Training Needs Analysis

Does this sound familiar?

Every year there is a substantial investment in sales training. The evaluations are positive, the team was enthusiastic. But honestly, you cannot say what it delivered.

• After the training everyone is motivated; three weeks later everything is back to normal.
• Everyone gets the same training, from starter to senior key account manager.
• The training provider decides the content, because the brief was mostly a wish list.
• Training is used for a problem whose cause lies in the process, the pay plan or the way the team is managed.
• Managers do not know what was covered in the training, so they cannot coach on it.
• The team always learned the trade from the founder, but that no longer scales with growth.
• The value creation plan calls for new propositions and a different pricing strategy, faster than the team can adapt.
• The central academy programme does not match what the sales team needs in practice.

Training is rarely the problem. The problem is training that is not based on a sharp analysis of what is really missing.

Our approach

We analyse at three levels: what the organisation needs, what the role requires and what the person needs. This leads to a development plan and a clear brief. Our approach has five steps.

1. Organisational analysis

We translate your commercial strategy into the capabilities it requires. Does a new proposition call for value selling instead of product selling? Should the team win more new business, or develop key accounts more strategically?

2. Role and task analysis

For each role we determine which tasks make the difference and what behaviour sets top performers apart. We use your own data, observations and conversations with management and staff.

3. Individual analysis

For each salesperson we map knowledge, skills and motivation. We distinguish sharply between cannot, will not and is not enabled to. Only the first is solved by training.

4. Development plan per person and team

We draw up a targeted plan with the right mix of training, on-the-job coaching and peer learning, aligned with each person's ambition and growth path. It is the same Development Driven thinking we use to recruit commercial leaders: talent develops where ambition, role and learning are aligned.

5. Briefing, guidance and measurement

We write the brief for training providers, assess proposals and act as your independent adviser. We involve managers so they can coach on the new behaviour after the training. And we measure the effect on behaviour and results, not just satisfaction.

Why this approach works

What makes training effective has been studied extensively in the leading international management and marketing journals. The conclusions are clear:

• Training works, when it is targeted. Training demonstrably improves performance, but the effect depends heavily on whether the content matches what the role really requires. A good analysis up front is not a formality, but the basis of the return.
• Learning is not the same as applying. A large share of what is learned in training is never put into practice. Whether it is depends mainly on the manager's support, room to practise and colleagues who take part.
• Motivation beforehand determines what people learn. Participants who see the relevance and trust their own ability learn demonstrably more. That is why we involve them in the analysis.
• In sales, knowledge and adaptability make the difference. Top performers stand out through their knowledge of customer situations and their ability to adapt their approach. Training should develop that ability, not just teach a fixed sales technique.
• Spaced learning sticks better. Shorter sessions spread over time deliver more than one intensive training day.
• Practising with room for mistakes works. People who are allowed to make mistakes in training, and learn from them, apply what they learned better in new and unexpected situations.
• Satisfaction says little. Whether participants liked a training hardly predicts whether their behaviour changes. That is why we measure behaviour and results.

Bart Dietz, founder of SalesQuarters, is affiliated with Rotterdam School of Management and translates these insights to the reality of your organisation.