Is “On The Job” Training the Best Way to
Develop a Sales Person?
By Dave Kahle
In our surveys, CEOs indicate “on the job” training as the predominant method of developing sales people. If everyone is doing it, it must be OK, right?
I don’t think so. See if this sounds familiar. You are ready to expand your sales force, so you hire a nice guy who has some experience in the industry. You start him with a few days in the warehouse, have him sit in customer service for a week, and meet with whichever manufacturer’s rep happens to stroll in. You send him out with a senior sales person for a week or so.
Then, he’s deemed ready to represent you, and he’s unleashed into the territory with the charge to “go forth and sell a lot.” He’ll pick it up, you assure yourself, by learning “on the job.”
Or, worse yet, you make it a practice of only hiring people who have experience, limiting your future sales people to those who have gone through the process described above at some other company.
What’s wrong with this tried and true method of developing sales people? There was a time, ten or twenty years ago, when competition was not nearly as fierce, where the job was not nearly as demanding, and sales people not nearly as challenged as they are today, when this method was adequate. In today’s hyper-competitive marketplace, however, “on the job” learning for sales people
consistently produces mediocre performers.
It’s not that “on the job” training isn’t effective for other positions. “On the job” learning works well for other positions, like customer service, warehouse, etc., where there is both a mentor constantly present as well as a clearly defined articulation of how to do the job well.
However, for sales people, it’s an abdication of responsibility. There is rarely a mentor constantly available, nor is there, in most businesses, a clearly defined set of practices as to what constitutes the best way to do the job. “On the job” training, for sales people, is code for “learn on your own.”
Sales Management by Crises?
It doesn’t have to be that way. The truth is that very few sales managers have ever been exposed to the best practices of proactive sales management.
We can fix that. Our Kahle Way®
Sales Management System has transformed thousands of sales managers, enriched thousands of sales people, and spearheaded the growth of countless companies.
“The seminar was outstanding. It was straightforward and simple to understand. We will be implementing
the management system immediately. Thanks, Dave!”
– Doug Cowan, Sales Manager, Professional Salon Concepts
For years, we taught it in a live seminar. Now, we’ve made it available in an online course.
Let’s examine why that is.
1. “On the job” training for sales people assumes that there are no standards for what constitutes a good sales person. Other than net sales and/or gross profits measured at the end of the month, there are no standards for what constitutes professional excellence. Therefore, every sales person is left to develop his own “style.” If there were a set of best practices that
define the way a professional sales person does his job, it would be unreasonable to expect that every sales person would, by trial and error, stumble across those best practices. That’s the concept.
Of course, the problem is that this idea is the biggest single cause of sales mediocrity in existence today. It is totally, completely false.
There is a set of behaviors that constitute the skill set of the sales masters. The job of the sales person has been studied and written about probably more than any other profession in the world. There exists a universal body of knowledge about how a good sales person does his job. There are behaviors and competencies that relate to planning, preparation, time management,
interaction with customers, etc. Regardless of the hype of promoters, there are no secrets in selling.
I just encountered a well-trained, professional sales person. He answered the phone when I inquired with a company with whom we already have a relationship. I was interested in expanding the relationship to include some other services from this company.
He was polite and respectful. He first referenced our previous relationship, and then asked a series of questions that had obviously been prepared beforehand. I could hear him typing the answers into the computer. He repeated back to me, several times, his understanding of exactly what I was looking for, and exactly what my situation and requirements were. He then outlined a
series of next steps, the most next logical being him doing some research on a solution, and then calling me back to relay that solution.
We agreed, and made an appointment for that phone call. When the time came, he was prompt. He began the phone call by reciting the steps we had taken, and once again, explained his understanding of my situation. When I agreed that he accurately understood our situation, he relayed his proposal. We discussed it, and together settled on a next step to move the project
forward.
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