SiriusDecisions Sales Enablement Research Brief: Sales Training: The Coaching- Measurement Connection
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The document discusses the challenges sales training organizations face in achieving lasting behavior change and measuring training impact, emphasizing the importance of integrating coaching with training investments. It highlights two coaching methods: traditional coaching, which occurs in-person and on-the-job, and unassisted coaching, which supports sales reps when their managers are unavailable. Effective coaching in both forms enhances skill application and helps organizations measure the effectiveness of their training programs.
SiriusDecisions Sales Enablement Research Brief: Sales Training: The Coaching- Measurement Connection
- 1. © SiriusDecisions. All Rights Protected and Reserved. 1 Research Brief Predicting how Americans would respond to calorie counts being added to fast-food menus, the president of the Culinary Institute of America said, “We talk thin but eat fat.” Such an example of the “knowing-doing gap” and how it relates to driving lasting behavior change is exactly the challenge facing most sales training organizations. These organizations are further challenged when trying to measure the impact of specific choices on behavior change, just like a weight scale can’t tell you how much you have benefitted from skipping the fries and how much was due to a new walking program. In this brief, we describe how coupling training investment with coaching and measurement helps to enhance its overall impact. Connecting Events to Action As salespeople no doubt remind their trainers, most real learning is gleaned the hard way on the job. The problem is that on-the-job learning often produces what organizations consider to be less-than-optimal habits. Training directors in our client base tell us they leverage competency models and conduct gap analyses to identify what learning options should be offered, then create curricula to close the gaps. What they unfortunately don’t (or cannot afford to) offer is training for front- line managers so these managers can solidify what has been learned. Trainers also don’t position themselves to influence how other tools such as sales force automation and sales playbooks are designed, both of which are perfect opportunities for reinforcement (as we will discuss below). Through better coaching, sales training can extend its impact beyond the classroom in a budget-friendly fashion. To bridge the gap for reps between on-the-job realities and those skills and processes taught in formal training sessions, coaching reinforcement must be offered via two methods – traditional and unassisted. Traditional Coaching Coaching is often called “contextual learning” because it usually happens in person, on the job. The heart of coaching is the interaction between manager and team, with the manager helping to influence behavior by observing and Sales Training: The Coaching- Measurement Connection Sales training organizations are challenged to effect lasting behavior change and measure impact Be wary of “check box” mode, where the training event is the only learning opportunity; investment in coaching is essential to lasting change Combining two coaching options with enhanced measurement delivers desired visibility and accountability
- 2. Research Brief © SiriusDecisions. All Rights Protected and Reserved. 2 then offering feedback. For sales initiatives to be successful, focus on three core coaching areas: • Training. Sales managers in most companies are made, not born; they are often successful field reps that do not have the natural ability to teach others what they know. These competencies, however, can be instilled in special pre-course “train-the-trainer” sessions that not only make the general sessions that follow more effective, but demonstrate to managers how they can act as post-event mentors. • Justification. Because many sales training companies offer coaching modules, they often have compiled data that measures the impact of such modules. Gathering and presenting this data helps defend the request for coaching funding if there is organizational resistance to it. • Situational application. In a live customer situation, new skills can be difficult to apply. Because sales reps will turn to their managers as the first line of support, these managers must be trained to optimize their guidance. If coaching cannot be provided in the context of the scenario, reps will tend to default to using old habits. You may want to consider creating professional sales coaches from the ranks of your training staff or most experienced salespeople. Some organizations view “coach-in-residence” recognition as one way to help reward and retain top performers who are effective at working with their peers. For reps, this can also be positioned as a possible precursor to a future management role. Unassisted Coaching There will be plenty of times that reps face scenarios when a first-line manager isn’t available – or asked – to help. By aligning training with the rest of your support structure – what we call unassisted coaching – you increase the likelihood that the rep will choose the “right” route on their own. Three core areas of this type of coaching include: • Process- or tool-based. Integrating process or skills training into your toolsets helps to build behavioral change into everyday tasks. Sales training, sales operations and marketing can work together to instill training building blocks such as opportunity methodology processes into common toolsets including the sales force automation system, and support the facilitation of face-to-face, negotiation and prospecting skills in the sales portal and/ or sales readiness/customized sales communications (CSC) platforms. • Playbook- or marketing content-based. By aligning the selling process with the buying processes of your prospects and customers, training will have an easier time collaborating with marketing to ensure that the content, tools and collateral it is providing is valuable. By using playbooks that incorporate learning concepts, reps gain a clear picture of how training meets the “real world.” In addition, using real-world examples during training events is a way to create semi-customized content that is easier for reps to recall and repeat when they encounter similar scenarios on the job. • Competency model-based. In the brief “Productivity Deep Dive: Sales Competency,” we offer our take on the sales competency model, a comprehensive cross-section of skills, processes, knowledge and tools required for sales professionals to succeed in today’s b-to-b environment. These models need to be updated on a regular basis to make sure learning keeps pace with market changes, not just internal requests. They may also need to incorporate a broader range of elements customized to different roles and experience levels within the business. A competency model that includes all elements essential to sales excellence can help to define tools and processes that support ongoing sales rep development. Training Measurement Options The impact of one or more training events is difficult to isolate from the many other factors that contribute to whether – and how – a sales rep makes his or her number. Clients tell us they primarily measure training success based on sales rep feedback; very few use their managers to gauge effectiveness. Training is similar to marketing in that it acts as a service bureau providing content for others to use; thus, it can judged using similar metrics including utilization by student and by course; facilitator and/or content ratings; and post- training testing. Other ways to evaluate effectiveness include creating control groups within sales to test performance
- 3. This content is copyrighted by SiriusDecisions, Inc. and cannot be reproduced or shared without prior expressed written permission from SiriusDecisions, Inc. SiriusDecisions helps business-to-business companies worldwide improve sales, marketing and product effectiveness. Management teams make more informed business decisions through access to our industry analysts, best practice research, benchmark data, peer networks, events and continuous learning courses. SiriusDecisions is based in Wilton, CT with offices in London, Montreal, San Francisco and Waltham, MA. 187 Danbury Road, Wilton, CT 06897 203.665.4000 fax 203.563.9260 siriusdecisions.com Research Brief differences with and without training, and reaching out to external certification organizations to objectively assess skills or knowledge. Finally, there is the link between measurement and coaching. By incorporating coaching requirements that include specific feedback and assessments pre- and post-training, you gather insight into the long-term effect of content. Consider gathering feedback on “unassisted” coaching materials provided to the field, including their usage and effectiveness. Even without coaching training in place, managers or designated individuals can be given a standard checklist for planned or surprise assessments of how training has translated into behavioral change. For example, an inside sales manager can listen in on calls and review adherence to training concepts at specific intervals. The Sirius Decision It is nearly impossible to use quantitative techniques to isolate the impact of training events on sales performance. At the same time, rep feedback in the form of “smile sheets” is simply not enough to satisfy the need to validate a return on training investment. Reinforcing training with coaching is the key to driving lasting behavioral change, and also to measuring its impact. Incorporating defined post-training behavior evaluation with individual coaching helps reps continue to improve, while measuring where they stand and taking immediate action to make any necessary course corrections. Leveraging traditional and unassisted coaching methods offers different mechanisms (and often a lower cost structure) to reinforce the important investment companies make in training and skill development.