By Rob Hupp
Globalization continues to be a major force influencing our regional economy here in the South Bay. It has led to major shifts in regional jobs and professional requirements both here and elsewhere. Looking at the manufacturing sector, a number of design and production jobs have left our region. However, these businesses typically still need local customer-facing representatives to sell and support their products. This has led to a net increase in customer-facing jobs. Many of these jobs are in sales, sales management, customer support and service, and client account management.
This article will outline key considerations for how businesses can go about training and developing customer-facing professionals. There are a number of alternatives and resources available to assist businesses in this endeavor. These alternatives fall into three major channels: existing traditional schools; company internal training programs; and sales development consulting and training firms. Note: These alternatives are not mutually exclusive and can be combined to meet a business’ needs and budget.
Traditional Schools
This channel of training resources includes K-12 adult education schools, community colleges and junior colleges, and colleges and universities. These traditional schools historically have offered some coursework in relevant business disciplines such as marketing and customer service. Of late, there has been increasing recognition of the need for and importance of sales and sales management training. New class offerings are being developed and introduced to meet these market needs, particularly in university executive and extended education programs. Top executive education programs at graduate business schools such as the University of Chicago and Michigan are offering courses like Strategic Sales Management.
In addition to classroom training, a number of schools are also offering computer-based distance learning. These options can serve as the primary source of education or as a secondary source to reinforce classroom training. Registered student participants access the courses through a web browser. These classes can include a live instructor or utilize pre-recorded video and audio content. Locally, California State University, Dominguez Hills has been a leader and innovator in offering distance learning.
The introductory courses available through this channel – classroom and distance learning - provide a reasonable overview to the subject matter at modest cost. The executive education course offerings are more advanced in content and treatment. A typical five-day executive education program at a leading business school will run $6,000 (not including travel and living expenses).
Company Internal Training Programs
Large corporate employers in the past offered internal sales and customer service training programs. These firms offered such programs because the content was not available elsewhere and because they wanted to put their own imprint on the training and the people attending. New and promoted employees were placed in these prestigious programs and learned the ropes of selling and servicing corporate customers. Corporations such as IBM and Xerox were legendary for their internal training programs.
Cost cutting, outsourcing and other pressures and priorities led many even large employers to scale back or eliminate their internal training programs. External consulting and training firms formed, in part to fill this emerging void. Recently, a number of customer-focused larger firms have introduced or expanded their internal training programs. It will be interesting to determine if this development represents an emerging trend.
Sales Development Consulting and Training Firms
To meet the growing need for trained customer-facing staff, sales development firms have emerged both domestically and internationally. These firms tend to fall into three categories:
1. Local Sole Practitioners: These firms are often owned and operated by former successful sales executives. The principal has extensive industry knowledge, experience and contacts. They may have limited ability to scale up and support larger regional and national clients and programs.
2. Local/Regional Providers who are part of a national/international network: These firms are also often owned by former business consultants and sales executives. The firms typically share common methodology, program materials, etc. They can offer local services and scale up for larger clients and programs. If a client with a national sales force wants ongoing local training, the managing trainer can place sales staff in local programs offered by network affiliates. Given the common methodology and training materials across the network, sales staff in New England will receive comparable training to local sales staff training with us in the South Bay. Clients have ongoing access to locally-based resources for consulting, training and coaching. Examples of such an organization are affiliates of the Sandler Sales Institute. (In the spirit of full disclosure, my firm is affiliated with the Sandler organization).
3. National/International Firms: These firms’ business is heavily weighted toward offering seminars and workshops on a traveling basis. These companies can offer public (multi-client) programs as well as private programs. Given the focus on traveling programs, they often lack dedicated locally-focused consultants and trainers. Examples of such firms include Miller-Heiman and Achieve Global.
Making Training Work
Regardless of the channel(s) chosen, there are a number of important considerations in selecting and utilizing training for customer-facing staff. These include:
1. Adult Learning Principles: As adults, we learn very differently than children. Adults tend to learn more effectively in shorter duration segments (e.g. 90- minute increments). Adults also need opportunities to practice and to reinforce what they have learned.
2. Need for a Safe, Judgment-Free Environment: Training participants tend to participate more openly and completely if they believe they will not be judged or criticized by peers or superiors also participating in the training. All participants regardless of role should be encouraged to try new techniques and raise questions based on what they are learning in the session. Some of the most effective learning takes place when someone shares a significant challenge and the group works through several potential solutions.
3. Setting Priorities and Making Commitments: The most enduring learning takes place over an extended timeframe (months rather than days or weeks). This requires both management and staff to commit to conducting and attending the sessions. During extreme periods (ups and downs), there can be an inclination to cancel or defer upcoming training. Without strong resolve, the training becomes yet another “management program” that management failed to support.
Working with Training Organizations
As a consulting and training organization, we are frequently asked how we initially work with clients and prospective clients. Typically our work with a new client begins with the following measured steps:
§ Initial assessment and understanding of key challenges and opportunities
§ Joint assessment review and outcomes formulation
§ Program definition and plan development
§ Program and plan implementation
§ Ongoing monitoring and support
Our clients often have an initial sense of what they want to accomplish working with us. We work closely with them to better understand their capabilities, constraints, challenges and opportunities. Through this initial assessment, we are able to jointly determine a very focused course of action and targeted outcomes for our work together. Examples of targeted outcomes are increased sales by x%, improved closing ratios by y%, reduced staff turnover by z%, or shortened problem resolution time by x%.
Drawing from our collective experience and expertise, we formulate a program and supporting plans to achieve the agreed-upon targeted outcomes. The programs typically include a combination of consulting, training and ongoing coaching. We are available to participate on an ongoing basis to help ensure success defined as achieving the identified outcomes.
These are some key considerations in thinking about, selecting and launching training for customer-facing staff and managers. Projected growth and business demand for professionals with these critical skills will drive ongoing need for training and development. Organizations large and small have a range of alternatives open to them to meet these needs. Organizations willing to make smart investments in these skill sets will be rewarded in terms of attracting and retaining both customers and employees.
Rob Hupp is co-founder of RothHupp Growth Partners, Inc., a business development and training firm specializing in helping organizations and individuals increase their revenues through more effective sales and management practices. Rob can be reached at 310.426.2604 or via e-mail at rhupp@rhgp.com © 2006 Sandler Systems, Inc.
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