(was: Sales Training Strategy Development - Tips, Tricks LO1658 )
Dale Arseneault wrote:
"I've just signed up to developing a complete training strategy and
implementation plan for national sales force. We are a computer and
network systems integration company with sales people of varying degrees
of skills and competencies. I will be defining what skills/knowledge the
audience needs, what skills/knowledge they have, what skills/knowledge
they are missing and how best to deliver them... I will also be
investigating ways of removing various prejudices and barriers to learning
and trying to help many of them from product selling to
solution/consultative selling.
If you were in my shoes, what would you do? How would you do it?"
Certainly, I am not a trainer by profession. I did, however, work for a
very large and very blue computer and systems integration company with an
excellent training/learning program. I would offer the following (most
likely obvious) suggestions:
1. Determine the competencies you need to compete in your marketplace.
Explode those competencies into skills/knowledge.
2. Survey your population with a questionnaire based on those skills.
3. The gap should tell you where you need to focus your energies.
4. Understand the roles your employees play. Do your require Information
Technology Architects? Project Managers? Programmers? Understand how
you want these people to do their jobs. Develop a certification program
that requires a combination of training and learning experiences.
5. Measure, measure, measure.
Regards,
-- Beth Clark Boulder, CO "Beth Clark" <eclark@atqm.advtech.uswest.com>