Sales trend 9 of the Barrett 12 Sales Trends Report for 2022 is about the changes we need to make to training and development programs to progress a decarbonised sales operation and how those changes have a positive impact in the ROI of training and development initiatives.
How much time do salespeople spend on the road, in cars or planes, in hotels, conference venues, away from work and their customers, to attend classic training events like a 2-day sales conference or days of workshops at headquarters? So when we talk about decarbonising sales training the question is twofold: Is it worth changing the training approach, and does it still render at least the same, if not better training outcomes?
Think about the last time you attended a 1 or 2-day classroom sales training, even it was a few years ago. In 2 days you, maybe, ran through 10 topics or concepts, you practised some of them, discussed others, did a bit of role play here and a case study there, and after 2 days you went back to work. In an ideal scenario, someone would have followed up -a leader, a manager, a coach- and made sure you were working on applying the newly learnt skills, checked up on your progress, discussed your successes and struggles, and maybe even set some goals to work on over the weeks and months following the workshop.
In most cases, this never happens. There might be some initial follow up post workshop, but it is usually about gaining feedback on the material delivered and the facilitator.
When we look at the training return on investment (ROI) we have to assess the effort, time and money that goes into such an event, and the output, like improved turnover, sales results, or cost savings.
You can (and should) also look at the carbon footprint of the event: How much energy and resources -like fuel to travel, business downtime, venue, and accommodation- did you “burn”; and how many resources and energy did you generate or preserve in return? You might find your ecological balance and your economic balance could turn out quite similar ratios.
So once you’ve looked at the math of this initial scenario, let’s look at an alternative option. Let’s break the two original training days into a dozen small remote (video) sessions of one or two hours each. You don’t have to go anywhere, you don’t even have to leave your desk, so there is no time lost travelling, no other resources used, no additional cost incurred, other than the time not spent selling, and the cost for the actual training course facilitation (which should be similar in either scenario, minus the travel expenses for the facilitator in the first example, if there are any).
In each of these small remote training sessions, you work through one or two learning concepts or topics, discuss them, practise and prepare to implement them and then you return to your work for a week or two and apply exactly this new learned skill, method or approach.
In terms of ROI and carbon footprint, your balance sheet would look a bit different now. While your input in money and resources is significantly lower, you already bring back results from the real world to the next training session. You would have gained new insights, improved skills, and maybe even brought the first deal across the line, new prospects who want to meet with you or similar outcomes. The shift in the carbon footprint balance again is similar.
Decarbonising Sales Training
Does that mean you now need to decarbonise your sales training and development programmes?
Ideally, yes. But even if it’s not a priority for your business, you should consider it for the added benefits, for more successful training outcomes, improved and faster sales results, create higher levels of job satisfaction, or simply to save money, just to name a few advantages of shifting from traditional training events to a cadence of short training sessions, spread out over time.
We can still look a little bit deeper into this. Here are some examples of standard training methods to critically review:
Lectures and presentations: Imagine bringing 10 or 15 of your staff together at one location to watch and listen to a presentation. Even before the emergence of video conferencing you might have come across the concept of FLIP learning where students (this concept was originally developed in schools) were given learning materials and training preparation, like online video links, podcasts or simply some reading material before class or training. No need to get 15 or 20 people to burn company and environmental resources to watch a PowerPoint Show. When people actually come together as a group it should be to do things they can accomplish better as a team.
Group discussions: Do you have to be in the same room with others for a good discussion? Of course, people will rightfully claim that in a video meeting with 20 people you can’t really have a group discussion where everyone contributes. Well, put these 20 people in the same room for a discussion, and it’s still the same 5 or 6 usual suspects that contribute 90% of the time.
Small group work and presentations: Probably one of the best alternatives for group or plenum discussions, but also very effective to work on and develop more specific solutions and insights, and actually learn things. However, no need to rent an extra 2 or 3 breakout rooms, as the key video conferencing tools provide virtual breakout rooms, electronic whiteboards and other features to use in small group work.
Role play: The fact is that very few participants in workshops enjoy being dragged on a stage for traditional role play, so what better (and more intimate) way to practise than in a small group online. Furthermore, with more client interactions moving into this virtual space, training and role playing on the very media you will engage with them makes a lot of sense.
We haven’t mentioned the follow up to any kind of sales training yet. Some leaders and managers still struggle with remotely managing their teams (See: Trend on Sales Leadership), but particularly when it comes to coaching and supporting staff in remote locations it is advantageous not to rely on physical catch ups to support them in their training and development. Short but regular follow ups are just as beneficial as a training cadence of short but frequent training sessions.
In summary, there are many fields where we can do good from an environmental point of view without negatively affecting our margins, cash flow or cost of operation. It is a myth that reducing your carbon footprint will come at a cost. Also, there clearly is no reason to cancel all future sales conferences or team events, but you can make sure that those you still run serve their purpose, and those that don’t will be shifted to other platforms, channels, and methods.
Author: Jens Hartmann, Head of Learning & Development at Barrett
Remember, everybody lives by selling something.
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