That's a tough question. But here's a tougher one: What if you don't train them and they stay?

This question brings up one of the key points made in the book The Acorn Principle by Jim Cathcart. It basically suggests that people who are not trained properly will end up costing you a great deal more money than those who are trained even if the people who are trained end up leaving your company. It also parallels other issues related to dealership selling activities. When we consult with dealers, we spend most of our time looking into how much business is walking out the door. We focus on the opportunities that should have turned into profits but didn't. Believe me, far more revenue is lost because of untrained or undisciplined staff than will ever be lost on a training investment.

Statistical support

One example of the impact of training is the difference in retention between people who are trained in active listening versus those who have no training. To simplify, we'll call them "hearers" and "listeners". Studies show that hearers are only able to remember about 25% of what is told to them. By contrast, listeners are able to remember as much as 85%. When you have hearers sitting across from customers, they usually tune out what the customer is saying because their focus is on giving an answer. And the chance that they'll present a product that meets the customer's needs isn't too good either. End result? You'll never see that customer again.

Working the numbers

Let's say you invested as much as $1000.00 per year in training for each sales consultant. Most people would ask, "How many additional cars would they need to sell in order to pay for it?" One or two? And that seems like a plausable ROI if they sell more than two cars. Now look it our way. How many escaped shoppers will be saved per salesperson if you invest the thousand in quality training? Ten? Twenty? When you look at it this way, the benefits of training are unquestionable and the investment is "Chicken feed".

Whatever you do with your business, don't neglect the value of a well trained staff. It is one of the best investments you can ever make!