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    Is your sales training delivering the value you promise?

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    Sales organizations spend anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per salesperson on sales training every year.

    Sales trainers know that in order to capture some of that investment, they not only have to train effectively - they have to prove that their training is effective and worth the money. Post-training surveys and quizzes can help determine whether salespeople liked the training and whether they have learned what they needed to learn.

    But is it enough to know that salespeople have learned the material? Or do leaders need to know that the training has had an impact on the company’s overall effectiveness? And how can they know that?

    In many cases, sales training investment operates a little like a black box - beyond knowing whether salespeople have retained the knowledge, it’s hard to tell what happens once they leave the training room.

    It’s often hard to tell what effect sales training has on revenue creation.

    The Kirkpatrick training evaluation model, which provides a useful framework for thinking about how we measure sales training, and for finding the gaps in the standard approach. Membrain can be a sales trainer’s best friend in closing those gaps and justifying investment in their training.

    The four levels of Kirkpatrick training evaluation

    The Kirkpatrick Training Evaluation Model was originally developed by Donald Kirkpatrick, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, in 1959. It has been updated repeatedly over the years since, and is still used across a wide range of industries to measure the true effectiveness of training.

    The model outlines four levels of training evaluation:

    1. Reaction
    2. Learning
    3. Behavior
    4. Results

    1. Reaction evaluation refers to the perception of the learners. Do they feel that the training was a good value? Was it easy to understand and easy to navigate? How did they feel about the learning environment, the trainers, and the material? Reaction can be, and often is, measured using surveys during and after training.

    2. Learning evaluation refers to whether the material was understood and retained. Learning can be, and often is, measured using quizzes and tests.

    3. Behavior evaluation refers to whether the learners apply the training in their work. Did they develop new skills and approaches, and are they using those skills regularly? Behavior is harder to measure, and rarely is measured in a meaningful way within sales organizations. If it is measured at all, it is done through coaches, and rarely in a systematic manner.

    4. Results evaluation refers to whether the training has an impact on the organization’s goals. In order to measure this, the organization must first identify the desired results in a measurable format. Results are rarely measured in sales training.

    Training evaluation most often fails at level three

    While many sales trainers offer evaluation of reaction and learning, very few provide a means for organizations to evaluate their training at the behavior and results levels. We see trainers doing great work, and see salespeople applying some of the learning in the field, but it often doesn’t stick, partly because there is no systematic way to measure and reinforce new behaviors.

    Membrain can help

    This is an area where Membrain can help - where, in fact, we are helping many of our training partners. Membrain enables trainers to embed their processes and methodologies directly into the salesperson’s workflows, with checklists, process guidance, training material, and coaching content inside the same workflow that includes their CRM and other daily use tools.

    In this way, Membrain is able to provide analytics and measurement tools back to the trainers and sales leaders to measure how well behaviors are being implemented in the field. And by measuring it, to influence it, and increase the effectiveness of the training on behavior.

    Membrain can also help trainers work with organizations to set measurable goals in regard to business results, so that they can validate their value to the organization, and justify a continuing investment.

    If you’re a sales trainer looking for a way to define and prove the value of your training, we’d love to show you how our partners are doing it and see if it’s a good fit for you. Check out our partner program.

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    George Brontén
    Published March 2, 2022
    By George Brontén

    George is the founder & CEO of Membrain, the Sales Enablement CRM that makes it easy to execute your sales strategy. A life-long entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in the software space and a passion for sales and marketing. With the life motto "Don't settle for mainstream", he is always looking for new ways to achieve improved business results using innovative software, skills, and processes. George is also the author of the book Stop Killing Deals and the host of the Stop Killing Deals webinar and podcast series.

    Find out more about George Brontén on LinkedIn