The Reluctance of Top Management: A Major Obstacle to Sales Training in the Biotech Companies in Nigeria

Abstract

Sales training program is a vital link in the process of converting the recruit into a productive salesperson. The money which is spent on recruiting and selecting salespeople may be wasted if their selection is not followed up with the proper training programs. Additionally, experienced sales people may not improve or even maintain the productivity if they are not provided with an adequate amount of continual training. However, this study was undertaken to know the top management commitment to sales training in the Biotech companies in Nigeria. Both primary and secondary source were used to garner data for the study. Questionnaire was the principal source of the primary data, while interview was complementary. Taro Yamane formula was used to determine the sample size of 244 salespeople out of the 624 population from the top ten Biotech companies in Nigeria. Hypothesis was tested using ANOVA. The result shows an ANOVA (F) value of 0.961 which is less than the critical F-value of 1.880, suggesting that the top management in the Biotech companies in Nigeria is not dedicated to sales training. Hence, the top management in this industry is falling short of the guided theory of Chester Barnard which suggests that the role of executive managers was to define the purpose of the organization; to establish a communication system; and to develop an appropriate system of incentive to recruit and train, retain and motivate employees of the organization.

Keywords

Sales training, Top Management, Biotech Companies, Training Assessment, Training Content, Program Design