Don’t let failures in your sales training process take money out of your pocket – evaluate your need for change based on these indicators listed by the Entrepreneur.com article “7 Signs Your Sales Training Needs a Revamp.” You’ve got the great products, the great equipment, and marketing…now make sure you aren’t leaving money on the table by making these sales training mistakes:

1. Too much old school or too much new school. Useful sales principles and techniques are developed every day, but you also don’t want to fix what’s not broken. So, for the best of both worlds, stick with what has worked for years, but remain aware of new trends and strategies, and don’t be scared to give them a try.
2. There is no situational training. For new sales people to hit the ground running, they’ll need to have practiced client scenarios and played what the article calls “what’s going to happen next?” If your training revolves around the different potential reactions from customers, sales staff should be able to identify and adapt to almost any situation.
3. Did the trainees learn anything about…themselves? While your training has to be company-centric to some degree, employees will be better engage if you can help them develop as professionals and people in a more general sense. They’ll need to know about your products and your competitive advantage, but they should also learn to emphasize their strengths, limit their weaknesses, and develop a communication and sales style that reflects their unique personality. Help them help you.
4. The real world…all, or nothing at all? Again, it’s about balance. The right combination of classroom-style training, and real world experience, makes the perfect training program.
5. No measurable outcomes. You’ll never really know how effective your training is unless you measure and track the results. Sales numbers are impacted by many other variables, so you’ll need more specific outcomes to measure.
6. “I’m talking about Practice, not the game…” follow up coaching. Sports fans likely remember Allen Iverson’s disdain for practice, but even the best workers can benefit from continued training. It’s not just for new hires – make sure you have a plan to strengthen and reinforce skills throughout employment.
7. The program is on VHS! Err…online that is. Having concrete, web-based training shows your workers that you are committed to quality, consistent training. It also simplifies the process in general, and allows eager employees to go above and beyond on their own time.

Click here to read the article from Entrepreneur.com.