How to Ensure On-the-Job Training of a Salesperson?

-Taken from the book, The Startup’s Guide to Sales by Roshan Louis Joseph and Ram Mohan Menon

Every salesperson in a new job has a learning curve before he is ready to be left to work independently. His progression must be mapped and supported.

As important as classroom training is to the complete orientation given to the new salesperson, the work done on the job is what fortifies the learning. This is really important. It can make all the difference to the results in the market.

OJT: How to Do It 

Most companies send the recruit out into the field along with the senior salesperson. Normally, this senior person has a sound and solid reputation for integrity. For a startup, there is no senior salesperson. It is advisable that the promoters themselves go the market to ensure no slip between ‘the cup and the lip’. It is no use moaning about how the salesperson damaged the sales by doing wrong or poor sales.

Create Formats 

While many things can be kept informal, OJT must be worked with recording all the observations made as the salesperson. Formats are called for. 

Every visit made to a customer, the parameters on which the observer will note the performance of the salesperson is defined and informed before the visit. Care must be taken to allow the new salesperson to take the role of piloting the call. The observer would if possible, make notations on the format sheet. It helps to take the permission of the customer before doing this.

Kerbside Counsel 

On completion of the call, the observer should sit down with the salesperson and review all that was done well and also note down anything that was not up to the mark and had to be corrected.

I Like, I Wish

In doing the kerbside review, be sure to use the tried and tested method called ‘itemized response’. By using this method, there is every possibility of facing a balanced response. This proven technique is effective even at home, dealing with parents, young children and other challenges.

This people skill creates a sound basis for negotiation and setting up a basis for understanding. This skill allows for acknowledgement of the good work done before one looks at areas of improvement.

Ken Blanchard, the famous management guru, had this to say, ‘We managers have trained ourselves to catch people doing anything wrong.’ He says, ‘We now need to train managers to catch people doing things right.’ Acknowledging what has been done well is as important to note as the errors made while doing a job.

A number of corporates have tried this itemized response skill of dealing with team members, and there has been an excellent response and a noticeable improvement in civility.

Once there has been a strong input of OJT, the sales team will be ready for the market.