TSE 1002: What If I Train Them And They Leave?

Many leaders avoid adequately training their team members because of a single looming question: What if I train them and they leave?

They structure their businesses so that multiple people work on a single project while other projects sit undone. It costs them money and productivity.

If you're one of those managers, I'll offer you a different consideration: what if you don't train them and they stay?

We're devoting the month of January to the topic of mental toughness, and today's topic is directed at business and sales leaders as well as sellers.

Leaders

When team members aren't trained well, they won't be effective at their jobs. When team members aren't effective at their jobs, the manager will have to help them do their jobs in addition to doing his own.

Leaders who fear employee departure often choose not to provide the necessary training, but the reality is that many of those untrained employees end up staying in their jobs. [3:37]

What if they stay with you and they don't know what they are doing?

Financial considerations

Imagine your employee makes $40,000 a year. Are you willing to pay him $40,000 despite the fact that he doesn't know what he's doing, and then require someone who is making $60,000 a year to help him do his job?

Maybe you'll eventually fire the person because he isn't performing. [04:23]

When you let someone go, you may end up paying unemployment benefits, and then you'll incur the cost of hiring someone new.

Whether you use an agency or review the resumes yourself, you'll have to invest time trying to find someone who already has training.

Cyclical

Even if your new hire does have sales training, she won't know your process. She won't be able to perfectly understand your organization, so she won't immediately be effective.

If you choose not to provide training, you'll be back in the same cycle three months after you hire her. [05:04]

You will have spent countless amounts of money to avoid spending money on training. You'll suffer from lost opportunity and lost revenue.

Long-term benefits

Imagine you have three employees. After you train them, one of them leaves your organization.

First of all, consider why the person is leaving. Is it possible that you're not paying enough? Does your organization lack direction for its employees? Don't miss a chance to evaluate why people are leaving. [06:36]

Even if you have a great situation, people may still leave. They may have to move out of state for family reasons or something else. People don't stay in one place forever.

If one leaves, you still have two great employees who are giving you money back.

If you don't train them, you'll likely lose thousands in sales because they aren't good at their jobs.

Do the math

When I was a young seller, I worked for a company that spent probably $7,000 training me to be an effective seller, and I'm thankful for it.

After my training, I landed a $30,000 deal as one of my first big successes. [07:52]

You don't have to be a scientist to understand that $30,000 is a good return on $7,000.

If you invest in your people, they'll love you, they'll stay with your company, and they'll earn you more money.

For sellers

When you're considering your next organization, find out what kind of sales training they provide. Even if you're a seller with a 10-year track record, it's ok to consider training programs at prospective companies. [08:58]

If they don't offer coaching or continuing education, that might be a red flag. If they aren't willing to invest in you, consider other organizations that will.

Do it yourself

Sales leaders might consider providing the training themselves as a way to save money, and it might be true that they're able to do it. For me, though I'm able to change my own oil and cut my own hair, I don't do it. [10:21]

Just because we're capable of something doesn't mean we're the best person for the job. Consider the opportunity costs and the cost for you to stop your own work in order to train other people.

If sales is the most important unit in your organization, if it's the lifeblood of the company, why not continue to educate your team. Give them podcasts to listen to or books to read.

Don't hurt your company by trying to save a dime.

"What If I Train Them And They Leave?" episode resources

This episode is brought to you in part by prospect.io, a powerful sales automation platform that allows you to build highly personalized, cold email campaigns. To learn more, go to prospect.io/tse. It will help you with your outbound to expand your outreach. It allows you to set it and forget it. Your prospecting will never ever be the same.

Previously known as TSE Hustler's League, our TSE Certified Sales Program offers modules that you can engage on your own schedule as well as opportunities to engage with other sellers in other industries.

This episode is brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It's super easy, it's helpful, and I recommend that you try it out.

You'll receive real-time alerts anyone opens an email or clicks a link.

I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss a single episode, and share with your friends!

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.

 

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com