By
Bob Phibbs
Whether the retail sales training is delivered in person by a sales trainer like myself, online through a program like my SalesRX.com, or an in-house program, you want to answer these concerns prior to launch.
8 Important questions before you start retail sales training
1. Who is going to be our point person?
Will they take overall ownership of the learning process for the stores? They must be behind the need for training 100% and believe in how it can increase sales.
2. How will we kick off the training?
With a company-wide workshop? By email? One-on-one? If it’s not thought out, it will not be as impactful.
3. Who in each store will oversee the retail sales training efforts?
They need to make sure there is complete buy-in from managers to associates. This person on the floor will inspect what is expected from the learners to ensure they are using the learning, not just completing it.
4. What software or analytics program will we use to measure ROI and other KPIs?
Measuring sales training ROI is the only way you can justify the investment. There are hundreds of reports you can select from. Still, you want to figuratively take the organization’s temperature before you launch your new training with a few key metrics and compare at monthly intervals.
5. What is the desired outcome of our retail sales training efforts?
How does it relate to our customers, employees, and marketing programs? Set a goal of how much more customers will buy per transaction, how much more employees’ average number of items per transaction will rise, and how it all ties into your marketing.
See also: 5 Pitfalls of DIY Retail Sales Training in Your Store
6. What will our training calendar and process look like?
Note slow times of the year, busy holidays, vacation schedules, etc. While you can slow down sometimes, don’t pause learning - ever.
7. How will we inform staff/employees of our (their) success after the training?
The effects of the sales training must be reinforced in various ways if you expect the new behaviors to take hold. Employee meetings are the best but how about on a daily basis or in-the-moment reward like a gift card?
8. What will we do to make our existing training materials work with the new ones?
That might mean a complete rewrite, tweaking, or adding to. When new training is introduced, just be sure to understand the challenges for senior employees who’ve learned another way.
Tie the loose ends at your store with retail sales training
So there you have it, eight questions that need to be answered as you embrace the only way you can profitably lift sales ... retail sales training.
