Methods of Training and Requisites for Effective Training

Methods of training salesmen

Firms use several methods to train salesmen, chosen according to the nature of the product, the size of the sales force and the firm's resources. The main methods are:

• On-the-job training. The recruit learns while actually working, usually under the guidance of an experienced senior salesman or supervisor who demonstrates how to sell and then lets the trainee try. It is practical and inexpensive, and the trainee learns real selling conditions from the start.
• Class-room / lecture method. Salesmen are taught in a class-room through lectures, talks and discussions on product knowledge, company policy and selling techniques. It suits the teaching of factual knowledge to a group at one time.
• Conference and group-discussion method. Salesmen and their trainers meet in a conference to discuss selling problems and exchange experiences; each participant learns from the others' problems and solutions.
• Demonstration method. The trainer actually shows how the product works and how it should be demonstrated to a customer, which the trainee then imitates. This is especially useful for technical or machinery products.
• Role-playing method. The trainee acts out a sales situation — playing the salesman while another person plays the customer — and is then given feedback, so he practises handling real selling situations in a safe setting.
• Correspondence method. Reading material and lessons are sent to salesmen who are spread over a wide area, and they study on their own; it is useful for a scattered sales force but lacks personal guidance.

Many firms combine methods — for example, class-room instruction for knowledge followed by on-the-job practice for skill.

Requisites of effective training (features of a good training programme)

For a training programme to achieve its purpose, it should have the following requisites:

• Clear objectives. The programme should have definite aims — what knowledge and skills the salesman is expected to gain — so that it can be planned and later evaluated.
• Suitable content. The subject matter should cover product knowledge, company knowledge, customer knowledge and selling techniques, and should be relevant and up to date.
• Right method and competent trainers. The training method must suit the trainees and the product, and the trainers must themselves be knowledgeable and skilled.
• Right timing and duration. The programme should be neither too short to teach properly nor so long as to waste selling time, and should be given at a suitable stage in the salesman's career. …