How to Create A Sales Team Development Plan and Budget
Professional development opportunities play a major role in an employee’s decision to change jobs. Numerous studies support this, including our recent Sales Team Retention survey. If you want to improve employee satisfaction and reduce turnover, a sales team development plan should be a priority.
Giving your reps a roadmap to build their skills and advance their careers gives them another reason to stay with your organization. Here are some practical tips for building a development plan that supports your sales team.
Why is sales team development critical?
Sales team development plays a big role in retaining talent. In fact, Ambition found that 98% of sales reps would stay with a company forever if they were given ongoing development opportunities.
Replacing sales talent isn’t cheap, either. Losing a salesperson costs an average of $115,000.
Your sales team is only as strong as the people on it. Investing in their individual and collective development helps them build the skills they need to hit quota and contribute to revenue growth.
How to build a sales team development plan
Sales development doesn’t happen on its own. It takes planning, consistent effort, and a commitment of resources from your organization.
A clear plan helps you get from Point A to Point B. That means defining roles, identifying resources, setting expectations, and establishing timelines. Here are eight steps to help you get started.
1. Establish a sales development budget
On average, 1–3% of the total annual budget should be earmarked for development. According to the 2025 Training Industry Report, small companies spent an average of $112,412 on outsourced training, compared to $309,431 for midsize companies and $409,778 for large organizations.
Spending too much or too little can create problems. Overspending without measurable results can hurt executive buy-in, while underspending may leave your team without the support they need to improve.
Start by understanding your team’s needs and what you want to accomplish. From there, you can establish a realistic budget that supports your goals.
Download our Sales Training Budget Guide to help you determine how much to budget for development.
2. Reallocate unused resources
There’s no point in spending money on tools and resources that no one uses. Before requesting more budget, take a look at what you’re already spending.
You may find opportunities to redirect unused dollars toward training and development without increasing your overall costs.
3. Identify high-impact opportunities
Sales development budgets aren’t unlimited, so it’s important to know where your time and money will have the greatest impact.
This is where strong sales managers make a difference. When managers have the support and authority to make decisions about resources, they’re better equipped to help reps throughout onboarding and beyond.
Effective managers also recognize that the way training is delivered matters. Live, in-person and virtual training sessions both have their place.
For teams that work in the same location, getting everyone together for in-person training can be a welcome change from the usual routine. For remote or geographically dispersed teams, live virtual training offers a practical alternative.
Whenever possible, prioritize live training over pre-recorded videos. Giving reps the opportunity to ask questions, practice skills, and interact with their peers creates a more engaging learning experience.
4. Prioritize your tools and tech stack
Not every sales tool delivers the value you expect. For example, some sales teams invest in expensive digital resource libraries that reps rarely use.
Take a closer look at your current tools and determine which ones are actually helping your team do their jobs better.
Rather than evaluating technology solely by its product category, such as an “asset management platform,” consider the problem it’s supposed to solve. Is it helping reps find information, learn new skills, or improve performance?
Looking at tools this way may reveal simpler, more effective solutions. In some cases, an interactive training session may be more valuable than another platform filled with pre-recorded videos.
5. Make use of free resources
Not every development opportunity needs a big budget. There are plenty of free courses, webinars, and training resources available online.
These resources can be especially valuable when you use them in an interactive group setting. The key is to give reps more than just a link to watch.
Prepare discussion questions, exercises, or opportunities to practice what they’ve learned. When reps actively participate in training and apply new skills, they’re more likely to remember and use them in real sales conversations.
6. Think outside the classroom
Training and lecturing are two different things. Lecturing is telling someone how to do something, while training is actually showing them how to put those skills into practice.
Get new hires out of the classroom and into real-world situations where they can observe experienced reps, practice conversations, and build confidence using their new skills.
7. Focus on moving the needle
Hiring and training salespeople is an investment. Getting a return on that investment takes more than a single training session.
Skill retention requires practice, repetition, and reinforcement. Without those things, even great training can lose its impact.
Make time for follow-up sessions, coaching, and regular feedback. Good coaching reinforces what reps learned in training and helps them understand what they’re doing well and where they still need to improve.
8. Leverage gamification
Gamification can be an effective way to improve retention and encourage problem-solving.
Giving new hires opportunities to solve problems and demonstrate skills outside the pressure of the sales floor creates a safer environment for trying new things.
Contests, competitions, and other interactive activities can also make skill practice more engaging while helping reps apply what they’ve learned.
Who needs a sales development plan?
Wondering whether your team really needs a sales development plan?
The answer is YES if you want to:
- Meet quota consistently
- Retain your team over the long haul
- Improve morale
- Grow and scale your business
Every sales department, regardless of size, needs the right skills and knowledge to succeed. A well-structured sales development plan helps your team build those skills, put them into practice, and continue improving over time.
Reach out to learn more about our customizable virtual sales training programs and how we can help your team perform at its best.