In many Sales Organisations, sales training often gets packaged as off sites, workshops, or e-learning modules. Slides are presented, frameworks are discussed, and role plays are enacted. Yet, when the dust settles, frontline execution often remains patchy.
Why? Because the most powerful form of training — On-The-Job Training (OJT) — is either ignored, under-practiced, or left to chance.
What is OJT, really?
On-the-job training is not about shadowing once or filling a checklist. It’s about sales leaders, managers, and supervisors working alongside their teams in real customer situations, coaching them where it matters most — at the “moment of truth.”
Think of it as applied learning:
- Classroom concepts → tested live.
- Scripts → adapted to objections.
- Theory → turned into conviction.
Why OJT is being forgotten
- Time Pressure: Leaders prefer reviews and dashboards over field time.
- Over-Reliance on L&D: Companies think training is only HR’s or external trainers’ responsibility.
- Comfort Zones: It is easier to “instruct” than to “demonstrate.”
- Virtual Culture: Post-pandemic, Zoom replaced ride-alongs — but remote observation often lacks depth.
Why OJT still matters (maybe more than ever)
- Immediate Feedback: Corrections happen in real-time, not weeks later.
- Behavioural Coaching: Managers can model consultative questioning, listening, and negotiation.
- Willingness & Conviction: Salespeople feel supported, not judged, which boosts confidence.
- Retention of Learning: What’s practiced on the job sticks far longer than PowerPoint slides.
- Dynamic Sales Development Plan: OJT feeds into ongoing Training Needs Identification (TNI), shaping future classroom programs to be sharper and more relevant.
- Cost Efficiency: An effective OJT program reduces reliance on external trainers for basic capability building — cutting costs and ensuring contextual, company-specific learning.
Case Study Snapshot
The Challenge: A mid-sized B2B engineering services company rolled out a Basic Consultative Selling Skills program delivered by an external trainer. The content was solid, and the workshop included limited OJT by the trainer. But the real heavy lifting was supposed to be done by the field managers, who needed to reinforce the skills during actual client interactions.
However, the company never had a formal OJT Process even before the Training Program, so it was no surprise that the actual reinforcement in the field never happened, post the Program. Managers defaulted back to chasing numbers instead of coaching.
Within two months, the skills faded, and sales teams slipped back to their old transactional style of selling.
Corrective Action: The leadership then mandated a structured OJT calendar where every Team manager had to spend a mandated no of days per month on client visits with their teams based on their reportee levels. Managers were trained to:
- Observe calls without taking over.
- Debrief using a structured feedback template.
- Feed observations into TNI (Training Needs Identification) for future classroom sessions.
And when the Head of Sales did this OJT it was with BOTH – the direct sales rep in the field AND the supervisory manager also to see how good the supervisor was in managing the OJT on the ground.
The Result: Within three quarters, consultative selling behaviours strengthened significantly:
- Salespeople asked better discovery questions.
- Supervisors “owned” the OJT Process
- Proposals became more customer-specific.
- Win rates in complex bids improved by 18%.
- AND the organisation realised a better ROI on the investment on the Sales Capability Programs
Though this is a B2B scenario, it is mirrored in every industry – B2C or Services – where the sales team has to win the Moment of Truth
The Product does not matter, the Process does …
How to Revive OJT in your Sales Organisation…
- Make it a Leadership Mandate: Every sales manager is also a trainer.
- Plan Field Accompaniments: Create calendars for supervisors to accompany reps on calls.
- Observe, DO NOT Hijack: Let sales team lead, then debrief with constructive, specific feedback.
- Capture Learnings: Use OJT insights to build sharper TNIs and classroom training.
- Mix Physical + Virtual: Use Zoom accompaniments where geography is a constraint.
Final Thought
OJT is not “old school.” It is the missing link between classroom learning and field execution. When Sales Organisations – irrespective of their size – integrate it into a dynamic Sales Development Plan, they get sharper training, stronger salespeople, and significant cost savings on external programs.
Because in sales – whether B2B, B2C or Services – the best classroom is still the customer’s office.
And remember that as a CXO member, before you bring a Sales Trainer for conducting a Training Program, ask yourself this question : Does my company have a robust OJT to make the most of the Training .
If not, create one first and then curate the Training.. you will be amazed at the Results !
👉 Over to You: Has your organisation built OJT into its Sales Development Plan — or is it still a forgotten style?
🔗 Learn how GASP Sales Academy helps sales organisations embed OJT into their sales execution culture.
Embed OJT, Deliver Growth.
Dinkar Suri I GASP Sales Academy I www.gaspsalesacademy.com
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