Improving sales performance through the institutionalization of a sales training program

Company A and Company B are sister companies whose primary activity is to sub-license broadcast rights of Pay TV channels to Cable TV and Direct-To-Home Operators in the Philippines. The focus of this Integrative Action Research was on improving the performance of the Account Executives for both companies through the institutionalization of a training program. Focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews were conducted during the action research cycles. Together with academic and professional literature, the Five Whys technique and the Ladder of Inference helped us identify the root cause of our training problem, the Force Field Analysis was used to determine the appropriate interventions, while Kurt Lewins Change Model was applied during the two action research cycles to implement the needed changes. The first cycles intervention was the creation of a Sales Training Manual while the second cycle involved an in-house training and an on-the-field application. Because of these interventions, we were able to attain our objectives in creating (1) A structured training program for newly hired Account Executives, (2) Establishment of customer profiling templates, and (3) A standardized approach to selling. These objectives lead to changes in the sales department. We were able to add knowledge and improve the selling skills of Account Executives as well as improve their selling attitudes and behavior that can enhance sales revenue for the organization. Through this Integrative Action Research project, the researcher and co-researchers learned that close collaboration within the organization is important to satisfactorily analyze, segment and address complex tasks and issues