Have you ever conducted a sales training session and caught a glimpse of someone with a glazed, far-away look in their eyes? Maybe that's even happened to you during a meeting or seminar where you just couldn't connect with the presentation.

The problem was not with you, and it's not with your staff either. Effective sales training works when all participants are engaged, but that's not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Everyone processes information through their set of filters, so they feel disconnected if a presentation doesn't address their preferences. Once their attention is lost, it's nearly impossible to recapture.

Why your sales training isn't working

Using the quadrants concept of Whole Brain Thinking, you can discover how your employees think and what's important to them. Use that information to tailor your sales training so that it incorporates these quadrants in some fashion.

Here is what a typical sales staff might look like. Do you see your employees in any of them?

• Mark is firmly in the Blue Quadrant, interested in logic, reason, and facts. If he sees the training as a series of theoretical ideas, he'll become skeptical of anything you present.
  
  
• Courtney is a practical Green Quadrant thinker who appreciates detail and organization. She's easily frustrated by a lack of continuity or a sense of randomness.
  
  
• Katie is a Red Quadrant thinker who places value on personal connections and feelings. When she becomes just a face in the crowd, she feels a growing sense of isolation.
  
  
• Brad's Yellow Quadrant thinking makes him the creative one who responds strongly to visual stimuli. A series of talking heads has him bored in no time.

As the saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If your sales training leaves out any of these quadrants, it results in reduced participation in team exercises and project collaborations. Without valuable input from members of one or more quadrants, your staff's effectiveness is weakened.

Increasing engagement from all employees

Once you understand your employees and their priorities, you can create a more a more effective sales training method using strategies to keep them all engaged. Here are some tips:

• Talk in specifics, not hypotheticals. Instead of saying, "This technique will increase your sales," give a percentage or some other quantifiable result.
  
  
• Use visual aids such as PowerPoint presentations and videos. While some may contain facts and figures, you can also include content like simulated sales calls or questions to stimulate an exchange of ideas.
  
  
• Incorporate role-playing and other interactive exercises that encourage bonding between employees along with sharing of knowledge.
  
  
• Make sure the session follows a logical flow. While questions should be welcome, don't allow yourself to get sidetracked to the point of losing the overall purpose of the training.
  
  
• After each training session, solicit input from your employees. This helps you see what worked and what didn't while making them feel like part of the process.

Effective sales training goes beyond giving instructions. When all your employees are engaged enough to take away something of value, you'll see the difference in their morale and your sales figures.