How I concluded that regular sales training and coaching increases sales by an average of 13%.
In 2003 I conducted a meta-study of other studies into the effectiveness of regular sales training and coaching. My objective was to determine an average sales performance improvement that resulted from regular training or coaching over an extended period, ideally 12 months or more.
I found many studies that offered evidence of improvements that resulted from sales training or coaching, however, the various results all used a different basis for their conclusions. This made it difficult to establish an overall quantified improvement.
To normalise ambiguous findings from the studies, I used an imaginary benchmark business turning over £15m selling an SAS business solution with an average annualised sales value of £4000 and a team of 12 salespeople. I gave the benchmark firm an average 15:1 opportunity to sale conversion rate that varied across the individual salespeople. I set up a spreadsheet to model the benchmark business's performance over time and applied the various reported performance improvements to derive the percentage increases that would have resulted.
My 2003 study produced a range of performance improvements from none to 37% with an average improvement of 13%.
So if you accept the validity of this approach, those who invest in regular learning interventions can expect significant sales performance improvements.
This page offers a list of sources that I explored in my 2003 meta-study.
I followed up the study by reviewing the results from SalesSense engagements that continued for at least 12 months and identified seven that met this criterion where the customers had shared post-programme performance results. The average percentage performance improvement was 25.17%. It was these results that gave us the confidence to formulate our fivefold money-back performance guarantee.
In my time as a sales manager (1989 to 1996), I held monthly sales meetings in which one of the participants, a different person each month, was tasked with a 15-minute presentation on an assigned book or audio title on selling. It acted as a prompt and caused the presenter and some team members to improve their techniques and methods.
These are busy times. Could you be missing the 13% or more upside potential?
Reviewing more recent studies revealed more evidence of the impact that a carefully considered programme of learning interventions can have on individual and business sales results:
- 28% higher win rate.
- 19% increase for the middle 60% of performers.
- 8% more reps achieving quota.
- 13% increase in both revenue and gross profits
- Outperformed the average by 6%.
- Deal-specific coaching results in an 8% increase in annual revenue.
- Sales coaching increased revenue by 8.4%.
- 21.3% increase in quota attainment.
- 25% increase following a comprehensive sales training program.
- 30% increase in contract renewals.
- New client acquisitions increased by 1/5th.
This page offers a list of sources that I explored for this update.
If you want to make a change and increase your investment in learning interventions such as improvement facilitation, sales coaching or training it is relatively easy to build a business case to justify the investment. We may be willing to do this for you.
Can you resource sales performance improvement initiatives within your organisation?
Here are some 'how to' guides:
Arrange a call with me for more. I'll happily share what I know.
Schedule a call with Clive Miller
If you are considering regular sales training or coaching as a means of increasing performance, raising morale, or resolving issues, let's speak. It cannot harm and might help get things on the right track. Telephone +44 (0)1392 851500, send an email to jimm@salessense.co.uk or use the contact form here.
