We all hope our 2010 Kickoffs will get our team motivated and provide them with new information to help them increase sales for the New Year ahead. The problem is that more often than not that excitement doesn’t last.  According to Keith Eades, Founder and CEO of Sales Performance International (SPI), “Sales people are typically enthusiastic training participants, but once they’re back at their sales organization old patterns and pressures are imposed, they’ve got to close deals and meet their quotas, so the new learning is often lost.”  

This is a problem that all sales managers deal with, not only with Sales Kickoffs for the New Year, but for sales training events in general. In fact, studies have shown that 86% of knowledge retention is lost within 90 days of sales training events without specific reinforcement vehicles and integration with business practices. And yet, thousands of companies continue to take a train and hope mindset, with little consideration for legitimate success criteria.

So, how do we keep this from happening? Here at SPI we believe that you should take a Continual Learning approach to sales training. It is not about one big event, it is important that you are continually providing and reinforcing knowledge to your sales people throughout the year. In the image below you can see some of the key elements involved in creating a continual learning environment. All of these elements are critical in attaining World Class Sales Training and Continual Learning status.

The Solution Selling Continual Learning Framework

By attaining this status you can achieve up to:

• 9% higher quota attainment
• 7% higher win rates of forecasted deals
• 5% less turnover

In the study previously mentioned, SPI Senior Consultant Bob McGarrah said, “What emerged from our study is a growing recognition not only of the pressing need for post-training reinforcement, but also the necessity to do more than periodic refresher training. Instead, the reinforcement has to be integrated with the sales organization’s day-to-day work and there should be more of a common methodology among all those on the team, what’s sometimes called a sales process. At a minimum, this means a shared perspective, language, skills and tools, so that as the team functions the learning continues and gradually takes hold.”

Although it is important to get your team motivated for the New Year, if you don’t continue to reinforce and integrate best practices in your sales process throughout the year you will not reach your potential.

For more information on continual learning watch the webcast, Preserving the Training Investment Through Continual Learning.