To begin with, the typical one-day seminar may supply a short-term motivational buzz and provide the delegate with a number of thought-provoking ideas. However, in reality, once these people are back on the "front line," the day-to-day pressures of hitting quota, etc., take over again and the reactive mindset returns. It is rather like the Chinese meal effect: When you leave the restaurant you feel full, but by the time you arrive home, you want to eat again.

Secondly, most -- not all, but a very high percentage of courses available today -- deliver what I term "generalized" skills development.

For example, someone operating within the aerospace sector negotiating multimillion-dollar contracts can find himself sitting next to a young salesperson who markets insurance policies and is based in a call center. In the next seat is another person who is developing a successful career in manufacturing selling hydraulic components. You get the point.

To achieve sustained success in all of these disparate industries requires specific skill sets, and the generalized workshops simply cannot deliver them.

Thirdly, I would estimate that at least 80 percent of training organizations today make the assumption that all delegates are at the same level in terms of experience and expertise. This is, of course, totally unrealistic.

While it is not possible to equate age and experience with success, the reality is that although some professional salespeople do have 10 years' experience, most have one year's experience 10 times!

The very best salespeople –- the ones who consistently exceed expectations -- have usually received ongoing skills development from the emerging stage all the way through advanced, right up to the consultative level, if appropriate. The key word here is "ongoing."

Finally, and this is the most significant and blatant error of judgment most sales directors make, is that every member of the team receives the same training, i.e., they are all sent to the same course regardless of whether or not they already have those skills, or if indeed they need to have them in their current role.

The point here is that there is far too little planning, assessing, and objective-setting; it is much easier to abdicate responsibility to the training company. The downside to this approach is, of course, so much money is wasted. So what is the answer? (continued...)

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