Sales training: effects of spaced practice on training transfer Simone Kauffeld and Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock Technische Universita ¨ t Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany Abstract Purpose – The benefits of spaced training over massed training practice are well established in the laboratory setting. In a field study design with sales trainings, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of spaced compared with massed practice on transfer quantity and quality, sales competence, and key figures. Design/methodology/approach – Spaced and massed training are compared using behavioral and outcome criteria. A quasi-experimental follow-up research design with a sample of 64 bank employees (n ¼ 32 in each training group) is used. Findings – Spaced rather than massed training practice resulted in greater transfer quality, higher self-reports of sales competence, and improved key figures. Spaced training did not surpass massed training in terms of transfer quantity. Research limitations/implications – The present study is the first to demonstrate positive effects of technical training on job involvement, and of coaching on job satisfaction. In sum, validity of several developmental interventions is highlighted. Practical implications – Organizations designing and implementing various developmental interventions should pay attention to the relative effectiveness of these interventions on various organizational-relevant outcome criteria. Originality/value – An innovative approach to imply spaced practice in real sales training is presented. The effects of spaced practice on training transfer are investigated in the field. Keywords Training, Sales training, Training methods Paper type Research paper To keep pace with a permanently changing work environment, organizations are investing considerable sums of money in human resource development. Challenges include technical progress, increasing competition, and the fact that work-related knowledge is outdated quickly. Thus, it is imperative for organizations facing global competition to continuously advance employees’ knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes. In 2004, US-American companies spent an average of $955 per employee on training (Sugrue and Rivera, 2005). Total training costs in the European Union ranged from 1.2 percent (Portugal) to 3.6 percent (UK) of the overall labor costs in 1999 (European Communities, 2002). Much past research has attended to the effectiveness of training (i.e. whether a specific training works). Recently, the focus has shifted from training output to process models – why a certain training has an effect and how it can be optimized (Holton et al., 2000). Trainee characteristics and working environment aside, the training itself The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0309-0590.htm This research was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the European Social Fund. Sales training 23 Received 29 April 2009 Revised 20 June 2009 Accepted 10 July 2009 Journal of European Industrial Training Vol. 34 No. 1, 2010 pp. 23-37 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0309-0590 DOI 10.1108/03090591011010299