Top Tips for Getting High ROI from Your Next Sales Training Workshop

If you have ever put your staff through an expensive sales training workshop and were less than impressed with your return on investment, you are not alone. Even though your salespeople might have returned to work all fired up, you probably experienced a quick sag in enthusiasm and little application of all the knowledge they acquired.

So, what can you do to improve the ROI of your next sales training workshop? Here are a few pointers.

Spend training dollars on those with sales aptitude

It is nearly impossible to get someone without a natural knack for sales to make a dent in the profession. Usually they end up becoming burdens on the companies that hire them through onboarding expenses, draw/salary, and blown deals. They leave disillusioned after a few months.

By testing all potential trainees with the Advanced Personality Questionnaire, you can ensure you are giving a sales training workshop only to the best people on your sales staff – those with natural aptitude.

To do otherwise is to greatly reduce your training ROI, because those without aptitude simply won’t utilize the material effectively. It’s not in their DNA!

Pick training with lots of interactivity

Sales training workshops full of theories, but without ways for students to relate them to real-world scenarios in an engaging way hurt ROI. The best way for students to apply the data at work is to have them practice in the classroom. Discussing among peers; sharing war stories; solving problems in groups – these are all valid ways to reinforce techniques, tips, and tricks in the minds of attendees and help them retain the lessons.

However, my preferred means of making the material real to sales pros attending my sales training workshops is to have them role play. You can role play anything, from the initial appointment setting, to handling objections, to asking for referrals after the close. Role playing tends to force people out of their comfort zones, and they end up the better for it.

Follow up the sales training workshop with one-on-one coaching

Sales coaching should be budgeted for at the time you book a sales training workshop. It could double or triple the ROI, so why not include it right off the bat? With one-on-one sales coaching – via Skype, telephone, or in person – trainees are held accountable for applying what they learned in the classroom setting and for producing tangible results.

Not only are weak areas best addressed through personalized coaching, but what better way is there to motivate your salespeople then with their own personal “cheerleader” who encourages them and helps them reach their goals – without the often contentious boss/employee dynamic to get in the way?

In conclusion, any sales training workshop is capable of producing some results. However, if you want to see quota-busting, killer salespeople on your sales team after training, the above are the rocket boosters you need. Don’t skimp, and you will be very pleased with the ROI.

Contact me with any questions you might have about how to get the most out of your next sales training workshop – or leave a comment below.