quote:

Performance objectives are commonly part of performance planning and performance goals that may have nothing to do with training at all.

Great point, LPC!

Along with the related emphasis that gaps in performance often have little to do with training, or training is often only one small part of the overall performance gap.

If only more colleagues would keep this in mind and educate their customers about this.

Thanks for all the great replies. Based on the responses it looks like the best approach for sales training would be to identify performance gaps, decide if the gaps are a training issue and if so, design training around closing performance gaps.

Laura's recommendation of the book High-Impact Learning (Brinkerhoff) was spot on. Thank you.

In my business, we are often training sales people on new products (pharmaceutical) and end up with 4-5 learning modules that are page-turners. I want to tap into their continued motivation and link the training with performance (potential performance), hence my basic ID question about defining the different objectives.

Hi Cate -- I also recommend, in addition to addressing the gaps that are skill/knowledge/competency related, that you inform/educate your stakeholders of the other factors you discovered that are impacting acheiving particular performance expectations (that's where the Performance Consulting book comes in - the book includes all the tools you need to analyze gaps and then deliver recommendations).

As far as avoiding the page-turners, I urge you to look into The Accelerated Learning Handbook (Dave Meier). That will help address the motivational factors as well. It's important that once you know those links from learning to performance to business goals, that the learning itself is engaging. Page-turners usually do not excite many people, even if the link to their performance is clear.

Sorry for the delayed response but as a former Sales Training Manager you must be realistic on what classroom training can achieve. To state that by going through training the sales rep will be able to close xx number of sales is unrealistic. You don't know if the marketplace is going to change, or when a competitor comes out with a product that blows yours out of the water or how management is going to support the transfer of learning back in workplace? What you can commit to is a measurable performance objective that even faced with these challenges the sales reps still have the knowledge tucked away in their tool belt how to define each of the features for xyz product and explain how these features would benefit the end user. Is this not a part of the Sales process?