I get this question all the time: “How do I know if training actually worked?”

And my answer is always the same — you can’t know if it worked if you don’t start with a baseline.

Think about it. So many leaders invest in training because it “feels right,” or because someone on the team asked for it, or because performance isn’t where it needs to be. But without data, training becomes a guessing game. And when you’re guessing, you can’t truly know what to fix, what to improve, or what success even looks like.

A baseline isn’t a gut feeling. A baseline is data. It’s clarity. It’s the starting point from which every decision should be made.

Why Baselines Matter

Imagine sending your team to a workshop or multi-week program and then trying to measure success six months later. Success compared to what? Without knowing where they started — their strengths, blind spots, habits, and gaps — it’s nearly impossible to measure progress in any meaningful way.

I see this mistake often. Leaders put effort, budget, and time into developing their people, but skip the first step: figuring out where their team actually is today. This one choice determines whether training becomes a strategic investment or a hopeful wish.

Use Assessments to Measure Skills

At Sandler — and maybe this is the case in your organization too — we don’t guess. We assess.

Before any training begins, we administer assessments that evaluate both innate talents and real sales skills. We’re not just looking at personality traits or preferences. We’re evaluating the behaviors, competencies, and patterns that directly affect performance.

Why does this matter?

Because when you know exactly where each person stands, you can design training that actually addresses the gaps. You can see where your team is strong, where they struggle, and where small changes can create a big impact.

In other words, assessments give you a roadmap. They allow you to move from cookie-cutter to customized. And that’s where results come from.

Reassess to See If Training Worked

Now here’s the part many teams miss: you must reassess after the training.

Data in, data out.

A few months after the program ends, we go back and evaluate again. Did their skills improve? Are they applying what they learned? Are they selling differently? Are behaviors shifting in the right direction?

Reassessment is the moment of truth. It tells you — with real numbers — whether your investment paid off.

When your decisions start with data and end with data, you stop wondering whether training worked. You “know”.

Curious How This Works in Your World?

If you want to see exactly how we assess teams before and after training — and how this process can transform your results — let’s schedule a discovery call. No pressure, just clarity.

Because when it comes to developing your team, guessing isn’t a strategy. Data is.

Talk soon,

Tati