Reinforcing sales training: Getting Managers Involved

Just because a training session was completed doesn't mean that information and skills learned will "stick" with trainees. In order for that to happen, it's imperative that managers understand how to reinforce what was learned and how to use that learning to meet the goals of the company.

Failure to do so will lead to failed results. Why? Because the lessons, ideas and skills learned in training are of little value if managers and executives fail to reinforce the training on an ongoing basis. When this happens, most trainees either forget or ignore what they learned within a few hours or days, and the potential for meaningful results is lost.

Help others help themselves

Whose job is it to ensure that reinforcement takes place? This responsibility should not fall entirely on the management team. Rather, management should be able to look to the training department (or trainer) for guidance and support regarding how to establish learning objectives that will tie in with business goals during the training sessions themselves and, equally important, receive guidance from training professionals on how to continue to help those who report to them succeed after the training is complete.

To ensure that this happens, trainers should be sure to provide managers with several reinforcement tools for use after the training has ended, including (but certainly not limited to!), the following:

Meeting guides

Managers should plan to incorporate concepts and techniques from training into conversations as they meet with their reports on a regular basis. A guide created by the trainer or training department should provide mangers with an outline of the concepts and tips to be reinforced from the training, as well as potential activities they might use. A meeting guide also should suggest different formats for the meeting and meeting lengths and coaching objectives. The content should be based on elements such as the learning objectives from the training, business priorities, and areas where trainees still struggle.

Effective coaching techniques

While training professionals are practiced at effective coaching techniques, they should also be willing and able to share some of their secrets and knowledge with managers so that trainees can continue to thrive and develop post-training. This might include identifying challenges for a specific trainee so that a manager knows what to coach toward and training managers on how to "coach" rather than "tell."

Best Practices

Trainers should provide managers with advice on which best practices to reinforce from the training and how to identify which best practices to reinforce based on individual challenges. For example, if prospecting is an issue for a particular sales rep, the trainer should leave behind the exact tools that the manager can use to help that sales rep succeed in prospecting.

Executive involvement

Information and ideas regarding how executives can become involved in the reinforcement process also is an important key to successful post-training reinforcement. For example, a trainer might suggest that executives send out a monthly e-mail detailing a success story and attach the new techniques that were implemented. This shows the team how important the business objectives are to the company while reminding trainees that their work and results they have achieved have not been forgotten.

Homework

Managers should plan to meet with individual trainees and then assign follow-up work or assignments based on what trainees learned in training and the areas on which they now need to focus. Trainers can provide managers with ideas for assignments, such as (in the case of sales training, for example) asking the trainees to write their prospecting value proposition, creating a lead-generation campaign, or tracking their sales performance results. Managers must then follow-up on these assigned tasks. Otherwise, they will be neglected and forgotten.

Measurements

By working with a trainer on reinforcement techniques, managers can establish time lines to measure how much their reports have advanced over the course of a few weeks or a few months. Measurements help managers to see progress and determine new areas to develop. Documented measurement time lines, meanwhile, help managers to more easily execute reinforcement practices and improve business results.

Follow-up training

Managers can take some of the more important things that were taught during training and do additional "reminder" sessions on their own, or invite trainers back in to provide hour-long follow-up sessions. Doing so will help trainees to remember some of the key points and keep them on top of their game.