Know-how alone is not enough to change behaviour
Training can teach a mindset, provide practice in a conversation and correct reflexes through simulation. On its own, however, it cannot instill the discipline required to prepare for every strategic meeting over six months, nor the courage needed to resist the urge to sell too quickly.
If a representative knows what needs to be done but does not do it, adding more content to a training program addresses a symptom, not the cause. The cause usually lies elsewhere: in incentives, follow-up and the absence of consequences when preparation is inadequate.
This is why training on engaging with senior leaders produces a lasting effect only when accompanied by a follow-up framework. Without one, participants attend the workshop, perform well in their simulation and receive encouraging feedback… then return to their previous practices within the next two or three weeks because there is no mechanism to sustain what they have learned.
What the system still rewards
Most compensation and performance-management systems reward short-term results, not relationship-building efforts. This is enough to explain why a quick pitch takes precedence over thorough preparation.
A sales cycle involving a decision-maker can extend over several quarters, sometimes more than a year, for contracts whose value justifies such a timeline. During that period, the representative has little to show at quarter-end that resembles a tangible result. If they are judged primarily on sales closed within 90 days, they will not invest in a relationship that will not pay off for a long time.
No training program can resolve this contradiction.
This raises several important questions: Does the commission structure penalize the time devoted to strategic accounts? Do quarterly targets leave genuine room for long sales cycles? Do pipeline reviews recognize the quality of access gained with a senior leader, or only how close the opportunity is to being signed?
What needs to be put in place after the training
Training becomes useful when it serves as a catalyst for a change in discipline that the manager then reinforces every day:
- A structured reminder before each strategic meeting: What business issue are we intending to address, and why would this leader give us their time?
- Regular field observation: Accompanying a representative to a meeting with a C-level executive, or listening to a recording, reveals within minutes whether they are applying the mindset taught or reverting to their usual reflexes.
- Pipeline reviews that assess the quality of access, not just progress: Is the representative speaking with a decision-maker or an intermediary? Is the relationship progressing toward other members of the executive team, or remaining stuck with a single contact?
- Consequences for inadequate preparation: If nothing changes when a representative improvises in front of a senior leader, the discipline taught in training will not survive the first quarter-end deadline.
What training can actually deliver
Once these conditions are in place, the real problem has been identified, incentives have been examined and a follow-up framework has been established, targeted training can find its place as a concrete starting point.
The Strategic sales: understanding and convincing executive leaders program does not claim to transform behaviour in three days. It provides a shared frame of reference: understanding how C-level executives make decisions, structuring an approach according to the leader’s role and priorities, and practising through realistic simulations with immediate feedback. These are elements that the manager can then embed in their coaching routines.
The cognitive-ability assessment and individual debrief also help identify where each representative’s real difficulty lies: a lack of understanding of the mindset to adopt, or a more personal difficulty maintaining confidence under pressure. This distinction changes what you need to do next as a manager.
Training provides a common vocabulary and initial practice. Lasting change is built afterwards—in your pipeline reviews, your incentives and your willingness, or lack thereof, to tolerate improvisation in front of a senior leader.
Source
McKinsey – Sales incentives that boost growth
