A Study on the Effects of Sales Training on Sales

 

Introduction

There are many changes that occurred in the sales field and they affected the function of selling in the past decades and years. This happened due to the increasing amounts of information customers gained and higher needs and demands of customers related to customer service and expectation about the services and products in addition to the high competition with different companies resulting from online sales and globalization. These changes need business organizations to innovate and improve their skills and experiences via many ways such as sales training. Manrai et al, (2015) The current paper is discussing the Effects of Sales Training on Sales Force Activity through many research methods. 

Research Objective

The current paper has an objective which is to analyze the effects of sales training on sales force performance and customer orientation. 

Literature Review

According to Jobber et al, (2004) personal selling has become very important in today's competitive marketplace, it can help raise sales and improve the organization's performance and profits, it can also enhance the performance of salespersons. Salespersons has great role in improving the sales' activity of the company so they need effective and condense training in order to help them implement many sales strategies and techniques such as building effective relationships with customers, solving their problems and adding value to the sales process within time. Customer oriented selling is according to Donaldson, (1998) very necessary to enhance the salespersons performance and develop the sales activity. 

Lee, (2010) confirmed that training in a main development component and any company that needs success should invest in training its salespersons as it can improve their performance and their customer orientation activity. The salespersons should receive training by the company where they work in order to improve their performance and skills with customers and products, there are many sales training methods such as individual training, on-the-job training, external courses and high-tech methods. Roman et al, (2002) added that these types of training can be divided based on the purpose of training employees such as product training, sales skill training and sales methodology training. Sales managers also need training for supporting salespeople and managing their performance.  

Seidman, (2012) discussed sales training methods let salesmen realize the problems of customers and find effective and fast solutions for them. Training can also improve their relationship skills that include two main parallel processes which are the personal relationship process and the sales transaction process. This involves many stages such as pre-interaction stage, interaction stage and the post interaction stage. Interaction is meant to improve the communicative skills of salespersons and sales managers in order to find out new communicative ways with customers that enable them to understand the needs of customers and meet them. Trainees should actively participate in the involved activities within training in order to make effective results.

Sunardi et al, (2012) stressed the need for training employees in order to improve their sales behaviors and this can be done via main sales training methodologies that can be under two main categories which are the self -study category that includes pre-workshop assignment, readings and programmed instructions in addition to the category of workshops that includes lectures, case studies, discussions, on-the-job training, role play and real life experiences. They suggest that business organizations have to combine the two categories of training in order to help employees and sales managers, George, (2008) also referred to the need to train employees on different selling techniques and preparing sales training programs that may vary depending on the way they are standardized such as general programs for all salespeople, top down sales activities and mandated activities that are formal and centralized, other activities are courses that are given to salespeople either in the organization or outside it by special experts in selling.

Mikula, (2004) asserted that when the organization train salespeople, a deep analysis for the organization should be made before starting training as it helps understand the needs of training in the organization, reasons for it, benefits that can be gained from it and different methods for implementing it as this can raise the chances of the success of sales training which in turn enhances the organization's performance and profits. This analysis can also find out the differences of trainees and the characteristics of the different jobs they each should perform and then to decide the best method for training them.

Research Philosophy, approach and strategy

The research philosophy is the development of the research background, nature and knowledge and it is also this framework that includes within different theories, practices and perceptions used for conducting a research. It can also be those procedures that involves the different steps the researcher uses to relate the research question to its objectives. The research philosophy can be pragmatism, positivism, post positivism,  realism, phenomonology or interpretivism. The current paper depends on the positivism research philosophy because according to Crossan, (2002) positivism is a research method that depends on the quantifiable observation that can lead to statistical analysis, it is said to support knowledge that results from human experiences.  It has an atomistic, ontological view of the world as comprising discrete, observable elements and events that interact in an observable, determined and regular manner.  (Mkansi and Acheampong, 2012)

The research approach is plan or the procedures used and applied for research and it decides the steps from different  assumptions for many methods of data collection, analysis, and interpretation. This plan involves some decisions that specify the decisions to be taken in writing the research. (Teherani et al, 2015)

The inductive approach which is also referred to as the inductive reasoning is a research approach that begins with theories and observations that are presented in the research to its process end and resulting from the observations. It involves searching for pattern from the observation and explanation development. ( Thomas, 2006)

The research strategy is the general plan of the research that the researcher uses in order to reach reasonable answers for the research questions. The current paper is using the survey research strategy. (Badke, 2011)

Ethical implications in this research

Research ethics ensures the protection of rights and information related to the research. During evaluation of this research, some ethical implications are set into considerations such as informed consent from the participants in the research questionnaire, voluntary participation is ensured, participants are ensured to participate in the research with no harm, confidentiality of information is also ensured and the research only assesses relevant components. 

Research Methodology

1.      Research Design

The research design depends on some methods and procedures for data collection and on some analysis measures used for measuring the different variables that are specified within the research paper and relevant to the research problem. The current study type is the inductive approach as it is descriptive basically and semi-experimental. Data collection methods depend on the journals relevant to the topic, books and internet articles that are trustworthy. Analysis plan depends on a questionnaire presented for people working in Napier Healthcare.

2.      Sampling

Sampling depends on collecting answers of questionnaire from 100 employees in Napier Healthcare which is a health care company in Oman. Participants were all agreeing and consents were taken from them before starting the questionnaire. Samples were randomly chosen from different types of employees in the company. Systematic random sampling techniques were used mainly.

3.      Data Collection Methods

Data was collected from different resources, mainly primary data was gained from the questionnaires that were delivered to employees of Napier Healthcare company as questionnaires were delivered to them after their consent. Secondary data was got from books, journals that are relevant to the topic and online sites as well. Data was too much and then it was analyzed in order to choose the most relevant data to be used in the research, most recent and evidence based data were chosen.

4.      Tools used for Analysis: Percentage Analysis

For analysis, tools are chosen carefully, percentage analysis is used and applied in order to know the real percentages of answers of the questionnaire. Analysis is applied in order to know real answers related to the sales training of salespersons and sales managers and how far the sales training is important to sales activity development. 

5.      Structure for Questionnaire

Five questions were set in the questionnaire in order to be delivered for participants. There are four questions for quantitative analysis and they are close ended and there is one question which is open ended for qualitative analysis.