Regarding C players… It’s all in the definition, isn’t it? When you define certain competencies that a sales person requires to get the job done against what they possess, you can determine that they belong in an “A,” “B,” or “C” category or a “D” or even “F,” right? The grade levels are determined not by some industry standard (not yet, anyway), but by the hiring authority. Because of the general (but far from universal) incompetence in hiring the right salespeople for specific sales jobs, we define C’s as people who don’t have enough of the required attributes (traits) and/or skills, if there isn’t time, money and resources to train them. We could have called them D’s or F’s, those letters strongly suggesting “Don’t Hire This Person.” But we’re looking to stress the important of profile/behavioral structured interview-based hiring process (supported by psychometric and predictive testing), and if a salesperson doesn’t come out as either B or A, we suggest passing on that candidate.

With all that being said, we’ve spoken with firms and experts who have approaches for upticking the overall capabilities of reps. It makes sense for some reps in some companies with certain kinds of sales leaders. It’s not a universal elixir, no more than CRM, Sales 2.0 or any other approach that might be used as a quick fix instead of a well-founded, strategic approach.

On Dave’s comments around the C players: I have started to see some clients implementing sales talent management solutions in conjunction with (or prior to) other training initiatives that focus partially on recruiting more A players and also on how to develop those C players a bit. Heck, just improving all your C’s to B-‘s would improve life a little!

And on Dave’s comment about the room filled with people spanning multiple generations: I saw some recent research by an Atlanta-based consultant, Dave Brookmire, http://www.generationaldna.com/research.html that touches this area. I think he’s at the bleeding edge on this concept but in a few years people in the training industry will be kicking themselves for not recognizing the impact that multiple generations should have on our curriculum design. It took a while but I think most trainers now recognize dealing with cultural issues is important (like using American football analogies in Latin America and assuming Japanese and American buying influences can be sold the same way). Hopefully we will start to address generational differences in training where it is appropriate too.

This post was mentioned on Twitter by davestei: Inside The Sales Training Industry Part 2: 9 Big Obstacles To Overcome http://ow.ly/B3c8...

Great Information!

In a challenging environment, we should be sharpening our great skills NOT resorting to bad habits. Yowza.

Great points, Dave.

About the new normal:
I am owner of a small sales training company near Brussels, Belgium. It took me 5 months (with almost no income at all) to restructure our commercial approach from the ground up (incl. internet approach).

My new normal: since the end of August, I receive 7 times more Request for Proposals compared to January 2009, and I meet customers I would never have met before. My income is again at the same level as 1,5 years ago, and will probably increase in the next months.

So the good news is: there is a normal life for sales trainers in the ‘new normal’!

JanRoel