How to sell your CFO on sales training
Ask any CFO about their first impression when they hear the word 'Sales Training'. They might be able to share their 'Real World' vocabulary of un-accountable’ and un-measurable. They know that at least half of their sales training budget dollars is being wasted. The problem is that they don't know which one. From a sales management perspective you will lose your training budget if you don’t use it.
A sales executive can approach their fiscal level by making an offer that a fiscal person cannot refuse. This is not the "Godfather" type of offer. Instead, a business offer that has a measurable revenue outcome. It should also be accountable for the overall profit goal of the company.
This can help to remove the "budget constraints" from the equation.
آموزش فروش already know how to communicate with potential customers in accordance with their needs, personality, and business goals. Many of us don’t know how to sell to our organization internally. Let's look at how to do it.
Step 1: Determine your sales Key Performance Indicators.
One thing unites Chief Financial Officers and Sales Executives:
Both must be accountable for the month-end scorecard, as numbers don't lie. They can be your best friend...or your worst enemy.
Prepare a proposal for sales training for your top management. Don't forget your CFO cap and talk to Key Performance Indicators. These are individual gateways that directly affect the outcome of your process.
KPIs in sales might include how often you move the first sales appointment from the initial phase to the next, such as a demonstration, site visit, survey, or proposal. Another KPI is the number of new customers you acquire after passing the first gateway. What is the average revenue that you earn when you gain a new client? This is a very important KPI. If your average revenue per sales is 40% lower than that of peers, it's worth investigating and taking focused action to fix it. You could be losing money.
Additional KPIs to monitor are the sales cycle in days and the 1st appointment generation.
When promoting sales training programs to upper management, don't rely on your subjective approach. You can define and decide where to ask for funds by identifying your Key Performance indicators and determining where your weakest areas are in line with your revenue goals. This will take the guesswork out and provide the fastest way to a quantifiable training return.
Step 2: Create ROI sales training systems for turning traditional Cost Center expenses into revenue-generating opportunities
CFOs view sales training as being within the Cost Centers spreadsheet. These are departments that have expenses but do not generate revenue. Because HR is traditionally a Cost Center line, most sales training departments are under the Human Resource (HR) jurisdiction.
Sales managers can be a leader by using an objective approach to determining where they should spend their annual training dollars. They can also articulate the CFO language to turn traditional Cost Centers into profit centres that generate measurable returns in Hard' dollars.
Here's an example that applies to a new employee in sales: New-hire training programs. New-hire sales training is viewed by CFOs as a necessary evil and not a profit generator. This is the chance.
When I ask training and sales executives, "What is your top objective with your new-hires sales training program?" It is rare that I get a clear answer.
Now I ask the question again. "Does your sales training program for new hires provide a quick ramp-to-Quota?" The usual answer is "Not really."
You can cut down the time it takes for a new-hired sales rep to Ramp in order to reach quota. This will result in a tangible ROI that you and your CFO can both see. They'll all be speaking the same language. You will have all the KPI data you need to support your decision about which type of sales training you want.
Let's say, for example, that a sales company hires 50 reps annually with a quota at $5,000 per month, a term agreement of 24 and $2000 average 'Sub-Quota’ revenue per month during ramp.
A $3.6 million annual ROI will be achieved if you reduce the time required to reach Quota by reducing it by 1 month.
You just need to subtract the training costs from the bottom line ROI.
(See the Resource box below for your Ramp-to–Quota numbers.)
Step 3: Construct a list of recommendations for training programs that focus on a single sales competency. Training for one competency at a time will yield the best results and the fastest training ROI. It will also continue to deposit in the CFO relationship Bank.
Do you feel comfortable stating to your CEO and CFO:
(1) What is the total cost to develop or outsource an effective learning system?
(2) What is the training objective for benchmark competency improvement?
(2) How many calendar days will it take to achieve the benchmark goal?
(3) Based on current KPI's, what is the estimated training delta/ROI?
(4) Based on benchmark competency improvement, what is the projected annual Delta/ROI?
(5) Risk factors and contingency planning
If you aren't, find an outsourcing company that can train to your KPI improvement objectives.
Sales performance training should have a quantifiable ROI... Ask your CFO.
The most successful businesses, and sales departments in particular, have identified their Key Performance Indicators. These are individual gateways that directly affect the outcome of a process. They then measure competency ratios to match them.
If a sales KPI falls below a satisfactory level then applying timely sales training will be the fastest way to get a measurable result.
Trust is the ability to rely on your trusted source over time.
You can either create or outsource one KPI training system. Then coach the skills-set needed to use the system. Finally, you will lead the Discipline to regularly do the task and measure the results. This will allow you to effectively sell future KPI sales training to those on the top.
Jeff Hardesty, President of JDH Group, Inc., is also the developer of the X2 Sales System(r), a blended learning system that teaches sales professionals how to set C-level business appointments.
