Ultimate Guide to Building Your Sales Team Development Plan and Budget
Building your sales team development plan and sales training budget for the next year can be daunting. That’s why I’ve compiled tips from my 20+ years in the industry to help make this as painless as possible!
Table of Contents:
The Current State of Sales Training
Every year Training Magazine releases its Training Industry report. I read it cover to cover and then pull out some important nuggets of information.
Here are a few that stood out to me:
- Training payroll was down 9% last year – Big shock, right? We’re all in this economy together. We all know people who have lost jobs.
- Training hours/per employee was down 8% – Makes sense, we have no one left to train the team.
- External vendor spending was up 20% – We cut headcount and realized we still needed training so we hired external vendors.
In today’s sales world, training isn’t just important – it’s critical. We’re short on reps but not on quota, low on training and resources, and everyone’s working from home without role models to learn from. And let’s face it, customers expect more while the flood of (terrible) outreach makes it harder to stand out.
A buddy of mine who used to be the head of sales at Outreach said it used to take 5-7 touches to get a prospect talking, and now, it’s more than double. The noise is real, selling is harder, and ramp times are stretching while tenures are shrinking. So, stop skimping on sales training. It’s tough out there, and our teams need every advantage.
Why Sales Team Development is Critical
Another reason not to skip out on sales training is these staggering numbers…
- 98% of reps would stay indefinitely with a company if they received ongoing development. (Ambition)
- Forbes reported that “Development Opportunities” ranks #1 when Millennials are considering companies.
- #1 company benefit able to RETAIN top talent = training and development (Factor 8 Retention Survey)
- #1 company benefit to LURE AWAY top talent = training and development (Factor 8 Retention Survey)
- Only 50% of reps feel they get the training they need to be successful (Emblaze)
TIP: If your team offers ongoing training and development, make sure your HR/recruiting team incorporates that into your job postings!
Why We Need to Build Skills Faster
Ramp time is everything. The reality today? We’re training a lot of fresh-out-of-college sellers (or non-college grads), and the timeline isn’t working in our favor. It’s taking them 6 months just to hit quota, and by month 14, most are already heading for the door. Think about that, over half of our reps don’t make it past 14 months. That’s a huge investment in time and money that we’re throwing away.
So, how do we change this? We need to get reps to quota faster, plain and simple. When they hit quota sooner, they stick around longer. I’ve built new hire programs throughout my career, and I can tell you, sales training works:
- At IBM, improving our new hire program cut churn by more than 50%
- At SAP, our inside sales reps were ramping up faster than the field reps, contributing to a 90% retention rate
- At Waste Management, it used to take 6 months for reps to make their first sale, we got them their first sale in a week.
Training is the game-changer. When reps feel that early success, they stay. It’s as simple as that.
Seasoned sales leaders know what it was like when we first started out. We didn’t have hand-holding; we figured it out as we went. We manually dialed phones, pressed the record button ourselves, and learned by trial and error. That mindset makes it easy to underestimate how much help today’s reps need. But the truth is, investing in development fixes so many of the issues we see with our teams: from new hires trying to find their footing, to field reps adjusting to virtual, to the small groups left standing after layoffs.
Bottom line: sales skill-building isn’t just nice to have, it’s the key to retention and performance. Let’s start ramping our reps faster and watch the difference it makes.
Top Sales Skills to Train
- Call Goals – Reps need help mapping out each step and knowing exactly what the goal of every call should be to keep deals moving.
- Running Online Sales Meetings – Virtual meetings are here to stay, so reps need to know how to run them in a way that’s engaging and keeps prospects hooked.
- Demos That Don’t Suck – Let’s be real, most demos are a snoozefest. Reps need a game plan for delivering demos that grab attention and close deals.
- Planning for Prospecting – Most reps dread prospecting, but training them to prep smarter helps them work faster and get more done in less time.
- What Customers Care About – Reps need to know what makes buyers tick and tailor their approach to what matters most to their audience.
- Stopping Deals Going Dark Between Calls – Deals tend to go dark when reps don’t know how to keep the momentum. Reps need strategies to stay top of mind and keep deals alive.
- Having Engaging Conversations – Every conversation should build trust and move the deal forward. Reps need the skills to make that happen.
- Day/Time Management – Most reps spend way too much time not selling. Training them on day management helps them stay out of the weeds and focused on revenue-driving activities.
- Gaining Referrals – Referred customers close faster and stick around longer. Reps should be pros at asking for and leveraging referrals.
- Voicemails – Great voicemails can boost callback rates by 3-5x. Reps need to know how to leave ones that get results.
- Intros – Reps have only seconds to make an impression. A killer intro is non-negotiable.
- Value Props (AKA the Pitch) – Too many reps pitch too soon or miss the mark on value. They need to know how to craft and deliver a value-driven pitch at just the right time.
Download: Top Virtual Sales Challenges
Why Budget for Sales Manager Training
Only about 30% of companies invest in training for their managers, and it shows: 60% of managers fail out of their role within the first year. Shocking? Maybe not. Here’s why budgeting for manager development is so crucial:
- They own every rep
- They own every customer
- They own every deal
Most companies pour their resources into reps because that’s where they see immediate ROI. But here’s the thing: while you might have 100 reps, only 5-6 managers oversee all those reps, customers, and deals. And these managers are BURNT OUT, nearly 50% according to LinkedIn.
I learned just how tough it is when I ran into an old colleague who’s now a Sales Director. At a wedding, I joked, “Hey, Chris, you must love this virtual work setup, right? No commute!” He sighed and said, “Virtual is great for everyone except sales managers. It’s rough.” And he’s right. I’ve had every job in sales and I now own three companies, sales management was my toughest role yet.
Burnout is real, and we expect our managers to be like Ted Lasso, coaching, motivating, and making magic happen. But here’s the difference: Ted spends hours on the practice field, with a 10:1 practice-to-game ratio. Your managers? They’re lucky if they get a 1:50 ratio, squeezing in 5 hours of daily calls and maybe 1 hour of weekly training. And that’s without factoring in new hires. My friend Dave said it best: “We give them about 3 weeks of systems training, then they practice on customers.” Yikes.
Ted lives on the practice field; your managers are stranded on an island. And they’re coaching teams of entry-level reps who lack business acumen and are terrified of the phone.
Moral of the story: budget for manager training. Give your managers the support, skills, and development they need to thrive. They’re the key to getting your teams to quota.
Building a Better Partnership Between Revenue and Enablement
If you need to partner with enablement or revenue leadership, alignment is key. Early on, I learned that my superpower is the whisperer who can translate between revenue and enablement. That’s why I put together the cheat sheet below. Use it to bridge the gap, get aligned, and make sure you’re speaking the same language to get what you need for your reps and managers.
DOWNLOAD: How to Partner with Busy Sales Leaders
Training Before Tools: The Conversation We Need to Have with Sales Leaders
When talking to sales leaders, emphasize training before tools. Show them the spend, analyze the processes, and start there. Leaders tend to pull one of three levers when tackling problems: people, process, or tech/tools.
- Process is all about consistency—repeating the right things, the same way, over and over.
- Tech/Tools focus on efficiency and speed.
- People are about quality and skills—that’s where we, as enablement leaders, live.
Here’s the issue: leaders are spending double on AI-based tools compared to training. They’d rather buy a shiny new tool than invest in building their team’s skills. Just look at the average number of tools per rep (5-10) and the flood of automated, AI-generated, subpar emails we all get daily. We’re bypassing quality and going straight to consistency and efficiency.
Reps today come with less experience, fewer skills, and more to learn to meet rising customer demands. They don’t have the fundamental selling and communication skills to truly benefit from AI. We need to sit down with our sales leaders and have this conversation: tools are great, but training is essential.
What to Budget for Sales Training and Development
In general, industry standards say you should budget 1-3% of your total annual budget for employee development. But let’s make it easier: budget 2-5% of your employee’s salary for training. And remember, these numbers cover every industry (from forklift drivers to CEOs).
For your sales training budget, we need to be on the higher side—expect sales training cost to be around 3-6% of your reps’ salaries.
Here’s the quick math:
- Average Sales OTE Salary = $90K x 3% = $2,700 per rep
- Average Sales OTE Salary = $90K x 4% = $3,600 per rep
- Average Sales OTE Salary = $90K x 5% = $4,500 per rep
(That’s about $50 for every $1K of salary)
Overall Internal Training Budget
If you’re new to training or enablement budgets, here’s what to ask for based on your company size:
- Large company average training budget: $16M
- Medium company average training budget: $1.5M
- Small company average training budget: $500,000
This is your total training budget, not just for external spend. For external training, most companies spend 10-15% of their total budget.
External Sales Training Budget
Here’s a quick look at what companies are spending on external sales training vendors:
- Large companies: $1.2M
- Midsize companies: $120,000
- Small companies: $75,000
Top External Spends
- 12% on management training
- 11% on onboarding
- 7% on sales training
Other spending usually covers tools, learning management systems, and instructional design.
DOWNLOAD: How to Partner with Busy Sales Leaders Checklist
What’s Being Outsourced?
- 59% of instruction is outsourced—vendors come in and do the training.
- 41% is delivered in-house with a vendor-provided curriculum.
And this isn’t changing anytime soon. According to Training Mag, 89% of companies expect these numbers to stay steady.
What Skills Are We Training?
Since the shift to remote work, communication skills have been the big focus (no shocker there). Other areas getting attention include:
- Business skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Gamification
- Course design
- DEI initiatives
DOWNLOAD: Sales Training Vendor Partner Checklist
Top Challenges for Training and Enablement Leaders
- Lack of resources
- Low learning engagement (cue gamification!)
Sales Training Budgeting Tips
- Make It an Annual Line Item. You’ve got a budget for recruiting and tools, so why not training? Your managers need this to keep their teams engaged.
- No Budget? Get Creative. Re-route spiff funds or tap into your tools budget. I know sales leaders who took a rep headcount and turned it into a coach/trainer role, making every rep better—and they saw higher ROI.
- Budget MORE. If any of the following apply to you, plan to budget 1.5-3x:
- Major GTM, strategy, or channel change (e.g., going virtual)
- Big competition, industry, or product change
- No training in over a year
- Teams have gone hybrid or remote
- Increased or new goals
- Hire a Development Resource. If you’re a startup wondering when to hire a trainer, aim for when you have 25-50 employees.
- Remember, Good Training Takes Time. It can take someone at the manager or director level 6-18 months to build a solid onboarding program (consider outsourcing for sales, systems, etc.).
How to Get Approval for Your Sales Training Budget
If you want to secure budget for sales training, the key is to show ROI or projected ROI. Here are some powerful stats to back you up:
- 2x Profit per Employee – Companies that prioritize training see double the profit per employee compared to those that don’t (HR Magazine).
- 2x Income per Employee – Companies that offer thorough training earn double the income per employee compared to those that skimp on training (ATD).
- 50% Faster Time to Quota – Good training can slash onboarding time to quota by 50% (Training Magazine).
- 63% Improvement in Manager Performance – Teams with managers who receive development see an average of 63% performance improvement (CSO Insights).
- 353% Sales Training ROI – Sales training delivers an impressive 353% ROI (Highspot, NH University).
Use these stats to build your case, and don’t forget to show how investing in training impacts the bottom line, whether that’s shortening ramp time, boosting rep performance, or improving retention.
Maximizing Your Sales Training ROI
If you’re investing in sales training, make sure you’re squeezing every drop of ROI out of it. Here’s how:
- Go Beyond New Hire Training – A lot of places crush it with new hire training but stop there, which means reps are out there struggling and figuring it out solo. Space it out! Even if you have limited training time, don’t pack it all upfront.
- Train Managers First – This is huge. Why? Because better-trained managers mean better interactions with reps. Remember, reps join companies but leave bosses. When managers understand what good training looks like, they engage more, coach better, and partner with you to drive development.
- Get Custom – Find the sweet spot between speed and personalization. Off-the-shelf training is fast, but built-from-scratch takes too long. Go for custom solutions that let you tailor without sacrificing speed.
- Slow Your Roll – You can’t pour everything into their heads at once. Just-in-time training is key. Trim down your new hire program, so reps don’t feel overwhelmed. Bring them back for more at months 1, 2, and beyond. This keeps them confident and builds skills over time.
- Use Interaction, Not Video – Videos alone won’t break habits or change behavior. True training needs interaction and real practice. Read more on why video training isn’t real training here.
What Does Good Inside Sales Training Look Like?
Most companies are training internally for only 4-5 hours a month, and that number has dipped from 5 to closer to 4 over the past year.
- NOT Just Company/Product Training – Product and systems training isn’t enough. Focus on tactical skills that help reps build their careers.
- Professional Trainer or Curriculum – Don’t keep it all in-house. Bringing in a pro adds credibility and expertise.
- Training AND Coaching – Know the difference and make sure both reps and managers are part of it. Training is learning new skills; coaching is applying and reinforcing them.
- Learners Love Certifications – Give them something to show off and add to their LinkedIn. It makes them proud and keeps them engaged.
- Go Beyond the Classroom – Spice it up with huddles, meetings, and contests. Make it fun!
- Involve Your Leaders – Manager buy-in is crucial for making training stick. When leaders are part of new hire training, onboarding, and coaching, reps take it more seriously.
- Make It Easy for Leaders to Coach – Fast and simple is key. That’s why we built The Sales Bar at Factor 8. Managers who spend their weekends creating training content don’t have the bandwidth. They’re already juggling too much, and half of them are burnt out.
- LinkedIn Learning (Alone) Doesn’t Count – Watching videos isn’t training; it’s edutainment. People forget 50% of what they hear by the end of the day and 90% by the end of the week. True training requires practice, application, and reinforcement to make skills stick.
Smart Spends vs. Money Wasters
Before you drop money on sales training, make sure it’s going to the right places:
Where to Spend Your Money:
- Customization – If you’re using an external training company, check how much they customize. Have them show you what’s tailored and how.
- Measure Baselines First – Always know your starting point to prove ROI. This protects your budget. If managers aren’t giving you data, go straight to Ops.
- Ongoing Reinforcement vs. Events – One-time events create a short buzz, but everyone reverts back afterward. Invest in long-term partnerships to keep training from becoming just a “flavor of the month.”
- Manager Training – Managers are key to keeping rep skills alive, but they need to be trained on how to do that effectively.
- On-Demand Tools – Make it easy for managers with tools like coaching guides and activities.
- Live Interactive Sessions – eLearning can be boring when it’s just talking heads. Make it engaging with real interactions, live call reviews, and fun elements to keep energy high.
Where Not to Waste Your Money:
- Not Involving Managers – Manager buy-in is essential to make sure they reinforce what reps learn.
- Managers Owning All Training – Most managers aren’t great trainers (I know because I was one!). It’s not their core skill, so don’t leave training entirely to them.
- Talking Head Video e-Learning – Videos alone don’t change behavior. You can’t just tell someone what to do and expect it to stick.
- One-Stop eLearning Libraries – More content doesn’t mean better content. Massive libraries may seem like a bargain, but they often lack impact.
- SKO Training – SKOs are great (I’m here for the speaking gigs!), but they’re mostly edutainment. They inspire and motivate, but real training? Minimal. Use SKOs for hype, not skill-building.
- Training Before Changing Expectations – If you haven’t adjusted expectations, comp plans, rewards, or systems that might block behavior change, you’re throwing money away.
Virtual Sales Training Checklist
If you’re investing in virtual training specifically, make sure it checks these boxes for maximum effectiveness:
- Interactive – Get Hands Dirty Every 5 Slides
Don’t let your training turn into a snooze-fest. Make sure there’s interaction at least every 5 slides. Whether it’s a poll, a Q&A, or a quick discussion, keep it engaging. Videos alone don’t cut it—videos are not training! - Micro – Nothing Over 20 Minutes
Break it down into bite-sized pieces. Reps lose focus with long, drawn-out sessions. Keep each module under 20 minutes to ensure attention stays sharp and retention stays high. - Mid-Level Bloom’s Testing – Scenario-Based Interactions
Test more than just knowledge. Use interactions that challenge reps to apply what they’re learning. Scenario-based questions are perfect for this—they show how well reps can use their skills in real-world situations. - Multi-Modal – Engage All the Senses
Use a variety of formats to keep reps interested and involved. Incorporate call samples for listening, scripts and templates for reading, and hands-on practice for doing. This multi-modal approach ensures reps learn through different channels and retain more. - Fun & Casual – Make it Entertaining
Training doesn’t need to be serious 24/7. Add some humor, informality, and competition to the mix. Gamification, leaderboards, or friendly contests make training more enjoyable and motivate reps to stay engaged. - Involve Managers – Provide Toolkits and Tailored Paths
Your managers need to be part of the training process. Equip them with toolkits and separate training paths to help them reinforce what reps are learning. Include live sessions that focus on coaching and skill reinforcement. And don’t forget success measurements—tracking progress helps keep everyone accountable and shows the impact of the training.
Crafting a sales team development plan and a sales training budget is no small task, but with the right approach, it can unlock your team’s potential and set them up for success in the year ahead. Ready to take the next step? Let us help you create a winning plan and budget! Schedule a call with us today to get started!
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