How do you evaluate sales trainings in your performance management system?

1 Define your evaluation criteria

Before you design or deliver any sales training, you need to define what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. Your evaluation criteria should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For example, you might want to increase your sales revenue by 10% in the next quarter, or improve your customer retention rate by 5% in the next six months. Your evaluation criteria should also be aligned with your sales strategy and your performance indicators.

2 Choose your evaluation methods

When evaluating sales trainings, there are various methods and tools to consider depending on your objectives and resources. Reaction evaluations measure how participants felt about the training, such as their satisfaction, engagement, and feedback. Surveys, quizzes, polls, or interviews can be used to collect this data. Learning evaluations assess how much the participants learned from the training, such as their knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Tests, assessments, simulations, or observations can be used to collect this data. Behavior evaluations gauge how the participants applied what they learned in the training to their sales activities, such as their actions, habits, and results. Coaching, feedback, reports, or analytics can be used to collect this data. Finally, results evaluations analyze how the training affected business outcomes such as sales performance, customer satisfaction and return on investment. Metrics, benchmarks, dashboards or case studies can be used to collect this data.

3 Collect and analyze your data

Once you have chosen your evaluation methods, you need to collect and analyze your data to determine the effectiveness and impact of your sales trainings. You can use different sources and formats of data, such as qualitative or quantitative, objective or subjective, direct or indirect. You should also compare your data with your baseline and your targets, and identify any gaps or areas for improvement. You can use various tools and techniques to analyze your data, such as spreadsheets, charts, graphs, or statistics.

4 Communicate and act on your findings

The final step of evaluating sales trainings is to communicate and act on your findings. You should share your results and insights with your stakeholders, such as your sales team, your managers, your trainers, and your customers. You should also use your findings to improve your sales trainings and your sales performance. You can use different methods and channels to communicate and act on your findings, such as reports, presentations, meetings, or action plans.

Evaluating sales trainings is not a one-time event, but a continuous process that requires planning, execution, and follow-up. By following these best practices, you can ensure that your sales trainings are relevant, effective, and impactful for your sales team and your business.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?