Internal Sales Training (IST) Program Standards
My experience assessing and auditing Internal Sales Training (IST) for organizations in over 60 industries motivated me to create a Gold Standard for Internal Sales Training assessments and a post-assessment service to help organizations achieve this exceptional standard - E Standard Team Sales Program.
Here is what I find:
Internal Sales Training Programs are often mixed in with product and service training. Some businesses are very good at what I call “Product and Service Training” that teach features, advantages, and benefits of their deliverables. Sia recommends separating product, service and industry training from professional sales training.
The points below relate to Internal Sales Training, teaching and developing selling and value-creation knowledge and communication skills to be used in sales calls.
Internal Sales Training Programs are Outdated
They rarely lead – they follow. They remind me of the general company manual you receive when you start employment.
My Approach: To be relevant, it should be revised and updated frequently. New content is added based on what is producing the desired results. Undesirable content is removed. Collaborators, sales managers and their salespeople are involved in this process.
Relentlessly curating and integrating selling and value-creation knowledge and communication skills takes considerable time and resources. Few people do this and even fewer do it well. This is a major reason why IST Program content is outdated.
Your Biggest Sales Training Cost is Content
This is because content is the foundation of your training/training program. For better or worse, this influences your employees’ behaviour and your customer’s experience. Interestingly, few people know what excellent internal sales training content is or what it costs. I do. I continually assess it, audit it, research it, develop it, test it, train it, coach it and sometimes sell it.
Know the Value of Your Internal Sales Training Content
Hire me to perform a professional, objective, independent Internal Sales Training Assessment.
No Reference Point
Executives tell me “We’ve spent years formulating a special selling process that differentiates our business and makes us successful.” If so, I should see that while assessing their internal sales training – I don't.
It is understandable that they believe the internal sales training and selling processes they have invested in is unique, as good as the best and even a competitive advantage. But they never verified that - how many other organizations' internal sales training have they assessed and audited?
How does their internal sales training assessment and audit compare to professional, independent IST Program assessments and audits?
Existing internal sales training has very limited content – or none at all - on how to specifically create value for their company.
Advising their sales reps to “sell profitably” or “always sell the full range of our deliverables” is vague and rarely effective.
My Approach: Improving gross margin is unlikely to happen until we break down the specific actions required to improve Gross Margin for your business and demonstrate proven methods of achieving that objective, then measure these actions and provide timely, specific feedback.
Existing IST Programs have very limited content on how to specifically create value for their business and its customers, and how that value creation will be measured. The case studies simply present an example of value creation, as opposed to instructing salespeople specifically how to create value in a sales call. Introduction to Value Creation
My Approach: We work together to create Relevant Competitive Advantage Insights (RCAIs), Business Value-Creation Insights (BVCIs) and verify their effectiveness on sales calls. I assess, train and coach each salesperson to become an Exceptional Value Creator for your business and its customers.
Lots about their Brand
I have never assessed an IST Program that did not brag about their Brand, competitive advantages and success stories. That is communicating value (telling people what they should/could value), which is totally different than creating value.
My Approach: Continuous, intelligent verification and documentation of what creates value for each customer and all the reasons why.
IST Programs are almost always structured with a “Pitch” for salespeople to use.
My Approach: Ditch the Pitch and let’s start creating value for your company and its customers. I encourage your business to complete SalesInsighter's
Value Creation Exercise for Organizations
Rarely do salespeople value their company’s IST Program or willingly use it.
I totally understand why. When you assess and audit Internal Sales Training Programs for a living this becomes obvious.
My Approach:
To begin, your company, salespeople and I identify the Collaborators on your sales teams. Your company recruits your Collaborators to play a vital role in the success of your Sales Program. I assess, train and coach your Collaborators to train and coach the other members of your sales team. During this time, various people in your company, myself and your Collaborators complete essential exercises to help me intelligently build your Internal Sales Training Program. Name your program and decide on a Clear, Concise Goal.
We have a relationship that makes compliance to the IST Program more likely because it’s relevant and valuable to participants. We learn together what is valuable and not valuable for your business and I adjust your IST Program.
Sia services can be blended into your business as required. Be creative.
Sales managers and salespeople almost always respect an internal sales training program that is professionally managed and continually evolving. It provides stability, encourages input and we grow together. It’s the opposite of the “flavor of the month.”
What stands out to me are two common organizational scenarios:
1. Companies that claim they have “world-class” internal sales training (IST) and do not. They are convinced their IST Program is a good investment, state-of-the -art, and the backbone of their world-class selling process - despite no real evidence that this is true. Let’s perform Sia's Internal Sales Training Assessment and find out for real.
2. Companies that are “out-of-touch” with their IST. “We really don’t know what we have in our Internal Sales Training, but we need you to look at it.” This is legit. Someone created their IST and is no longer involved, it may have been sitting idle for years, and no one knows much about their IST content - let alone if it is effective.
Bottom Line
After I have assessed a business’s internal sales training and walked executives and managers through the results, I ask:
Is your IST Program at an acceptable standard for your company?
Business Development
E Standard Team Sales Program
Why Change Programs Fail
Why Personalization Succeeds