Introduction to the case

Summary of the case

The case “Designing a Training Program: A Training Manager’s Dilemma” is about a company
called Direc2U. The company deals with consumer appliances. The company was on a growth
curve and had carved a niche for itself in the consumer appliances industry in India.

The company’s HRD was headed by Mr. V. K. Prasad who was the Vice President HR,
followed by a training manager Mr. Sunit Verma.

Mr. Sunit Verma was entrusted the job of designing a training program for sales representatives
and first line managers.

This was a job of tremendous importance as being a company in the consumer appliances
industry, the sales force and sales managers formed the crux of the company for which they
needed to possess extraordinary selling skills in order to increase its customer base in the highly
competitive market. The company had realized that in order to differentiate itself from other
players and to carve a niche for itself, well trained sales force was essential.

Therefore in order to achieve their goal of having an exceptional sales force, the company
decided to go in for a training program in “Advanced Selling Skills for First Line Managers”
and the job of designing the program and evaluation was entrusted to Mr. Sunit Verma.

The biggest challenge that Mr. Verma faced was that most of the first line managers were
experienced and matured candidates and therefore inculcating the need for training and ensuring
that they transfer the knowledge they have acquired during the program was proving to be a
herculean task. Therefore, Mr. Verma had to come with a program that would achieve the
objectives of the company.

Need Identification Process

The first step was to identify the need for the training program as being first line managers it
was necessary that they develop a “need to learn and get trained” as only then the participants
would learn and thereby transfer the learning.

Need for training first line managers:

The organization felt the need for training the existing first line managers due to the following
reasons:

 Existing First Line Managers lacked advanced selling skills. This was essential as
consumer appliances market was highly fragmented and there was a need to cater to
different segments

 Lack of effective team management skills among First Line Managers

 No formal way of coaching team members.

 Need for creating a positive attitude: a management initiative.

 TNA survey showed that there was a general skill shortfall among the first line
managers.

Organizational Support

Organizational support forms the basis for a needs assessment and also for the successful
completion of the program. The training department must have the co-operation of the entire
organization in order to have a support for the training. In the case of Direc2U, the training
department had the complete support of the organization as the organization identified that it
was essential to develop advanced selling skills in the managers for their company to succeed.
Also, the top management also supported the training as it was Mr. Prasad who identified the
need for training.

Organizational Analysis:
Organizational analysis refers to the examination of system wide components of the
organization that may affect a training program beyond those considered in task and person
analysis. Therefore, the training program should be in line with the organizational goals as only
then transfer of learning can be ensured. The current organizational analysis reflects that since
the managers is recruiting new sales force, they will need senior employees to coach and mentor
these new joiners. Hence, the First Line Managers need to be updated on Coaching as well as
need to be taught some advanced selling skills to lead the organization towards its future goals.

Requirement Analysis:

Requirement analysis involves identifying the job in the context of the organization, defining the
target job, choosing the methods for conducting a needs assessment, determining the participants
in the needs assessment, determining the points of contact, anticipating the problems and finally
developing a protocol.

In the context of the case the above can be described as follows:

• Identifying he job in the context of the organization and defining the target job involve
understanding the importance of that particular job in the company and also defining
what is done as a part of that job. Relating to the case, the job of first line managers is of
utmost importance in the company as it is in the business of selling consumer appliances
and therefore it is the duty of these managers as a part of their job to come with new
ideas of selling their products and thus attracting new customers and also retaining old
customers.

• Choosing methods for conducting the needs assessment involves identifying the methods
that can be used to gather the information pertaining to the job and is basically like
taking accurate photographs of the job to provide information for designing the training
programs. It is imperative to know what is actually done on the job in order to identify
the areas in which to impart training and also to design relevant instruction. In this case,
since the job involves selling skills in managers, the methods to collect information can
be interviewing the candidates or questionnaires etc.
 • Determining the participants and also the points of contact involves selecting the people
who will participate in the needs assessment program and their responsibilities. In this
case the effectiveness of the needs assessment would be enhanced if it involves
maximum people as it will motivate the candidates. Hence the selection of individuals
should be a representative of the job incumbents or supervisors of the particular job i.e.
first line managers.

• Anticipating the problems to be resolved and developing protocol involves trying to

identify the problems or issues that might the hamper the process and try to eliminate
them. A protocol presents the steps to collect the needs assessment information.

Task, Knowledge, Skill and Ability Analysis:

This process involves identifying the tasks that are to be performed as a part of that job. In this
case of the first line managers, this process would involve identifying the tasks that the
managers would be required to perform and thereby identify the skills, abilities and
competencies required to perform the job. Based on this we would be able to identify the skills
that are to be imparted during the training program. For example, sales managers require
excellent communication and negotiation skills in order to perform their tasks. These skills are
identified based on the job that the people i.e. managers do.

Person Analyses:

In this process, the two main questions that are asked are:
 • Who within the organization needs the training?
• What kind of instruction do they need?

In this case, the top management has identified that the first line managers need advanced selling
skills as it has been found out that they lack them and since selling skills are important for a
sales manager the organization has felt that these first line managers need the training.

Secondly, since these managers are experienced candidates the method of instruction should be
chosen with a lot of care so that what they learn is transferred on to the job and that the entire
training program proves to be a success. The methods of instructions that can be adopted have
been described below in detail.

Person analysis also involves developing performance indicators and finally identifying the gaps
in the KSA’s and develops approaches to bridge the gaps.

OBJECTIVES OF TRAINING PROGRAM

The objectives of the training program both the new recruits and first line managers have been
identified from the needs assessment. The objectives are as follows:
 • To improve Coaching skills of the First Line managers.
• To enhance the advanced selling skills of first line managers
• To inculcate effective team management skills
• To improve the productivity of the first line managers
• To create a positive attitude, motivate the sales force.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Based on the objectives attained through the needs assessment process, the final objectives for
the training program i.e. “Advanced Selling Skills for First Line Managers” have been identified
as follows:
 • To enhance the advanced selling skills of first line managers
• To improve Coaching skills of the First Line managers.
• To inculcate effective team management skills
• To improve the productivity of the first line managers
• To create a positive attitude, motivate the sales force.

SELECTION AND DESIGN OF THE TRAINING

PROGRAM

(A brief description of each content matches with the objectives of the

training program)
Interaction with Seniors and peers

During the need assessment phase, we identified that the organization did not have any formal
way of coaching the team members. Since, the company is increasing its sales workforce; the
new recruits will require some amount of guidance and coaching to be provided to them by the
First Line mangers. Hence, one of the objectives is to improve Coaching skills of the First Line
managers. Interaction with peers serves a dual purpose of breaking the ice as well as guiding
managers on how to coach.

Effective Listening Skills

In a sales job, it is very much important for the managers to understand the exact requirements
of the customers. This session would focus on improving the listening skills of the managers
which would ultimately lead to enhance productivity.

Business Development

This particular session would meet the objective of enhancing the productivity of the First Line
Managers

Changing market scenario

This training program meets our first objective of addressing the need to teach advanced selling
skills to first line managers. This program will equip them to explore different opportunities in
untapped markets. It will update them the importance of sustaining their position in tough
market conditions.

CRM Module

This training program is also meeting our first objective of imparting knowledge of advanced
selling skills to first line managers. Customer management is most important perspective of
selling skills as employees need to understand their requirements and provide them with
required products. Employees need to make the whole experience for customers a perfect delight
so that company can maintain and sustain their present customer base.

Introduction to selling skills

With the expansion of their business the company realized their employees lack the advanced
selling skills. So, the training required a program which could fulfill the objective of inducing
advance selling skills in the existing line managers.

Team Building
As the company has expanded its workforce and decided to recruit more employees. One of the
objectives analyzed by the organization was to teach their employees how to lead the team
effectively and adapt to the changes. So, a session for enhancing team building skills has been
kept to accomplish this objective and enhance their interpersonal skill to make them more
adjustable and productive in a group or team.

Self efficacy

This content will help to objective the personality development objective of the program.

Stress Management

This content of the training program relates to the objective of creating a positive attitude and
motivating the sales force.

Time Management

This particular session would meet the objective of enhancing the productivity of the First Line
Managers

Session on positive attitude

This content of the training program relates to the objective of creating a positive attitude and
motivating the sales force.

Report Briefing session and doubt clearing session

Business to Business selling

This program will meet the following three objectives

• To enhance the advanced selling skills of first line managers

• To inculcate effective team management skills
• To create a positive attitude and motivate the sales force

Business to Customer selling

This program will meet the following three objectives

• To enhance the advanced selling skills of first line managers

• To inculcate effective team management skills
• To create a positive attitude and motivate the sales force
Business Communication

Effective business communication would help the managers to improve their overall
productivity.

Presentation Skills

This content is included to address the two objectives of the program:

• To enhance the selling skills of the first line managers,

• To enhance the productivity of the first line managers.

Negotiation skills

This content would meet the objective of providing advance selling skills to the First Line
Managers.

Work-life Balance

Sales jobs involve hectic work schedules, tight deadlines to be met, and lot of travelling, so it is
very important for them to have a healthy work life balance. Taking this into consideration, this
content is included to address the two objectives of the program:

• To enhance the positive attitude of the first line managers,

• To enhance the productivity of the first line managers.

Presentation of reports

On third day of the training program, the trainees will be assigned a project which will require
them to work in groups. Each group will have to achieve a given target in a period of three days.
The project would require them to exhibit advanced selling, time management, team building,
interpersonal, communication, and negotiation skills. This part of the training program is very
important as it would help the trainees to apply whatever they have learnt in the program on a
project related to their work. Thus this particular part of the training program would help to meet
all the objectives of the training program.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM

Title: Training program on Advance Selling Skills for First

Line Managers

From: 25-08-2009 To: 30-08-2009

Objectives of the Program:

• To enhance the advanced selling skills of first line managers

• To improve Coaching skills of the First Line managers.
• To inculcate effective team management skills
• To improve the productivity of the first line managers
• To create a positive attitude, motivate the sales force.

Program Director : Ms. Cheshta Chadha Program Team: Manthan

Program Coordinator:

Dr. Nidhi Saini

Ms Himanshi

Ms. Komal

Ms. Shivi

Ms. Omika

Ms. Chaitanya

Ms. Manasa

Ms. Geetika Gupta

Day 9.30 hrs 11.30 hrs 14.00 hrs 16.00 hrs

To to To To
Date 11.00hrs 13.00hrs 15.30 hrs 17.30 hrs
Interaction with
Monday Seniors and Business Changing
Effective
25-08-2009 peers Development market
Listening Skills.
(Icebreaking Skills scenario
session).
 Tuesday
26-08-2009 Knowledge Introduction to Team Building Self Efficacy
About The Selling Skills
Changing Skills(Business
Market Scenario( Simulation) L
contd….) and U
CRM Module N
Wednesday C
27-08-2009 Self Efficacy Time H Session on Report
(revision) and Management positive briefing
Stress attitude session and
Management doubt clearing
session
Thursday
28-08-2009 Business to Business to Business to Business to
Business selling Business selling Customer Customer
(session-1) (session-2) Selling Selling
(session-1) (session-2)

Friday
29-08-2009 Business Presentation Negotiation Work-life
Communication skills skills Balance
Saturday
30-08-2009 Presentation of Discussion on Presentation of Discussion on
the reports the presentations the reports the
and doubt presentations
clearing session and doubt
clearing
session
Tea Break: 11.00 to 11.30hrs & 15.30 to 16.00hrs
Lunch: 13.00 hrs to 14.00hrs
TRAINING PROGRAM MATRIX
 Contents Taxonomy Learnin Stages of Learnin Learnin Trainee Traditional Modern Evaluatio
g learning g g Motivati Instructional Instruct n Criteria
Styles Principle Organiz on to Approaches ional
Parameters s ation Learn Approa
Model ches
Cognitive Auditor Declarative Producti Focus Trainee Lecture Mode CD-
Knowledge y and on of on Total Readine and Rom,
About The Visual Respons quality ss, Classroom Audio-
Changing e, Internal Discussion visual
Market Massed locus of aids
Scenario Practice Control,
Whole Commit
learning ment to
CRM Cognitive Auditor Declarative Producti Focus career Lecture and Audio-
Module and y and , on of on Total Discussion, visual
Affective Visual. Knowledge Respons quality Case Study aids
Compilatio e,
n, Spaced
and Practice
Procedurali ,
zation Advanc
ed
Organiz
ers

Team Affective Kinesth Procedurali Feedbac Building Simulation Increase

Building and etics zation k, Internal Exercises and in sales
Skills pshycomot Producti Capabili games figure.
or on of ty Ability to
Respons resolve
e conflicts
Introductio Cognitive,a Auditor Declarative Feedbac Building Role playing, Ability to
Brief Description about each content and parameter

1) INTERACTION WITH SENIORS AND PEERS

Coaching skills can be improved by taking suggestions and tips from those who have been
coaching their subordinates in the organization. The idea basically is to gain from the
experiences of those who have earlier been mentoring and coaching the sales force employees
i.e learning by vicarious experiencing. The best method to do is by allowing the senior or peer
who has been a Coach to narrate his experience and some critical incidences in handling the
workforce. This has to be followed by a discussion and interaction with the trainees to find out
the best way to coach the subordinates. This also helps to identify the pitfalls that should be
avoided while coaching. Learning style will primarily be audio as the participants will be
listening to the experiences of the coaches. Two components of Bloom’s Taxonomy- Cognitive
and Affective are coming into play as the trainee is listening, thinking and developing opinions
and attitude towards what is required to become a coach and what are his roles and
responsibilities as a coach. In this process, he is gaining knowledge as well as internalizing this
knowledge and building on it- hence, he goes through declarative as well as knowledge
compilation stages of learning. During the interaction session with the experts the participants
also bring to light their own experiences with a coach, what problems they faced, how they
interacted with the coach, etc. It is here, that the faculty will be giving them feedback on their
past experiences. Hence, learning principle of feedback is involved. Further, by recognizing
Coaching as one of the objectives of training, the company is trying to build on their internal
capability by focusing on the valuable human resource capital that they posses.

EVALUATION CRITERIA: Feedback from the subordinates that are being coached will be
taken as the evaluation criteria.

2) EFFECTIVE LISTENING SKILLS

In a sales job, it is very much important for the managers to understand the exact requirements
of the customers. This session would focus on improving the listening skills of the managers
which would ultimately lead to enhance productivity. This addresses the fourth objective of the
training program.

In this session, the trainer would be giving a lecture on effective listening skills and how it can
be developed which would benefit them in enhancing their performance. Therefore this session
involves Lecture and Discussion. The session would be supported by the audio and visual
aids which demonstrate the effective and ineffective listening skills.

The session requires participants to have the knowledge about effective listening skills and apply
the same on their job, and hence it would involve all the three stages of learning i.e. Declarative
Learning, Knowledge Compilation and Proceduralization.

This session would address the cognitive and affective domain as in this session participants
would be given knowledge on effective listening skills and understanding the perceptions of the
customers while communicating.

As this particular content of the training program requires trainees to understand the concept of
the effective listening skills by hearing to the trainer, Auditory style of learning is appropriate
here.

The session requires participants to have the knowledge about effective listening skills and apply
the same in daily interaction with the clients, and hence it would involve all the three stages of
learning i.e. Declarative Learning, Knowledge Compilation and Proceduralization.

The participants have to deal with the stress regularly so the learning should be automated in
their job routines. Therefore the learning principle involved her would be Automaticity.

EVALUATION CRITERIA: How well the managers are able to handle the grievances of the
clients and understand their exact requirements.

3) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SKILLS

The First Line Managers have been into the company for many years and have the basic selling
skills or they are the people who have joined the company at this senior position after having
worked in other firms. In both the cases these employees have a reasonable understanding of the
products as well as the markets. However, with the consumer appliance markets now turning
dynamic and customer profiles changing rapidly, they now need to be taught how to excel in the
changing market scenario.

Since, these managers are the people who already are familiar with their work; a lecture based
method where only concepts are taught will not be beneficial. Hence, they will be taught through
case studies and role plays. Case studies will help them understand concepts and internalize this
knowledge. This way they go through the first two stages of learning- declarative and
knowledge compilation. Role plays will help the trainees practice in a mock situation, how to
apply this knowledge in real life situation. Hence, the trainee here goes through the third stage of
learning i.e. proceduralization. Auditory and visual styles of learning have been adopted by the
trainer. By giving case studies we are providing the trainees cues about what concepts and skills
are to be imbibed, hence, they are given advance organizers. Also, by practicing these business
development skills they will soon automatically begin to use this learning on their job without
really making any conscious effort to remember them. By giving them knowledge about
business development we are strengthening the internal capability of the organization.

EVALUATION CRITERIA This will be measuring the increase in sales.

4) KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE CHANGING MARKET SCENARIO

This training program meets our first objective of addressing the need to teach advanced selling
skills to first line managers. This program will equip them to explore different opportunities in
untapped markets. It will update them the importance of sustaining their position in tough
market conditions. The taxonomy used is cognitive in nature because it will require recall of
data or information on the basis of knowledge imparted. It requires the participant to understand
the meaning, translation, interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and problems which
uses comprehension abilities. Learning Styles- Auditory and Visual in nature because the type
of method of instructional approach used here will be presentations and some small videos.
While using the lecture mode of teaching also auditory learning style will be preferred. Stages
of learning include Declarative stage i.e. the first stage of learning is the underlying principle
here because facts and knowledge will be imparted here and the application is not required
instantly at that point of time. The Learning Principles used here are Production of Response,
Massed Practice and Whole Learning, Massed practice is used here as participants will not be
given here any kind of breaks between the learning process. The principle of whole learning is
used here because it is not a complex set of process and they will be told everything in one go in
a lecture. For Learning Organization Model, there is total focus on total quality of content of
literature will be used. Course content will cover present conditions of market and they will be
taught by giving relevant examples and how they can survive in those adverse market
conditions. For Trainees to be motivated to attend the program trainee readiness, internal locus
of control and high commitment to career should be there. Lecture Mode and Discussion will be
used because here the Instructor presents information to the student systematically in this
method. This approach is considered the best method to use here because the instructor
interfaces with the students by presenting segments of instruction, questions the students
frequently, and provides periodic summaries or logical points of development. Use of Modern
Instructional Approaches such as CD-Rom, Audio-visual aids will be used here because mix
of lecture method along with these modern approaches overcomes a lot of limitations of
traditional method approaches. Audio Visual methods also help in gaining attention of learners
and sustaining it.

EVALUATION CRITERIA: How well the employees are able to able to use their market
knowledge to sustain their position in market as market leader. It can also be measured by their
ability to explore new markets/untapped markets by adopting new innovative approaches.

5) CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT:

This training program is also meeting our first objective of imparting knowledge of advanced
selling skills to first line managers. Customer management is most important perspective of
selling skills as employees need to understand their requirements and provide them with
required products. Employees need to make the whole experience for customers a perfect delight
so that company can maintain and sustain their present customer base. The Taxonomy is
cognitive and affective in nature in teaching this program. Cognitive learning will require recall
of data or information on the basis of knowledge imparted. It requires the participant to
understand the meaning, translation, interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and
problems which uses comprehension abilities. Affective learning affective domain describes the
way people react emotionally and their ability to feel another living thing's pain or joy. Affective
objectives typically target the awareness and growth in attitudes, emotion, and feelings. Here the
learners need to interact with customers and understand their problems completely and need to
relate with them

There are five levels in the affective domain moving through the lowest order processes to the
highest:

Receiving: The lowest level; the learner passively pays attention. Without this level no learning
can occur.

Responding: The learner actively participates in the learning process, not only attends to a
stimulus; the learner also reacts in some way.

Valuing: The student attaches a value to an object, phenomenon, or piece of information.

Organizing: The learner can put together different values, information, and ideas and
accommodate them within his/her own schema; comparing, relating and elaborating on what has
been learned.

Characterizing: The learner holds a particular value or belief that now exerts influence on
his/her behavior so that it becomes a characteristic.

The Learning Styles are auditory and visual in nature because the type of method of
instructional approach used here will be presentations and some small videos. While using the
lecture mode of teaching also auditory learning style will be preferred. Here all the three stages
of learning i.e. The Declarative stage , Knowledge Compilation and prroceduralization will be
used i.e. the first stage of learning is the underlying principle here because facts and knowledge
will be imparted here and the application is not required instantly at that point of time.
Knowledge compilation and proceduralization will be used as they also need to be learning from
other participants and apply their knowledge while they learn from case studies. The learning
principles used here are Production of Response, Spaced Practice and Advanced Organizers;
Spaced practice is used here as participants will be given here some kind of breaks between the
learning processes as two methodologies are used here. Participants in the process wil be given
some study material realted to case studies so that they are familiar with the cues prior to the
training session. The Learning Organization Model focuses on total quality of content of
literature will be used to increase effectiveness and efficiency of the program. Traditional
instructional Approaches used are lecture mode, discussion and case studies will be used
because here the Instructor presents information to the student about type of customers which
the employees will come across and each customer has different requirements. So employees
learn how to give customer specific solutions and turning customer satisfaction to customer
delight. Modern Instructional Approaches like CD-Rom, Audio-visual aids will be used here
because mix of lecture method along with this modern approaches overcomes a lot of limitations
of traditional method approaches. Audio Visual methods also help in gaining attention of
learners and sustaining it.

EVALUATION CRITERIA: This program can be evaluated by measuring the customer

satisfaction index periodically. This can also be evaluated by measuring the frequency of
customer complaints whether they are increasing or decreasing.

6) INTRODUCTION TO SELLING SKILLS

To be competent enough and acquiring selling skill, a trainee must be given required knowledge
and information regarding the stream. Along with this, he must also build upon correct attitude
and skills required in the job which means all the three parameters of bloom’s taxanomy are
incorporated. Thus this can be best learnt through lectures to gain as well as role plays to
demonstrate the kind of behavior they need to possess. In this program, we will make every
employee learn, gain knowledge and learn its application so that they can transfer it on the job.
So, the declarative and proceduralized stage of learning is essential. This selling skill will
make each trainee more competent in the business and thus it will help in building and
increasing the internal capability of the organization. Some of the material will be given to them
before the training so that they can gain a fair idea of the program. They will be given feedbacks
at the end of the session so that they can work on it.

EVALUATION CRITERIA: How well are the line managers able to meet their annual targets?

7) TEAM BUILDING

Team building exercise involves more of a skill and individual attitude to work with different
people cordially and so affective and psychomotor taxanomy are being used. Also, it can be
learnt more easily by involving the trainees in some kind of group activities which makes them
involved and working together i.e. Kinesthetic learning style will be followed. We will involve
all the 3 stages of learning and impart them basic conceptual knowledge about team working and
solving team issues and make our learning style application based. The basic motive of this
learning will be to enhance the internal capabilities of each and every employee. Thus the
approaches selected by us are teaching them through simulation exercises and business games
etc. which involve team works. In the end of the program trainer will give individual feedback
and also trainee will get the chance to present his/her responses and views.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Are the project teams and groups able to contribute significantly in the company’s sales figure?
How well are they able to avoid/resolve conflicts while working together?

8) SELF-EFFICACY

Self-efficacy refers to a person's belief about his or her ability and capacity to accomplish a task
or to deal with the challenges of life.

It develops as a result of observational and social learning which requires thought process and
feelings about self capability. Trainee is made to observe (see) a particular act/behavior or made
to hear a conversation and then asked to demonstrate his learning from it or his reaction to the
situation. Thus, the trainee makes use of all the three learning styles (visual, auditory and
kinesthetic). Self-efficacy deals with an individual’s mental or psychological processes, hence it
is learning of certain facts, their compilation and understanding. The trainee may get extensively
practiced on a task that it becomes automated. This gives him/her confidence to perform with
efficiency. As already said in Learning Style, the trainee is made to learn from observation and
social learning/role modeling. So it involves production of the response. It is an internal
competency building initiative of the organization, hence it is better to have organizational
experts to train the employees in developing self-efficacy. Self efficacy itself is a determinant of
trainee’s motivation to learn. Trainee Readiness, Internal locus of Control and commitment to
career add to his/her motivation to develop self-efficacy. Lecture and Discussion, Reading
material would constitute the traditional approaches of instructions. Role plays, Simulations,
Situational exercises, audio-visual programs constitute modern training approaches.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The best evaluation criteria to determine self-efficacy is to check the consistency (reliability) of
the trainees’ responses to different situations which call for decision making.

9) STRESS MANAGEMENT:

This content of the training program relates to the third objective of the training i.e. creating a
positive attitude and motivating the sales force. Today organizations are working in highly
competitive business environment. The employees specially the ones in the sales department are
under constant pressure of meeting the business targets. This particular session will help the
managers to cope up with these pressures and help them in enhancing their personality.

The session would start with a briefing, about the causes, symptoms and various forms of stress,
by a professional psychologist. This would be followed by a discussion where the psychologist
would be taking up questions from the participants regarding the stress which they come across
while performing their jobs. Further there would be a meditation session, where the psychologist
would educate them about various meditation exercises which can be practiced by the
participants regularly to overcome the work related stress. These meditation exercises would be
supported by audio aids to enhance their effectiveness.

This session would address the cognitive and affective domain of the bloom’s taxonomy as in
this session participants would be given knowledge on stress related issues as well educating
them how to handle their feelings, emotions so as to bring a change in their attitude in dealing
with stress. Since the participants will be listening to the briefing on stress management and
would be involved in meditation exercises, therefore the learning style for the session would be
auditory and kinesthetic. Since the session requires participants not only to grab to the
knowledge on stress management but also to practice it through various meditation exercises, so
the session would involve all the three stages of learning i.e. Declarative Learning, Knowledge
Compilation and Proceduralization. The two learning principles that would be used here are
Automaticity and Whole Learning. The participants have to deal with the stress regularly so
the learning should be automated in their job routines.

The knowledge about the subject would be given to the participants as a whole at a given point
of time in a single session and not in parts.

EVALUATION CRITERIA: How well the managers are able to focus on their work by
practicing the meditation exercises given during the stress management skills.

10) TIME MANAGEMENT

The sales job is demanding with very tight deadlines and it is very important for the managers to
manage their time efficiently. This particular session will educate the managers on how to
allocate their time to different activities so as to enhance their productivity.
Thus this particular session would meet the fourth objective of the training program i.e., to
enhance the productivity of the first line managers.

In this particular session, the trainees would be asked to take part in a management game. The
trainees would have to complete a specific task within a given time frame. This would be
followed by the feedback from the conductor about how well they have performed and how they
could have managed the work in a better way by allocating tasks according to their priority.

This session would focus on psychomotor domain of bloom’s taxonomy as they would have to
exhibit their skills on time management.

The learning is imparted through a management game which would be an experiential exercise,
this session addresses kinesthetic learning style.

The session requires participants to understand the significance of time management along with
the application of the skill in performing their jobs. So the session would involve all the three
stages of learning i.e. Declarative Learning, Knowledge Compilation and Proceduralization.

This session would involve Feedback on how well the trainees have performed the tasks and
how they could have managed their work in a better way by allocating their time efficiently.

Another learning principle involved would be the Production of Response as the learners need
to actively exhibit their time management skills on their jobs. Since the cues are given to the
participants in the form of feedback after the management game is conducted, Comparative
Organizer is used as a learning principle here. Time management will help the organization in
improving its quality, productivity and profitability, so it is concerned with the second model of
learning organization i.e., Focus on Total Quality.

EVALUATION CRITERIA: Are they able to meet their targets on time.

11) SESSION ON POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Herein the learner is made to observe, feel, understand and demonstrate positive attitude.
Hence, one needs to progress in a sequenced fashion of cognitive, affective and behavioral
learning taxonomy to develop positive attitude. Here the audio and visual information is
enough to be grasped. The learner interprets the information and tries to modify or redevelop
his/her attitude towards different people and situations. The trainee is made to understand the
factual information regarding the impact of positive and negative attitude on business decisions.
The learner can be given knowledge (feedback) of how his/her attitude impacts the work
situation. Based on this he/she can be taught to develop an optimistic outlook. The trainee can
be given lectures on positive attitude along with certain reading material on optimism. He/she
can be shown some videos or film clippings to emphasize the importance of positive attitude.

EVALUATION CRITERIA : Evaluation criteria for positive attitude can be a 360 degree
feedback measurement. The trainees’ relations with his seniors, peers subordinates and
clients/customers can be observed to evaluate the change in his/her attitude.

12)REPORT BRIEFING

On third day of the training program, the trainees will be assigned a project which will require
them to work in groups. Each group will have to achieve a given target in a period of three days.
The project would require them to exhibit advanced selling, time management, team building,
interpersonal, communication, and negotiation skills. This part of the training program is very
important as it would help the trainees to apply whatever they have learnt in the program on a
project related to their work. Thus this particular part of the training program would help to meet
all the objectives of the training program.

13)BUSINESS TO BUSINESS SELLING: Business to business selling skills is

essential for the First line managers as they form a major part of sales for the company.
Further these are high-end clients and the figures involved are relatively quite high, and
these are more knowledgeable and demanding than customers. Gaining business from
one such client is equivalent to gaining a number of small customers. Plus if handled
 properly, these clients get the company long term gains by reordering for themselves and
also by referrals. Due to all these reasons, a business to business selling training is
essential for our training program. The training program would involve providing
knowledge to the manager about the dynamics of B2B selling, and the issues associated
with the activity. The training would also cater to developing the right kind of attitude in
the managers that is essential for the B2B selling. A role play would be conducted that
would depict a typical situation in the B2B selling, how would a manager behave, what
would be his response, and how would he ensure that the sale was made. Based on the
response of the manager he would be given feedback.

EVALUATION CRITERIA: Number of clients visits that were converted to sales

14) BUSINESS TO CUSTOMER SELLING:

Business to customer selling is an essential part of the first line managers in the concerned
company. Handling the customers and convincing them of the value of their product is a skill
that every 1st line manager needs to develop. Consumer appliances are generally a high
involvement product and there are a variety of options for the customer. Therefore he needs to
be dealt with very skillfully so as to ensure that the purchase takes place. The intricacies of this
types of selling makes it imperative for us to have a separate session for B2C selling. The
training program would involve providing knowledge to the manager about the dynamics of
B2C selling, and the issues associated with the activity. The training would also cater to
developing the right kind of attitude in the managers that is essential for the B2C selling. A
role play would be conducted that would depict a typical situation in the B2C selling, how
would a manager behave, what would be his response, and how would he ensure that the sale
was made. Based on the response of the manager he would be given feedback.

EVALUATION CRITERIA: Number of customers visits that were converted to sales

15) BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Effective business communication would help the managers to improve the overall productivity
and thus would address the fourth objective of the training program.
In this session, the participants would be enlightened about the common mistakes which they
make in their oral and written communication. They would be educated on how to communicate
effectively with clients besides the employees of the organizations. The most appropriate way
of doing this is through Lecture and Discussion.

Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor domains of the bloom’s taxonomy would be addressed
in this session. The participants would be given knowledge on effective communication skills.
While communicating with the clients, understanding their feelings, emotions, and having a
right attitude to deal with them along with the knowledge is very important. Without this, there
would be a mismatch between the perceptions of the both the manager and the client which acts
as a hurdle for business. The learning styles used in this session would be visual and auditory.
The session is carried out through lecture and discussion, these would be the ideal learning
styles and they facilitate a better understanding among the trainees.

The session requires participants to have the knowledge about effective communication skills
and apply the same in daily interaction with the clients, and hence it would involve all the three
stages of learning i.e. Declarative Learning, Knowledge Compilation and Proceduralization.
The first learning principle involved would be the Production of Response as the learners need
to actively exhibit their negotiation skills on their jobs.

This session would involve Feedback on how well the trainees have imbibed the knowledge on
negotiation skills and how well they were able to exhibit the same in their work.

The entire knowledge about the communication (oral and written) is provided to the participants
in a single session, the learning principle involved here is Massed Practice.

The knowledge on communication would be categorized into two broad components (oral and
written). Further, written communication would include all the communication channels such as
memos, reports, e-mails, forma business letters etc. and the oral communication would include
telephonic conversation, audio and video conferencing etc. Thus the session would provide
learning in part. Communication skills will help the sales managers to enhance their selling
skills. Therefore it is very important to Focus on Total Quality in this particular area.

EVALUATION CRITERIA: How well you are making the customer understand our offering
and are able to settle the grievances of the customer.
 16) PRESENTATION SKILLS

Sales jobs involve giving presentations frequently to the regular as well as the perspective
clients. A good presentation can make or break the deal. Taking this into consideration, this
content is included to address the two objectives of the program:

• To enhance the selling skills of the first line managers,

• To enhance the productivity of the first line managers.

To judge the existing proficiency of the employees, they would be asked to give an extempore
on a given topic. Based on their performance, a feedback would be given to the participants on
the areas where they need to improve. They will also be given general information on how to
give an effective presentation (especially focusing on the content, body language,
communication, creating a rapport with the clients).

Cognitive and psychomotor domains of the bloom’s taxonomy would be addressed in this
session. The participants would be given knowledge on effective presentation skills and would
be asked to give on-the-spot presentations to judge them in this particular skill.

All the three learning styles would be used in this session i.e., visual, auditory and kinesthetic.
The participants are given a demonstration on the body language and eye contact which requires
visual learning by the trainees. Since the participants have to listen to the feedback and the
instruction and apply the same in their presentations so the auditory and kinesthetic learning
style will also be used in this.

The session requires participants to have the knowledge about effective presenataion skills and
apply the same in their presentations, and hence it would involve all the three stages of learning
i.e. Declarative Learning, Knowledge Compilation and Proceduralization.

This session would involve Feedback on how well the trainees have performed and what more
they have to focus on to improve their presentation skills.

Another learning principle involved would be the Production of Response as the learners need
to actively exhibit their presentation skills while dealing with the clients.
The participants have to make presentations regularly to acquire and retain the business from
clients, so the learning should be automated in their jobs.

Presentation skills will help the sales managers will help them build on their advanced selling
skills. Therefore it is very important to Focus on Total Quality in this particular area.

EVALUATION CRITERIA: How many presentations given to the prospective clients have
actually converted to deals.

1) NEGOTIATION SKILLS

Negotiation skills are an important part of the selling cycle. This content would meet the very
first objective of the training program i.e., the advance selling skills of the first line managers.

In this session, the participants would be given real-life business situations where they have to
exhibit their negotiation skills. The participants would have to enact the situations. Every Role
Play would be followed by a feedback not only from the trainer but also from the peers about
the different ways of dealing with the given situation.

Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor domains of the bloom’s taxonomy would be addressed
in this session. The participants would be given knowledge on negotiation skills and to judge
themselves in this particular skill along with the feedback. While negotiating with the clients,
understanding their feelings, emotions, and having a right attitude to deal with them along with
the knowledge is very important.

All the three learning styles would be used in this session i.e., visual, auditory and kinesthetic
as the participants would have to learn not only by seeing and listening to the instructions but
also getting involved in the role plays themselves.

The first learning principle involved would be the Production of Response as the learners need
to actively exhibit their negotiation skills on their jobs.

This session would involve Feedback on how well the trainees have imbibed the knowledge on
negotiation skills and how well they were able to exhibit the same in their work.
Another learning principle would be Automaticity. The participants have to deal with
negotiations regularly so the learning should be automated in their job.

EVALUATION CRITERIA: How much time it takes to finalize a deal compared to that
before training and amount of profits brought through each deal.

2) WORKLIFE BALANCE

Sales jobs involve hectic work schedules, tight deadlines to be met, and lot of travelling, so it is
very important for them to have a healthy work life balance. Taking this into consideration, this
content is included to address the two objectives of the program:

• To enhance the positive attitude of the first line managers,

• To enhance the productivity of the first line managers.

In this session, the trainer would be giving a lecture on the significance of maintaining balance
between their personal and professional life. Therefore this session involves Lecture and
Discussion on various aspects relating to strike a perfect balance between work life and life
personal.

The session would be supported by the audio and visual aids.

The domain Bloom’s taxonomy addressed here is Affective. It emphasizes on the behavioral
aspect of the individual such as managing emotions, having a positive attitude etc.

The learning styles used in this session would be visual and auditory. The session is carried
out through lecture and discussion, these would be the ideal learning styles and they facilitate a
better understanding among the trainees.

The session requires participants to have the knowledge about individual work life balance, and
hence it would involve all the three stages of learning i.e. Declarative Learning, Knowledge
Compilation and Proceduralization.
As the queries of the trainees would be addressed through a feedback, the learning principle
involved here is Feedback.

Since the candidates are given some cues on their work life balance after the lecture, i.e., during
the discussion, another learning principle involved here is Comparative Organizers.

Perfect work life balance will help the sales managers to have a better focus on their job as well
as personal life. Therefore it is very important to Focus on Total Quality in this particular area.

Model Eval u a tion

We have used KIRKPATRICK’S MODEL for evaluation of the training program

1. Evaluating Reaction: At this level of evaluation, immediate reaction of the participants is

tested in terms of finding program enjoyable and how much the required training program holds
valence for the individual. This can be evaluated by giving the participants the smiley sheets
which will show their immediate satisfaction level with the training program. Valence of the
program to individual can be tested by asking following questions on a 5 point scale

I found the training program relevant to enhance my job performance.

 The trainers were fair in providing equal opportunity to all the participants for learning.
Certain questions can be open ended in nature
Which training content did you find more useful during the program

Internally, these measurements only serve as one indicator of program quality. Participants’
reactions to the instructor provide one indication of instructor quality when compared to the
instructor’s prior program average and the world-wide average for the same program. By
carefully analyzing and tracking the reaction data, your company can ensure that the quality of
each of its sales training programs is consistently at a high level. These reports can then be
distributed to each instructor for their use in improving the quality of their individual instruction.
Instructors can compare their delivery of a recent program to their “running” average and the
world-wide average. Specific areas of improvement can be noted and suggested.

2. Evaluating Learning: Here the training analyst is concerned with measuring the learning of
principles, facts, techniques and attitudes that were specified as training objectives. The
measures must be objective and quantifiable indicants of learning that has taken place in the
training program. They are not measures of performance of the job. We can evaluate the
learning at this level by paper pencil tests. of three different tools that could be used to ensure
that each participant understands and can apply the new skills taught in sales training programs
are as follows: (1) program activities, using the “live” current sales opportunities of each
participant, (2) a realistic case study, and (3) a structured methodology to understand, test and
improve the sales campaign for each sales opportunity.
One approach to the design and delivery of sales training is to have each participant bring a
“live” sales opportunity to the program. This opportunity forms the basis for program activities
and yields an immediate analysis of the application of learning. Throughout the program, the
instructor guides the participants toward an understanding of the material by effectively
applying the new concepts, processes and methodologies to their sales opportunities.

A second indicator of learning uses a robust and realistic case study that tests the participants’
ability to identify and implement (for example) an effective sales strategy in a sales campaign.
The case study is used to determine whether the participants understand the material delivered
and can apply it effectively.
A third measure is a structured methodology to understand, test and improve each sales
campaign. This process allows participants to present their live sales opportunity to the rest of
the class. The other participants help test that sales opportunity and improve it by applying the
knowledge and skills learned in the sales training program. The result is a fully tested and
improved plan, ready for implementation in a “live” sales campaign.

3. Evaluating Behavior: Unlike the first two levels of measurement, where the evaluation is
done during or immediately following the sales training program, changes in behavior take time
and opportunity for the participants to apply. Consider surveying program participants four to
six months after the completion of the training program to measure behavior. The survey
questions can then be expanded to include both Level 3 and 4 and questions such as:
• Are you consistently using this process in the sales campaign?
• Has the process provided value for you?
• Is your manager using and supporting the process?
• How did the process help you compete more effectively?
• What are you doing differently as a result of the training program?
• What business results did you achieve, using the new process (in terms of specific sales
opportunities closed, including revenue impact)?
Anecdotal data can often then be immediately connected to the training program itself.
Comments like: “By implementing this process, my client now views me as a consultant. I
believe this delivers the message to our clients that I am concerned about the specific business
value I bring to their organization” and “I am now analyzing each sales opportunity in a more
focused manner. The ability for me to communicate with my sales team and sales manager using
the same terminology and in a consistent manner is truly invaluable” demonstrate that the
training program successfully modified the salesperson’s behavior.
Behavior level of evaluation is tested in relation to job performance Increase in customer
satisfaction index, increase in customer base(customer loyalty), increase in appraisal ratings,
Ability to resolve conflicts. Ability to meet annual targets, Check the consistency (reliabilty),
Enhanced focus on work, Enhanced ability to meet targets on time, Making customer understand
the offering, Ratio of conversion of presentation v/s deals, Time taken to finalize the deal, before
and after the training program, Amount of profit brought through the deal, No of clients visits
that were converted to sales and No of customer visits that were converted to sales.

4. Evaluating Results: This level of evaluation is the most difficult to measure. When
implemented correctly, however, this measurement offers the most relevant information
regarding the value of the training program, specifically in terms of return on the training
investment to the organization.
Level 4 data (business results) can be captured in the same survey questionnaire used to secure
Level 3 information. Participants can be asked to report the results or status of the “live” sales
opportunity they brought to the sales training program. In addition, they can be asked to report
on any other sales opportunities in which they applied the new methodology learned in the
training program. The questions used to ascertain Level 4 data need to be very specific, so that
the business results can be clearly linked to the sales training program.

For example, asking the participants “What sales opportunities were closed as a result of
applying the new methodology or process?” can provide the evaluator with an indication that the
business results could be linked to the training program. However, probing further and asking
the participant to “identify the specific contribution the new methodology provided to win the
deal” yields even greater linkage to the training program. Only by asking both questions can the
evaluator begin to attempt to measure the return on investment derived from the training
interventions. This can also be measuring Increase in market share, Increase in sales and
Decrease in customer grievances.

ROI

Training and development is an expensive proposition for any company as it requires investment
of time money and resources. Hence it is imperative that a company calculates return on
investment for every training exercise. Our training program consists of variety of contents
hence it is not possible to use one single measure for the entire program. We have used a
combination of financial and nonfinancial measures to calculate ROI for this training program.
All the measures used have been stated as under:
Return on investment for business development skills can be calculated by doing a comparative
analysis of the increase in sales over the previous financial year. However, to achieve scalable
improvement in productivity and sales, it is imperative that the Customer Relationship
Management module undertaken as a part of this training program is effective. This can be
measured by calculating reduction in number of complaints, increased value of customer
satisfaction index and less number of sales returns.

Success of business is always a measure of combined team effort rather than a one man show.
Thus the need for measuring improvement in team performance becomes important. ROI for
team building module can be calculated by using a 360 degree feedback approach to judge the
reduction in number of inter- and intra-team conflicts.

Efficiency and effectiveness go hand in hand when evaluating the overall performance of a
company. In order to calculate ROI on time management module, we will calculate number of
projects that were completed on or before deadline for the current financial year as compared to
the previous year.

Effectiveness of Business to Business and Business to Customer training modules can be

calculated by measuring the increase in sales. Also, the number of deals converted into sales
will give us the ROI for presentation skills. In order to measure the return on investment for the
entire training program a comprehensive chart would be prepared where in all outputs and inputs
will be assigned quantifiable values. This will then give us the final ROI using the understated
formula.

ROI = ??
Role of the Trainer in a Training Program

The role of the trainer can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful learning
experience. The effective transfer of training depends a lot on the trainer because it is the trainer
only who can remove the mental block of trainee, motivate the trainee to learn, delete the
negative perception of the trainee regarding the training. Besides all this, a lot depends on
personality of trainer also. The trainer’s role is also that of a facilitator, i.e., the trainer should
help learning to take place. This can happen if the trainer can create an atmosphere and
environment that encourages the learning process to take place.

With regard to the content, the trainer should be able to

• Organize and present information in such a way that trainees can use it to increase their
knowledge base,
• Organize and present activities that will reinforce the learning process, and
• Check to see if learning has taken place.
The role of the trainer can be graphically represented as follows:

Any trainer’s effectiveness and efficiency can be identified by the following five key behavioral
aspects:

• Clarity,
• Variety,
• Task orientation,
• Engagement in learning process, and
• Moderate to high rate of success.

A keen observation on these five behaviors says that the trainers have been found to
considerably differ from one another in their enactment, and this variation has been found to
produce significant differences in trainee performance. Let us see how they distinguish one
trainer from another.

CLARITY: It refers to how interpretable or understandable the trainer’s presentation is to the

trainers. Some trainers are able to communicate without wandering or speaking over the heads
of the trainees. Instructors with high degrees of clarity have been found to spend less time going
over the material.

VARIETY: It is how flexible the trainer is when presenting the training material. For example,
effective trainers plan for a mix of different instructional methods like lecture, discussion, case
studies and role plays. They create variety by asking different types of questions such as fact
questions, process questions, convergent questions, and divergent question and give a proper
feedback on how they can enhance their performance through the particular training program.

TASK ORIENTATION: The task oriented behaviors refer to the extent to which the trainer is
achievement-oriented. Trainers with high task orientation are concerned that all the contents of
the training program are covered and are learned as opposed to procedures and focusing on the
trainee’s enjoyment in the program. Effective trainers have high expectations for trainee
learning and make efficient use of the training time. They know what outcomes are to be
achieved in a given period of time, organize the entire training program around these outcomes,
and adhere to these learning goals throughout the training program.

ENGAGEMENT IN LEARNING: Effective trainers engage the trainees in the learning

process by having individualized attention if required and provide opportunities for feedback in
a non evaluative atmosphere.

MODERATE TO HIGH RATES OF SUCCESS: One other characteristic of effective

trainers is their emphasis on moderate to high rates of success from the trainees. The training
content is sequenced in a way that reflects prior learning and is lumped into various sessions that
can be absorbed easily by the trainees. Transitions to new areas and latest technologies would
be presented in easy-to-grasp steps so as to maintain and build trainee self-efficacy.
Training Validity

This means establishing that the knowledge, skills and attitudes taught during the training
program have been imbibed by the trainee or to put it simply, ensuring that the trainees have
learnt during the training program. We will achieve this type of validity in our training program
with the help of various tests and assessments conducted during the training program. The
participants understanding of concepts will be determined before the undertaking the training
and then after undergoing the training program to establish training validity.

Transfer Validity

This implies checking whether the knowledge, skills and attitudes learnt during the training
program have aided in improving performance at work. Many a times, it so happens that the
trainees learn new skills during the training program, however, when they go back to their jobs
they do not use these skills. In such a case the entire purpose of the training program is defeated.
Hence, we will establish transfer validity by taking feedback from the participants and their
superiors to ensure all that has been learnt in training has been transferred and applied to the
work environment.

Intra- organisational Validity

Intra-organizational validity of this training program can be measured by comparing the

performance of a group of managers who have been provided training with another group of
managers who were provided the similar training in the past. If the performance of different sets
of managers who were provided a similar training program is similar, then we can say that the
training program has the intra-organizational validity.

Inter- organisational Validity

Since every organization has its specific requirements and this training program focuses on the
advanced selling skills of the first line managers which are specific to this organization, it would
be difficult to implement this particular program in other organizations.