As planning and budgeting cycles begin, many sales enablement and learning and development (L&D) leaders are considering how to wisely allocate their resources in the coming year. Where should they focus? How can they select the right priorities and use their time, money and resources most effectively?

To help take the guesswork out of your planning, RAIN Group surveyed 242 sales enablement professionals, sellers and leaders to uncover what organizations with the most effective training do differently. The results were eye-opening, revealing significant gaps between the best and the rest.

5 Key Takeaways From the Research to Inform Your Sales Training Strategy

1. Deliver In-Person, Instructor-Led Training

The research shows that 93% of organizations with extremely or very effective training use in-person, instructor-led training (ILT), compared to only 65% of organizations with less effective training.

Training Delivery Methods Across Organizations

Of course, this doesn’t mean abandoning virtual delivery entirely. In fact, a blended approach works best. Most organizations with highly effective sales training include virtual instructor-led training (66%) and virtual self-study (50%) in their training mix. Still, the research underscores the importance of in-person interaction and training in an increasingly digital world.

An example of a blended approach to sales training:

• Start with an in-person sales kickoff (SKO)
• Follow up with virtual sessions to reinforce topics, practice skills and learn from peers

Assign application-based tasks with coaching support

Organizations with the most effective training are more likely to use digital training and materials for learning reinforcement activities (42.9% vs. 29%). This balanced approach leverages the strengths of both in-person and virtual learning.

2. Use Assessments to Identify Skills Gaps

Organizations with the most effective training are 5.4 times more likely to strongly agree that they use assessments to proactively identify skills gaps. This approach allows them to offer targeted training that addresses specific needs.

To implement this practice:

• Conduct a skills assessment of the sales team.
• Analyze the results to identify common gaps and individual needs.
• Tailor training programs to address these specific areas.

Skills assessments, regular coaching or mentoring, and fast-start onboarding are the three key drivers of effective sales training.

3. Develop Sales Managers

Sales manager development is a major differentiator. Many organizations with highly effective training prepare their sales managers to motivate and coach their teams (42.9%), compared to only 8.3% of organizations with less effective training. This staggering difference highlights the critical role of sales manager development.

To enable your sales managers, focus on:

• Developing coaching skills, including how to drive individual motivation
• Helping managers create a regular coaching schedule with their teams
• Using coaching plans as the basis for providing ongoing support and guidance
• Training managers to lead effective coaching conversations

Sales managers are a key leverage point in many sales training initiatives. Offering proper support and training alongside sellers leads to greater success.

4. Provide Ongoing Reinforcement

Organizations with the most effective training are 4.8 times more likely to strongly agree they provide ongoing reinforcement to help people retain and apply new skills. Ongoing reinforcement is part of a continuous learning approach called “everboarding” and is crucial for long-term success.

The concept of training reinforcement is nothing new, yet surprisingly, only 6.9% of organizations with less effective training offer ongoing reinforcement.

Without it, skills fade and old habits return. To ensure training sticks, bridge the gap between knowledge and action through:

• Microlearning
• Ongoing coaching
• Peer collaboration
• Post-training assignments

5. Measure Training Effectiveness

“What gets measured gets managed.” In other words, if you aren’t tracking how training impacts performance, it’s difficult to improve it or even know if it’s working. Measurement brings visibility, accountability and the opportunity to refine what isn’t driving results.

Yet, many organizations still struggle to evaluate training outcomes. The data shows that organizations with highly effective training are significantly more likely to measure their efforts. Those with less effective training are 13.6 times more likely not to measure at all.

Top metrics used by organizations with highly effective training:

• Sales performance metrics (90%)
• Employee feedback (65%)
• Assessments (54%)
• Manager feedback (54%)

To improve measurement:

• Align training with business goals
• Track both leading and lagging indicators
• Regularly review and adjust training based on results

It’s essential to know the business metrics you’re trying to drive and to measure and track lead and lag measures that result in the outcomes you seek.

Final Thoughts

As you plan for the coming year, assess your current sales training against organizations with highly effective sales training. Where do you see gaps? Which areas could use improvement? Let the answers guide where to focus your organization’s sales training and development resources in the years ahead.