Worksheet B3. Summary of Results

Section B: Interpreting the Scores

Based on your own competency assessment, the competency assessments performed by others familiar with your work, and an examination of the previous summary, interpret your scores and their meaning for your career, by following these cues.

Answer each of the following questions. There are no “right” or “wrong” answers. Add paper as needed.

1. What are your key strengths, as identified in the competency assessments?

2.What are your key developmental areas, as identified in the competency assessments?

3. What additional feedback would you like to seek from others?

4. Consider your responses to questions 1–3 and then create a list of objectives that would move you toward greater expertise in important competency areas. Use more paper as needed:

Objective 1: __________________________________________

Objective 2: __________________________________________

Objective 3: __________________________________________

Objective 4: __________________________________________

Worksheet B4. Development Planning Tool

There are many ways to build new competencies, and many resources are available to help in that process.

The following is a brief review of potential resources:

• Talk to other sales professionals, especially those you perceive as being especially successful.
• Develop a relationship with a professional coach.
• Observe and imitate role models.
• Participate in informal learning groups or communities of practice.
• Attend college courses.
• Pursue training online.
• Search the Internet for topics related to professional selling.
• Attend continuing-education seminars and conferences.
• Participate in professional associations.
• Use networks (online or interpersonal).
• Read periodicals, journals, and newsletters.
• Read books.
• Watch videotapes or DVDs.
• Listen to audiocassettes, CDs, and podcasts.
• Use software or multimedia-based learning methods.
• Request new project assignments or positions that include the targeted competency.

Use the development planning tool in table B4-1 to generate ideas on how to develop the competencies that are necessary for success in the sales profession.

Follow these steps:

1. List a competency that you need to develop and consider how to use the suggestions listed in the left column.
2. Make notes in the right column about ways to implement the suggestions to build proficiency.
3. Remember there are no “right” or “wrong” answers.
4. Make additional copies of table B4-1 or use more paper if needed. Figure B4-1 presents an examples of a completed development planning tool.

Competency: _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Worksheet B5. Learning Contract

The idea behind a learning contract is to formalize your objectives into a plan of action. This can be a valuable tool for gaining the support of your supervisor, your co-workers, and your organization. It also will help you to track your progress toward your goals. To complete this learning contract, follow these steps:

1. In table B5-1, fill in your first objective (transfer your objectives from worksheet B3, section B, question 4) for bridging the gaps between your current competencies and the competencies that you need for future success. You will need a separate copy of table B5-1 for each objective.
2. Fill in every activity that you believe will be needed to accomplish this objective.
3. Estimate the amount of time each activity will take, the projected completion date, what the deliverable will be (output), what evaluation criteria will be used, who will evaluate it, what resources will be needed, and what obstacles you may encounter.
4. When you have completed one copy of table B5-1 for each objective, make an appointment to discuss them with your supervisor.
5. Negotiate the terms of the learning contract with your supervisor, update the document, and get all parties involved to sign and date the document. Figure B5-1 shows an example of a completed learning contract.

Table B5-1. Learning Contract

Objective: ____________________________________________________________________

Worksheet B6. Sales Team Analysis Tool

Leveraging this sales team analysis tool, sales trainers, sales managers, and sales executives will improve efficiency and manage sales team development processes more effectively within a strategic context.

This sales development analysis tool offers a structured way to identify, prioritize, and implement sales training solutions. Because the tool takes a systems approach, it can help sales teams align with the buying organization, focus on ratcheting up performance, and address immediate problems while keeping an eye on the longer term. With the help of the tool, sales trainers, sales managers, and sales executives can approach each sales training action with ready information about the selling organization, the buying organization, and the relationship between them.

The model presented in figure B6-1 is a recurring cycle. The model’s five phases are

1. Identify: determine desired outcome(s) required to achieve the overall sales strategy.
2. Examine: determine gaps in achieving the desired outcomes.
3. Enable: develop specific recommendations and solutions for success.
4. Execute: create a comprehensive plan and get buy-in from stakeholders.
5. Evaluate: collect feedback and measure against the expected outcomes.

As your organization begins to think about sales development needs within a phased, cyclical process, you will be better equipped to adopt a holistic approach to sales force recruiting, retention, and engagement that includes talent management and leadership development—building a path toward improved sales team performance.

Table B6-1 shows an example of the tool in use. It can help your organization understand the alignment of areas of expertise in relation to long-term sales goals. By answering the questions outlined under each step of the sales development analysis tool, you can begin to see how each phase builds upon the one before and how specific skills and knowledge are developed. It will help you set the stage within your organization to effect the paradigm shift from “sales training” to “sales development and performance” and will guide your efforts to make the business case for this shift as well as tie it to desired business outcomes. By adopting this approach, you can ensure that your sales organization is knowledgeable, engaged, and equipped to work with even the most demanding buyers to ensure your company’s future growth and profitability.

Sales Team Competency and Organizational Capacity

Maximizing your organization’s capacity to perform, while optimizing the competencies of the people on the sales team, will help your organization achieve sales results now and into the future. Table B6-1 focused on helping you move to a holistic, competency-based approach to sales training and development. Table B6-2 helps you bring your organization into alignment with those efforts. As you read each question, think about what conversations you need to have with key members of your organization. Begin to build a plan that increases the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization’s capacity to support and align to the sales team members as they become more competent.

Worksheet B7. Sales Training Diagnostic

There are literally dozens of knowledge areas, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that have a significant impact on sales team performance. Because today’s selling environment is tough, your ability to equip and prepare sales team members is more critical than ever. To that end, everyone who has input into the design or delivery of sales training needs to know what salespeople must learn. They must understand the sales process and the attendant KSAs that are needed by each salesperson to improve his or her performance. Some examples of topics to include in sales training are

• asking effective or productive questions of customers
• becoming better listeners
• selling with the customer’s best interest in mind
• making ethical decisions
• leveraging sales approaches that can be adapted from one situation to the next.

The seven-step sales process presented in figure B7-1 can serve as the foundation for your training program strategy. It is provided as an example of selling systems that have proven to be successful with many types of product or service selling systems. The seven-step sales process follows the chronological steps that occur as a seller interacts with a buyer and is purposely focused on the selling side of that interaction.

To achieve sales training excellence, sales trainers can design training solutions after you identify the elements of current training programs that work well and those that need work by focusing on those areas with the most room for improvement. You can use the seven-step sales process or your company’s own sales process.

The rest of this worksheet illustrates how to use the seven steps of the sales process to provide information critical to designing and developing training for each step.

Directions

Rate your organization’s content using the sales training rating tool in table B7-1. Using the scale provided, rate whether your sales training adequately covers the necessary content to deliver sales results in column 2. In column 3, rate the design and delivery effectiveness of your sales training. Then add up your ratings for coverage and for design and delivery. When completing the table, think about the impact of each of the content areas on the sales team. Is that content (and its delivery method) adequate to meet the needs of your buyers?

When you have completed rating your content using table B7-1, use table B7-2 to interpret your results.