the goal here. Unfortunately, incenting with cash isn't always the best. People raise their lifestyle to it, use it to pay bills. The incentive doesn't become a memorable thing. Using a TV, a DVD player, or a dinner out becomes more memorable. An online quiz is one way to show upper management results of the class. It helps prioritize what follow up is needed. If people need 4 positives to 1 negative comment, incentives help with the good news. Incenting may not get a C player to an A, but it can make the difference in a B player moving up. Imagine the increase in sales if you could consistently increase the productivity of your B players. Here is the tricky part. Incentives have to be done well. Incenting the wrong stuff can get people paying attention to 5 % of the business while ignoring the big pieces of the job. And overdoing incentives can produce a "why should I do that" or entitlement mentality. Reinforcing the right behaviors makes sense in sales; but it's important to do it well.

Following is an example of a follow-up/reinforcement plan for a training rollout.

Follow Up/Reinforcement
Profit Training
(How to Keep it Alive!)

We need a 4 level plan to keep the financial skills alive that people learned in the Profit Specialist class. This method of selling is entirely different for many people.

Practice:
People were introduced to this way of thinking and connecting to accounts. They didn't leave able to do it; they left having tried it once. Each sales person should have this as part of their Performance goals - 1 per quarter, copy manager, post the best ones on PactivNet for reference. (Using some combination of the Profit Proposal Template, Customer Analysis Worksheet, and Value Analysis Worksheet)

Reinforcement:
Tools review at future sales meeting - there are a lot of great tools that people got in the session, they are also on PactivNet, we need to reinforce those - they are the key to using the program ongoing because they make it simple!
Regional Meetings or National Meetings - talk about importance, how it helps to achieve our Big Rocks.
Sales Managers should have performance goals of how to reinforce the skills one on one and at sales meetings- reinforcing where it is used and coaching/training where it isn't.
Identify some resources that people can go to when doing it the first time or when they have questions. Each Region should identify a resource. It may be the manager, but it may be someone else. It should be someone that this comes pretty naturally to.

Leadership Support:
Giving publicity to successful, profitable business where PS tools have been used.
Increasing visibility of the tools. Championing the method with the organization so it is not lost. Sales people need to see visible support for it to become ingrained into the way we do business.

Administration:
Someone managing this initiative in each business unit. Passes on the information, identifies new Profit Proposals, gets appropriate information posted to the web site. Sends updates out to keep it in front of people.

Everything we have discussed here are things we try and do with each new training initiative. With every new roll out we can add pieces and refine the process. I find when I am working on things that are important to leadership, their role as sponsor is easier to attain.

If it were easy, we would do it all every time! I wish you well in your role of getting organization support for change!


Article Abridged: See SMT Articles/White Papers Area on SMT Members Only Web Site.