Does Sales Training Matter? The Salesperson’s Perspective

One of the most important questions senior sales leaders ask is whether a sales training initiative will really deliver better sales results.  The basis for this question is likely based on the reality that they may have previously invested in training programs with little to show from their investment. 

At the same time, the global sales training market has grown by nearly $1 billion over the last seven years (now estimated at $2.54 billion annually according to Training Industry) and it would seem irrational for companies to significantly increase their training investment if it wasn't impacting their business.

To get a better sense for what selling skills are most important and how better sales training impacts business results, we conducted a research study with Training Industry to understand the salesperson’s perspective on this topic. 

Here is brief synopsis of what we learned from our respondents:

Most Important Skills:

• Building relationships
• Identifying customer needs
• Presenting value

Ramp-Up Time for New Hires:

• Effective training: 26 weeks
• Ineffective training: 31 weeks
• 5 more weeks of productivity could mean as much as $96k in additional sales for a salesperson with a $1 million quota

Win-Rates:

• Effective training: 51%
• Ineffective training: 41%
• Win rates are 24% better when you have more effective training

Employee Satisfaction:

• Effective training: 47% highly satisfied with their job
• Ineffective training: 14% highly satisfied with their job
• Job satisfaction is over 3X higher with more effective training

To learn more, please download our latest research report.