Chapter no:6 Training and development of sales force

What is training Definition The learning period provided to the employee before putting them into their job. Development… develop a comprehensive skill for a long period of time is called development.

What is formal and informal training formal training includes careful assessments and attention to determining training goals, designing and building methods and materials that are directly aligned (and often pretested) to achieve the goals, implementing training, and careful evaluation to ensure that training is carried out effectively and that training goals were reached.

Cont… Informal sales training… involves the continuous professional development of sales people. These activities are important for the efficiency of sales force. informal training is a prime responsibility of the sales supervisor to provide guideline to our sales force.

Reason for training sales force. Training and development can be initiated for a variety of reasons for an employee or group of employees, e.g.,: When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed To "benchmark" the status of improvement so far in a performance improvement effort To improve communication. To reduce the cost.

Benefits of sales training. Motivation motivation energizes, directs and sustains behavior. Successful sales training results in renewed energy and motivation in the sales team members; participants return to their job responsibilities with a drive to succeed, which can lead to higher confidence levels for their job and increased results

Cont… Product or Service Knowledge Upon complete of sales training, sales staff should possess a strong knowledge of the product or service their company offers. According to Stimmel, founder of Planned Growth Business Development Solutions, this knowledge is necessary to effectively communicate and survive in a market with many competitors.

Cont.. Increase in Revenues The desired outcome and main benefit of effective sales training is an increase in revenues. When salespeople are armed with the right tools, the result for the company is likely to be an increase in profitability

Cont….. Fewer accidents- Errors are likely to occur if the employees lack knowledge and skills required for doing a particular job. The more trained an employee is, the less are the chances of committing accidents in job and the more proficient the employee becomes.

Cont.. Less supervision- A well trained employee will be well acquainted with the job and will need less of supervision. Thus, there will be less wastage of time and efforts

Types of development. there are three types of development, (1) Group development….it is a process of a group forming and then working together so that a goal is accomplished. The process involves four different steps: forming, storming( opinion), norming(organizing), performing, and adjourning.

(2) 0rganization development Sourcing investment opportunities Market research and analysis Market intelligence and analysis Business consultancy and management Business development Account management and relationship management Services provide. Project management Organizational strategy development

(3) Employees developments. Employee development is a joint, on-going effort on the part of an employee and the organization for which he or she works to upgrade the employee's knowledge, skills, and abilities. Successful employee development requires a balance between an individual's career needs and goals and the organization's need to get work done

Element of training. Goals and Objectives * should be measurable (Easily achieve desire goal) * should be behavioral (Ethical) * should reflect your target market

(2) Core content * should be relevant to your setting * should be relevant to the high-risk areas. * should directly reflect the goals and objectives of the training

(3) Diverse learning Method Instruction Discussion Feedback Review Assignment Case Studies