True development brings average performers to life, ramps up new hires rapidly and gets top performers to beat their own records.

 

Companies spend a fortune on sales training for their direct and indirect sales channels, yet productivity figures present a bleak picture. Weak and poor performers make up 62 percent of sales populations, says Dave Kurlan, author of Baseline Selling. Moreover, U.S. sales force turnover has reached 31.6 percent, according to CSO Insights’ 2005 survey. Worse yet, when it comes to ramping up new hires, 29 percent of companies rated themselves as “poor” or “dismal” while 52 percent rated themselves as average, CSO Insights says. Almost across the board, 20 percent of the sales force produces 80 percent of the results.

It’s an old problem, and the solution is not more training. In fact, training accounts for only 10.5 percent of behavioral change, according to Thomas Gilbert’s book Human Competence and Peter J. Dean’s Performance Engineering at Work. The real answer is development, and there’s a huge difference. True development brings average performers to life, ramps up new hires rapidly and gets top performers to beat their own records.

Focus on the Problem
Why can’t average performers execute a company’s marketing strategy as effectively as its top performers? It’s because the application of the value proposition created by marketing changes with the progress of the sales cycle. Getting in the door, creating interest, qualifying and closing, for instance, all require different applications of the value proposition. Only the top performers are skilled in interpreting the value proposition and contextualizing it on the fly.

For the rest of the sales force, event-based training is insufficient to impart this skill. More than 80 percent of what is learned is forgotten within three days and never reinforced in the field. In fact, training is no more than an introduction to the development process, which occurs on a continual basis in the context of the rep’s daily work.

As an example, consider this common scenario: Companies waste 80 percent of their investment in lead generation campaigns because only 20 percent of reps are able to follow up effectively. Wouldn’t it make more sense to ensure the entire sales force can actually sell before handing them leads?

Steps for Development
When companies focus on turning average performers into top performers, getting new hires ramped up faster and transforming current top performers into stellar performers, their organizations become productive, highly motivated and have minimal turnover. Here are the steps to accomplish quality sales force development:

Put a process in place. Rather than buying a third-party sales methodology, develop a very clear understanding of how the top performers execute the sales process. Since they already have a successful system, doesn’t it make sense to harvest and codify it rather than invest in a cookie-cutter methodology that may not fit the organization?

Use that process to develop average performers – the majority of the channel. This step creates a huge return on investment. Imagine the enormous impact if 60 out of a 100 reps could achieve top performance.

With average performers now at peak performance, work on the bottom 20 to 40 percent. If they cannot follow the process, replace them.

Use the system to ramp up new hires quickly. Again, don’t count on training alone. Develop a formal ramp-up program based on the best practices of the top performers. This should include some foundational knowledge and assessment of the sales process.

Additionally, it should include a formal approach for consistently score-carding and measuring their ability to execute the critical steps of the sales process in the real world. This is typically done by the manager or channel representative through live observation and review of the rep’s preparation before executing certain steps.

Use the same process to develop the top performers into stellar performers while continually feeding all performers tips and best practices as part of the process. Yes, even top performers are capable of achieving greater heights and they will benefit greatly by sharing their best practices with each other.

No Time for Development?
But how can chief sales officers and channel sales executives find time to develop reps when they are busy driving growth and streamlining their organizations? The answer is a Web-based sales execution and coaching platform. It codifies and contextualizes the steps, sales tools and best practices of top performers and creates an accurate map of the sales cycle. Then, it delivers that information, provides e-learning tutorials, checks knowledge and helps managers measure competency through scorecards. It fosters an environment where reps can sharpen sales tools and best practices on a daily basis while providing methods and motivation for collecting and sharing real-time information (e.g., how to get in the door, great questions to ask or what information is needed from experts and marketing).

This type of platform not only helps managers develop reps, it makes them better managers in the process. Today, many managers spend time in the field, closing deals to make up for their reps’ shortcomings. Now, with a system and platform in place for development, managers can spend their time more effectively to achieve peak performance.

“Using technology in an innovative way is how we effectively reach, motivate and develop thousands of dealer sales reps across the country,” says Jim Bennett, manager of sales training and development for Freightliner. The world leader in truck manufacturing rolled out the system seven years ago and has achieved outstanding results in reducing turnover and increasing sales.

Reverse the Turnover Trend
Manufacturers with direct and indirect channels who don’t have a process to follow and don’t develop their reps tend to hire what appears to be the best talent. Then, they throw lots of training and incentives at the reps. Unfortunately, the talent never manifests itself because it has no system to follow. Results fall short of expectations, and talented reps soon move on.

Putting an end to turnover is quite simple: Help people succeed. Reps won’t leave and won’t be fired if they are highly motivated. What motivates, according to experts, comes down to purpose and control.

The corollary here is don’t waste money on training reps who are under-performing. Similarly, don’t throw away money on third-party sales methodologies. Each organization already has a successful system in the hands of its top performers. That process just needs to be harvested and encoded to become accessible and accepted by everyone. Supported by a Web-based execution and coaching platform, it becomes a continuous and leveraged approach to meet ever-increasing revenue targets.

Al Rosenbaum is executive vice president of sales and marketing for LogicBay, a provider of on-demand sales and service development for the hiring, ramping up and development of sales and service professionals. For more information, go to www.logicbay.com, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 888-301-0751.