Sales training costs are high due to a combination of direct and indirect expenses, while the costs of trainees who quit are often overlooked because they are primarily “hidden” or indirect costs not captured in standard financial reports.
Why Sales Training Costs Are High
- Customization and Expertise: High-quality sales training is often tailored to a company’s specific product, industry, and sales cycle, requiring expert facilitators who command high fees.
- Time and Resources: Costs include training materials, technology (LMS platforms), facility rentals, and travel expenses for trainers and trainees.
- Lost Productivity: The most significant indirect cost is the time employees spend away from selling during training, which directly impacts revenue generation.
Why Businesses Overlook Trainee Turnover Costs
- Focus on Direct Costs: Most businesses focus on easily quantifiable expenses like recruitment and initial training fees, while ignoring the less obvious financial impacts of turnover.
- Hidden Costs: The true damage from an employee departure includes lost institutional knowledge, decreased morale among remaining staff, disruptions to customer relationships, and the time it takes for a new hire to reach full productivity (which can be 6-18 months).
- Accounting Practices: Standard accounting does not typically track these indirect costs with the same rigor as direct expenditures, making them less visible to leadership.
