Page 111 - DMGT205_SALES_MANAGEMENT

Unit 8: Training of Sales Personnel

7. The ................................ of appropriate training method for a training programme depends Notes
on the content of training.
8. Responsibility for continuing sales ....................................... resides with the top sales
executive.

8.2 Aim of Training

Defining the specific and general aims of a training programme is the first step in training.
General aims are translated into specific aims phrased in operational terms. These can be defined
in two ways:
1. Identify initial training needs.

2. Continuing sales training programmes.

Identifying Initial Training Needs

The initial training needs of sales training programme can be identified by the analysis of three
main factors.

Job Specification

The qualifications needed to perform the job are detailed in job specification. The set of job
specifications needs scrutinising for clues to the points on which new personnel are most likely
to need training.

Trainee's Background and Experience

The gap between the qualifications in the job specifications and those a trainee already has
represents the nature and amount of training needed. But it is not always practical to adjust
training precisely to individual differences and time and money are saved by putting all
recruits through identical programmes.
In all organisation's determination of the recruits real training needs is essential to developing
initial training programmes of optimum benefit to company and trainee alike.
Sales-related Marketing Policies

The analysis of sales related marketing policies is also necessary to determine initial sales
training needs because the differences in products, markets and their selling practices and policies
determines the differences in training programmes.

For example, selling of highly technical goods involves training with lot of product
information while selling of non-technical goods involves only initial sales training
programmes.

Task Examine the salesman recruitment and selection process in a large and a small
company. Compare how the selection processes differ from each other. Examine the reasons
for such difference.

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