Recently the tumultuous state of the economy has caused firms to cut costs wherever possible, and it seems that all too often training for sales reps is the first thing to go; however this practice may not be so wise. Even during a recession, revenuesare usually expected to grow, and a firm’s sales force is a major driving force for continuing this growth. 

Top companies typically have sales reps with much higher average deal size and larger revenues per rep than the industry norm. It comes as no surprise then that these companies typically invest larger amounts in external training for their sales reps, as evidenced in this recent poll conducted by Aberdeen Group:

 

“Cutting training programs puts your sales force at an extreme disadvantage and will directly effect revenues. A recession may be the worst time to cut these programs,” commented Colleen Honan, SVP of Global Sales at OneSource.

The constantly evolving online world mandates the constant training of sales reps. Without regular training and exposure to new techniques and trends, a sales force will fall behind and the entire firm will have to bear the consequences.

“I view sales training as I would any other form of training.  If you want to get better, you need to challenge yourself and leverage the best techniques available.  As an organization we conduct internal training to continue to reinforce and enhance our team’s sales skills, but we find it very beneficial to bring in outside training consultants when we are looking to have a more impactful session and provide more than a refresher,” said James Cabral, VP of Sales North America at OneSource.

Tags: Sales Performance