Training Professionals, Feeling Frustrated? 4 Strategies to Increase Adoption of New Skills and Behaviors

As a sales trainer for a large corporation I have spent a hours providing training and development courses to new hires and seasoned employees. Newbies are usually eager to learn. They recognize that to be successful selling what is in their bag, they need to understand their product and be able to apply messaging appropriate to their client and call points. Over the past three years and multiple training sessions I have come to recognize one primary key to engaging sales people, the importance of their direct manager’s full support and ongoing guidance. Wait, don’t roll your eyes and stop reading! You probably are thinking that this should be obvious but it actually isn’t as straightforward as it initially sounds. Support for training can’t just be superficial, you have to have a ‘culture of learning’ as part of your team’s profile- from the top down. The leadership in your business unit may express support for training and even demand it but if they do not insist their team not only attend a training but also ask for accountability you will not move the needle on the adoption of new behaviors.

The structure of your leadership organization can also influence your success. If you are a sales trainer, are you and your training team part of the sales organization or are you a separate entity? Does leadership have a say in your offering and if so, how often do they make requests? Having the training department within the sales leadership structure still may not ensure positive outcomes from training as there can be “too many cooks in the kitchen.” Input is not the same as support. How many times have you had leadership ask for a focused training and then complain as many of their team haven’t upped their game? This has happened often in my own experience. It has been interesting to note that the teams that DO pick up the new learning and use it to their advantage also have very engaged direct managers. These managers most always attend the trainings, even if they are already proficient. They interact during the sessions with the trainer and the attendees. Successful managers encourage their people to ask questions and often will be involved in the actual training in some manner or at least reach out to the trainer to strategize how best to meet their team’s needs. Most notably, these leaders inspire and demand ongoing growth and assimilation of new information as part of their management style.

So if one big key to success is to engage the managers of your learners, what can we do as trainers to garner more support from these direct managers? Here are 4 strategies I have found to be very helpful. This is just the short list but these have bubbled to the top.

Gain upper level leadership interest and support in the training program. Growth and development must be a focus within the culture of your organization. As a trainer, if you can find ways to keep your top leadership informed and excited about upcoming training, it will trickle down and increase overall acceptance and support for training time away from the field.

Use sales metrics and track outcomes. You cannot improve what you aren’t measuring! If you don’t have clear competencies, expectations, and ongoing assessment, it is hard to hold someone accountable. Make sure you have development plans in place that managers can use to track improvement and provide feedback as needed. Ultimately managers are responsible for team outcomes and development, trainers are just the messengers. Helping managers drive stronger teams through metrics and documentation is a win for everyone.

Provide managers with tools they can use to reinforce learning objectives. One option or tool may not work across a larger group of managers and anything in place must be streamlined to ensure that people will take the time to use them. Tapping strong managers to help develop the tools is a great way to gain more buy-in and success.

Utilize Field Trainers and team members with experience as mentors to provide peer to peer learning. Strong field training is a true key to success, especially in larger organizations. Training teams are often relatively small and well managed field trainers can make all the difference for ongoing improvement and adoption of new learning. That said, the field trainers have to be the first line of competence so keeping them engaged and expanding their skills and experience should be a trainer’s priority task.

Motivating teams to learn and put new skills into practice is an ongoing challenge. Finding their “WIFFM” and making it tangible and achievable is key. There are many best practices published around this topic but I believe that learning from each other can be fun and invigorating! How did you gain traction with your training and what do you do that helps drive consistent improvement across the majority of your trainees?

Do my experiences resonate with you? Engaged leadership is a primary indicator of successful teams but even the best leaders need our support and guidance to ensure their people have the education and resources to succeed and grow.