Question

What are the challenges to keeping high-performing sales reps interested in going to professional development programs, especially when they may feel that they "know it all"? How would you approach such a sales rep to ensure their participation?

Answer 1

It's given that PDP are crucial for sales success, yet sales people are reluctant to be a part of such trainings. They have common excuses such as

• Oh, but I’ve done that already..!!
• It’s a sheer waste of my time
• I know it all already...
• I’m already hitting my targets..
• Its killing my time
• What could I possibly learn from an outside trainer that I already know..

However it is important to change the mindset of sales people as the business dynamics are changing. Buyers are more connected, are well informed even before they connect with a sales rep.

To enable sales people realize the true value of development programs and overcome the hurdles associated it is important to:

1. Keep sales people well informed about the training program to your entire sales force . Provide context or explanation about why the organization is doing it, what the expectations are, and how the training will roll out. Such initiative would help the people function better.

2. Important to get to know Sales people more and understand what makes them tick. A right step would be to find out what they like to do, what motivates them, and then align the desired changes with those goals and aspirations.A sales training without a reason and they’re less likely to go along with it, but if one understand what they want (i.e. to win more deals), we can demonstrate how and why the training will help improve certain skills or develop new ways of thinking.

3. If we have some experienced reps that are resistant to training, have the sales trainer enlist those reps to help train others. They can then share their experiences and expertise which would help not only get them involved in training but to share their best practices with the rest of the team.