Best Practices in Design and Delivery of Sales Training Programs


Contents Overview ................................................................................................................................................................................3

Key Findings ..........................................................................................................................................................................3

Best Practices in Design and Delivery of Sales Training Programs ................................................................................5

Improving Sales Performance .........................................................................................................................................6

Training Method Utilization ...........................................................................................................................................8

Best Practices for Training Delivery ....................................................................................................................... 10

Trends in Sales Training Design and Delivery ........................................................................................................... 13

Leveraging External Training Providers ..................................................................................................................... 17

Summary ........................................................................................................................................................................ 22

Demographics .................................................................................................................................................................... 23

Company Sizes ............................................................................................................................................................... 23

Industries Represented ................................................................................................................................................. 24

Departments Represented ............................................................................................................................................ 25

About This Research ......................................................................................................................................................... 26

About Richardson ......................................................................................................................................................... 26

About Training Industry .............................................................................................................................................. 26


Overview Sales training and sales effectiveness has been a cornerstone of many organizations’ strategies to increase

revenues and drive efficiency. However, the landscape of sales training is subject to constant change—whether

from technology, buyer education, communication strategies, or training delivery methods. As markets continue to grow and evolve in complexity, learning leaders need to actualize their organizations’ initiatives to improve

sales performance. This includes maintaining current sales training priorities, planning for future needs, keeping

current with trends in sales training methods, deciding how to allocate training budgets, and leveraging external

training providers.

A recent online poll at Trainingindustry.com asked training professionals which delivery method their

organizations would use most in the next six months; of 229 responses, 52% said their organization would use virtual instructor-led training, 28% for classroom-based training, 13% for online courses or programs, and 7%

for mobile applications. However, is this snapshot poll indicative of what learning leaders across different

industries and in organizations of varying sizes are using for sales training improvement? The 2014 ATD State of

the Industry report1 states that training expenditure per employee averaged $1,208, 27% of those learning

expenditures involved external service providers, and formal classroom-based training comprised 70% of

training hours. Market predictions, however, forecast that e-learning will see greater utilization by organizations

around the globe in coming years2. Such current trends pose challenges to sales training organizations on how to

evolve, what to evolve, and—when partnering with external training providers—with whom to evolve when it comes to making measurable, sustainable improvements to sales training effectiveness.

To explore these issues, Training Industry, Inc. and Richardson conducted a study to examine the programs and

initiatives that organizations are using for sales training and to look for patterns in how these organizations draw

on external expertise to assist in achieving performance goals. In October 2014, 223 companies completed a

survey reporting their organizations’ current and future strategies, training effectiveness, and best practices for

sales training initiatives.

Key Findings • 82% of organizations’ sales training programs were rated effective

– 17.6% said their company’s program is ineffective

• The top current priorities for improving sales performance are:

1 http://www.astd.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD‐Archive/2014/11/2014‐State‐of‐the‐Industry‐Report‐Spending‐on‐Employee‐Training‐Remains‐a‐Priority 2 http://www.researchmoz.us/global‐e‐learning‐market‐2012‐2016‐report.html


– Developing sales process (e.g., lead, opportunity, and account and territory management)

– Training of sales representatives and managers

– Coaching of sales representatives and managers

• Training delivery methods were shown to conform to the following trends:

– Instructor-led classroom training, on-the-job training, and on-the-job coaching are currently used most frequently

– Instructor-led online training, video-based learning, mobile learning, and social learning are

most frequently identified for planned use

– On-the-job coaching, classroom training, and on-the-job training were rated the most effective

methods

– Gamification, mobile/social learning, simulations, videos, and e-learning are seen as the least relevant to effectiveness

• The most significant influencing trends in the sales training marketplace were:

– Training sustainment (e.g., continuous learning)

– Interactive learning

– On-demand training delivery

– ROI and learning measurement

• Planned areas of investment in learning technologies:

– Social media integration, training delivery tools, and training platform integration (e.g.,

LMS/CRM incorporation, cloud migration)

• Findings on leveraging external providers for sales training:

– External providers were leveraged most often for training sales representatives and managers, sales process (e.g., lead, opportunity, and account and territory management), and for L&D

data/tools/CRM

– The most important selection criteria for external providers included:

• Trust that the provider can deliver a solution

• Ability to customize solutions

• Industry expertise

• Fit with company values/culture


Best Practices in Design and Delivery of Sales Training Programs The importance of sales training effectiveness to organizations is widely known, as sales volume or sales turnover

are often the primary measures of firm performance by establishments such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Therefore, an effective sales training program best prepares sales representatives and managers to deal with market changes, new product offerings, and new selling frameworks—in other words, the company that takes a

strategic approach to sales improvement is more likely to maintain a competitive edge. But, how effective are

organizations at sales training overall? As shown below in Figure 1, the majority of the learning leaders (82%) we

surveyed rated their organization as being “somewhat effective” or “very effective” when asked about the utility

of current efforts to improve sales performance.

Figure 1. Effectiveness of Current Sales Performance Improvement Efforts

This suggests that the majority of organizations are realizing successes with their sales training programs. But,

what are the 22% of very effective organizations doing that sets them apart? How and where are they different

compared to the 18% of ineffective organizations? Throughout this report, we will highlight the differences

between these two groups to demonstrate how best practices are being utilized in sales performance

improvement efforts. In addition, where applicable, we will emphasize differences between large and small

organizations with respect to their sales training practices.


Improving Sales Performance Though the majority of companies were rated effective at sales training, the constantly shifting business

landscape requires these organizations to adapt and change to remain effective. To take a pulse on what these

adaptations might be, we asked learning leaders what their current top priorities were for improving sales

performance. As shown below in Figure 2, the priorities endorsed most often were improvements to the sales process (leads, opportunity generation, and account and territory management), training of sales representatives

and managers, and coaching of sales representatives and managers.

Figure 2. Priorities for Improving Sales Performance

When considering organizations rated very effective at improving sales performance versus organizations rated ineffective, consistent patterns of priorities emerged. As shown in Figure 3 below, effective organizations were

more likely to endorse the top-identified priorities of sales process, training, and coaching by a margin of 7-8%

over ineffective organizations. Effective organizations were also 11% less likely to endorse forecasting as a

priority compared to ineffective organizations.


Figure 3. Priorities for Improving Sales Performance

As highlighted by the arrows above, it is notable that the top three priorities are identical for very effective and

ineffective organizations. This suggests that even though the ineffective companies may have current

complications with their sales training programs, they are not generally prioritizing different initiatives

compared to the most effective organizations. Similarly, effective and ineffective organizations both tended to

endorse a variety of priorities, demonstrating that there is a mixture of sales training effectiveness goals across companies.

Considering very effective organizations, further analysis showed that endorsement of one priority, such as

improving the sales process, did not tend to co-occur with other top-identified priorities. Of the top three

priorities shown above, between 24% and 28% of very effective organizations endorsed at least two of three; 10%

of very effective organizations identified all three as top priorities. This suggests that while the most effective

organizations may be engaged in several initiatives, they tend to be focusing resources on a single main priority for improving sales performance.


Training Method Utilization With more than 3 billion internet users worldwide, one might expect many organizations to have adopted a

multitude of web-based tools and resources for delivering training. However, our results demonstrated that

while online training delivery is certainly on the rise, it has not yet usurped more traditional “offline” delivery

methods. As shown below in Figure 4, current methods used by organizations to deliver sales training are dominated by face-to-face modalities. Namely, instructor-led training in a classroom setting, on-the-job

training, on-the-job coaching, and training led by the sales manager.

Figure 4. Current Delivery Methods for Sales Training and Development

Despite the dominance of face-to-face delivery methods, it should be noted that online deliveries did not go

unrepresented; virtual instructor-led training, for instance, is used by 44% of organizations. To explore the issue further, we also asked learning leaders what types of training delivery methods their organizations were planning

to use in the future. As shown in Figure 5, online and informal learning were endorsed most frequently.


Figure 5. Planned Delivery Methods for Sales Training and Development

Of note in the above is the clustering of technology-enabled training delivery methods as the most frequently

planned delivery method, whether virtual, on-demand, or informal. Clearly, with all methods showing a planned

usage of 17% or more, organizations are seeking new delivery modes for training, whether it be to update

existing delivery formats or to augment an established delivery platform with alternatives to accommodate a

wider range of learning styles and/or technologies. As organizations balance the utility of new modes of training

delivery versus the cost to implement, current information about the effectiveness of different methods allows

both internal and external sales training providers to gauge where the training marketplace is headed.

Next, we will explore the use of delivery methods in more detail to elucidate differences between effective

organizations, as well as by organizational size.


Best Practices for Training Delivery As shown below in Figure 6, there were substantial differences in utilization rates for different media by

organizations rated as very effective compared to ineffective organizations. Specifically, on-the-job training, on-

the-job coaching, and manager-led training were all used 1.5 times more frequently by effective organizations.

Further, formal live coaching, train-the-trainer, and mobile learning delivery methods were used twice as often by effective organizations. Of particular note is that there were no methods endorsed more frequently by

ineffective organizations—in other words, effective organizations not only use a wider array of training delivery

methods, they also utilize them more frequently.

Figure 6. Current Delivery Methods for Sales Training and Development, Effectiveness Split

Figure 6 also suggests that effective organizations are matching the modality of training delivery to learner

preferences, whereby the top three delivery methods are also rated as the most effective (see Figure 8). The above

chart also shows that the most effective organizations are open to new sales training methods on the whole, as

well as to a greater mix of formal and informal methods.

From the perspective of innovation in training, the most effective organizations appear to have embraced many

of the recent trends in training delivery. For instance, while mobile learning is utilized twice as often by effective

companies, as already noted, gamification and informal learning methods are also substantially more likely to be


used by effective organizations. Results such as these suggest that the organizations that do an exemplary job of

training sales staffs are embracing newer technologies at a faster rate than ineffective organizations—though not

necessarily to supplant face-to-face training, but as a supplement.

Next, we analyzed training delivery methods as a function of organizational size. With some technologies, there

may be institutional barriers, such as resources, in-house expertise, supporting infrastructure, or tangible

business use cases, that distinguish the technologies able to be adopted by companies of various sizes. As shown

below in Figure 7, we found tangible differences in utilization rates of delivery methods by organizational size. In

particular, instructor-led training, on-the-job training, self-paced e-learning, and mobile learning were all used

more often in larger organizations (i.e., those companies with 500 or more employees), as marked by the blue

arrows. Smaller organizations were more likely to use on-the-job coaching, social learning, and gamification embedded into a LMS, as indicated by the red arrows.

Figure 7. Current Delivery Methods for Sales Training and Development, by Organizational Size


Though a variety of delivery methods are being used by organizations, it is also important to note which

methods learning leaders feel are the most effective for sales training and development improvements. As shown

below in Figure 8, on-the-job coaching, instructor-led training, on-the-job training, and formal live coaching

were most often rated as a “very effective” delivery method.

Figure 8. Effective L&D Delivery Methods for Sales Training (Proportions of “Very Effective” Ratings)

Of interest is that the perceptions of effectiveness of some delivery methods may be a contributing factor to their adoption. For example, embedded learning in support tools and mobile learning were not seen as particularly

effective for sales training, nor are they adopted by a large number of organizations according to Figure 4. It may

be that organizations have not yet integrated these technologies successfully into their sales training strategic

plans, or there may be implementation obstacles, such as a lack of change management initiatives to drive

adoption rates among sales staffs.


Trends in Sales Training Design and Delivery Beyond internal issues of sales training effectiveness, strategic priorities, and delivery methods, there are external

factors in the superordinate sales training marketplace that drive investments in organizations. We asked

learning leaders to provide information about the training trends that are influencing decision-making in their

organizations. As shown below in Figure 9, training sustainment (e.g., continuous learning), greater interactivity, demonstrable ROI, and striving for an on-demand, personalized training experience were the most

frequent trends impacting sales training directives.

Figure 9. Trends Influencing Sales Training and Development

We feel it is noteworthy that although instructor-led classroom training is the most frequently used delivery

method, as shown earlier, many of the trends influencing sales training involved aspects typically associated with

technology and learner control, such as interactivity, on-demand availability, and personalization of the learning

experience. Similarly, training sustainment and measurement show organizations actively treating sales training

as a process rather than a point-in-time event by acknowledging the strategic importance of continuous learning

and training ROI.

Along with training trends, we asked learning leaders where their organizations would likely be investing for

future sales training improvement efforts. As shown in Figure 10, training of sales representatives and managers,


coaching of sales representatives and managers, and expenditure-related data, tools, and CRM systems were

most frequently identified as being areas of increased spending.

Figure 10. Direction of Future Investment for Sales Training Performance Improvement

Of particular note is that Figure 10 shows a planned increase in spending unilaterally across all areas. Further, as

plans to increase investment levels trends downward across improvement efforts in the graph, there is not a

simultaneous uptick in plans to decrease investment. It is a telling indicator of sales training growth that the

overwhelming majority of companies are increasing or maintaining their investment levels in sales improvement

efforts, illustrating an interest in strategic diversification by organizations. In addition to strategic investments,

we also asked learning leaders about expected investments in technology and found rather uniform investment

levels planned across social media, training platform integration with other systems, training delivery tools, and training authoring for new and existing content.


Next, we asked learning leaders which technologies organizations were upgrading or introducing in the next one

to two years. As shown in Figure 11, training delivery tools and social media integration were most often

identified to be upgraded. Notably, all technologies are planned to be upgraded by at least 20% of organizations,

so although delivery tools and social media were the most prevalent, many companies are keeping their sales

training programs current with technological advances and innovation.

Figure 11. Planned Introduction/Upgrade of Learning Technologies

Although information on learning technology upgrades in general is useful to shed light on the planned

utilization of learning technologies, it is informative to explore whether there are any differences based on

organizational effectiveness with sales training. Figure 12 below shows the difference between very effective

organizations and ineffective organizations with respect to the differences in their plans to upgrade learning

technologies.


Figure 12. Planned Introduction/Upgrade of Learning Technologies, Effectiveness Split

As shown above, effective organizations are more likely to be introducing or upgrading training delivery tools

and social media. In contrast, ineffective organizations are focused more heavily on authoring tools for both new

and existing training content. If training is viewed as a lifecycle, this could suggest that ineffective organizations

are targeting content authoring as a means to improve sales training effectiveness before turning their attention to learning technologies that are involved with training delivery and informal learning.


Leveraging External Training Providers In addition to the reasons why an organization selects one external provider over another, we were interested in

what these organizations were leveraging external training solutions to accomplish. As shown below in Figure

13, the most common areas were training sales staff, improving the sales process, managing data and tools, and

coaching sales staff. Notably, there are no areas where engaging external providers was endorsed less than 20% by the learning leaders completing our survey, suggesting that while there are conspicuous trends toward

training and coaching sales staff, organizations are leaning on external solutions across the spectrum of

initiatives under study.

Figure 13. Propensity to Engage External Providers for Sales Training Solutions

Lastly, we asked learning leaders what specific criteria they considered when choosing an external provider to

deliver training solutions and support, as displayed below in Figure 14. Of note is that only 17% of organizations

do not plan to partner with external sales training providers.


Figure 14. Criteria for Selecting External Providers

As shown above, the general criteria organizations rely on most when choosing an external sales training

provider are trust in the delivered solution, the ability to customize training content, demonstrated expertise in the client organization’s industry, and fit with the culture and values of the client organization. While other

criteria are not ignored by organizations (with the exception of the very low endorsement of accolades in

industry media), factors such as costs and peer recommendations simply were not as important to learning

leaders.

As before, we split the data to examine differences between very effective organizations and ineffective

organizations as shown below in Figure 15. While all organizations factor trust, expertise, and fit into their decisions, effective organizations were more likely to respond to the salesperson, whereas ineffective

organizations were much more focused on customization, cost, and domain expertise. Effective organizations

also emphasized customer service and length of time the external provider has been in business significantly

more than ineffective organizations. Also of note is the finding that ineffective organizations were 9% less likely

to partner with an external training provider.


Figure 15. Criteria for Selecting External Providers, Effectiveness Split

Again, we considered the data based on organizational size, as shown below in Figure 16.

Figure 16. Criteria for Selecting External Providers, by Organizational Size


As shown, larger organizations tend to seek out external providers with industry expertise and customization.

Smaller organizations, on the other hand, rely more on trust, fit, and a track record of success when working

with providers. This suggests a pattern whereby smaller organizations need a greater degree of cultural

alignment with a provider, while larger organizations may be more focused on content alignment.

We also asked learning leaders about best practices for engaging external training providers. A total of 404

separate practices were provided, which were coded into the 11 categories displayed below in Figure 17.

Figure 17. Best Practices when Considering External Providers for Training Solutions

As shown, project support and service was the most important factor for external providers, followed by being

knowledgeable about industry market sectors and organizational processes, demonstrated ROI and a clear value

proposition, and having a demonstrable track record of success in the market or with similar clients. Example comments for the top four practices are shown in the table below.

Provider Practice Example Comments

Project Support “Ease of working with provider,” “ability to engage”

Market/Process Knowledge “Familiarity of unique demographics of target markets,” “they do deep research on our business, customers, sales reps’ skills, etc.”

ROI/Value Proposition “Making sure solution is cost effective,” “cost reduction and value increase—demonstrable ROI”

Reputation/Track Record “Has clients in my industry and a good track record of producing results”


Next, we examined whether there were differences in reported best practices for engaging external providers

based on organizational size.

Figure 18. Best Practices when Considering External Providers, by Organizational Size

As shown above, larger organizations tended to consider ROI focus and command of market knowledge to be

more important (blue arrow), compared to smaller organizations’ preference for reputation and customization

(red arrow) as best practices. This pattern resembles the above criteria for selecting an external provider, with the notable exception of smaller organizations now identifying content customization as a best practice. This

suggests that smaller organizations somewhat expect customization as a de facto best practice for external

providers when meeting clients’ needs, whereas larger organizations are expecting a more global orientation

toward how a provider can help position a client in the market.

1%

4%

6%

5%

5%

6%

14%

15%

14%

11%

18%

1%

2%

2%

5%

7%

9%

10%

11%

16%

18%

19%

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20%

Ensure Leadership Support

Utilize Effectiveness Metrics

Develop/Support Sustainable Training Tools

Technology Integration

Adherence to Deliverables

Adapt Training to Client Culture

Customization of Training Content

Reputation/Track Record of Success

Command of Market/Process Knowledge

Focus on ROI/Value Proposition

Project Support and Service

Over 500, N = 219 Under 500, N = 185


Summary For current sales training programs, 82% of organizations we surveyed were rated as being effective.

The top priorities for improving sales performance were found to be developing the sales process,

training, and coaching of sales personnel. Sales training tends to be delivered via instructor-led classroom training, on-the-job training, and on-the-job coaching, with instructor-led online training,

videos, mobile learning, and social learning being the delivery tools most organizations plan to integrate

for training delivery in the near future.

Sales training trends that are influencing organizations’ learning and development investment decisions

include training sustainment, interactivity in training, on-demand delivery, and a focus on learning assessment and ROI. Technologies are a focus of many of these investment decisions, the most

frequently identified being social media, training delivery support, and training platform integration

with other systems.

Although not all organizations in our survey reported leveraging outside providers, those that do tend

to seek third-party solutions for training sales personnel, improving the sales process, and for working

with data and tools, such as client relationship management databases. Organizations tend to seek external training providers based on trust that the provider can deliver, the ability to customize training

solutions to fit the organizations’ needs, demonstrated industry expertise, and fit with the client

companies’ values and organizational culture.


Demographics

Company Sizes Approximately 53% of respondents came from large organizations (see Figure 19).

Figure 19. Company Sizes Represented


Industries Represented Business services and consulting made up the largest percentage of the sample (see Figure 20). Further,

approximately 51% of respondents represented the next four largest industries, including

technology/telecommunications, retail/wholesale organizations, banking/finance/insurance, and

manufacturing/construction.

Figure 20. Industries Represented


Departments Represented As shown below in Figures 21 and 22, the majority of respondents represented leadership roles in sales, learning

and development, and human resource departments.

Figure 21. Departments Represented

Figure 22. Job Roles Represented


About This Research

About Richardson Richardson is a global sales training and performance improvement company. We have more than 30 years of

experience creating customized solutions that build organizational ability and improve individual skill necessary

to grow profitable sales.

We work with some of the largest and most sophisticated companies in the world, and we have won numerous

awards. We create solutions that fit your unique culture and situation, helping you execute strategy through your sales force.

Please visit us at www.richardson.com to learn more about how we help our clients deliver and sustain high-

impact sales training solutions.

About Training Industry Our focus is on helping dedicated business and training professionals get the information, insight, and tools

needed to more effectively manage the business of learning. Our website, TrainingIndustry.com, spotlights the

latest news, articles, case studies, and best practices within the training industry.

For more information, go to www.trainingindustry.com, call 866.298.4203, or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About This Research

Training Industry, Inc. research captures the collective wisdom of learning professionals, revealing fresh data on

trends and practices in the evolving training market. Copyright © 2015 by Richardson and Training Industry,

Inc. All rights reserved. No materials from this study can be duplicated, copied, re-published, or re-used without

written permission from Richardson or Training Industry, Inc. The information and insights contained in this

report reflect the research and observations of Richardson and Training Industry, Inc. analysts.

Best Practices in Design and Delivery of Sales Training Programs

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