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In order to keep pace with the ever-changing fields of production, management, operations and technology, companies must continually update their employees' training. Personnel who handle these areas are essential, and function as the back-end of a company. Sales personnel, however, are at least as important, as they make up the front-end of the organization.

In order to prepare the employees for leaderships roles they are encouraged to take part is management training in a big way. This helps them in their career growth and further promotion. So it is common to find that most of the participants attending training programs are from office and production functions. Numbers of sales managers who participate in such management training are very less.

However, sales personnel very often do not find a place in such training programs. That is not to say that organizations do not provide training at all to their sales force. They do, through training sessions on sales management, customer relations, selling with intergrity, interpersonal relationships and other related subjects attuned to their sales careers.

Sales personnel are the people who earn money for the organization hence they are differently treated from others. The very existence of the organization is dependent upon the sales it makes hence organizations are not readily forthcoming to send its sales team to an extended period of training if adequate backup does not exists. Normally sales personnel are always out on the field directly meeting and interacting with the customers in their respective territory so it is difficult to create a backup team for them. So the very strengths of a successful sales person turn out to the real blockades for his participation in management training

Many options are available to tackle this problem. The entire training programme can be structured in such a manner as to enable the sales personnel to access the training modules in a phased manner instead of at one long stretch. The organisation can think of using its senior managers as coaches or mentors. An interaction between sales managers and the personnel from other fields who are also undergoing the same training, should be encouraged in order to facilitate the bonding of values ethos and culture of the organization

Modern technology has created convenient methods such as interactive web-based lessons and training modules, online tutorials and distance learning. These platforms can be utilized to provide training to sales personnel. Chapters of a management book can be sent via email or the sales force can select and read any book of their choice from an online library.

By virtue of being on the frontline sales personnel know the customers, they know the products and excel in interpersonal dealings. They are accustomed to thinking quickly and taking prompt action. Sales personnel with such characteristics are valuable and they need not be restricted to work in sales functions only. Many organizations should become aware of this aspect and promote more sales people to managerial functions.