The Kirkpatrick model is a four-level framework for evaluating training: reaction, learning, behavior on the job, and business results.
The four levels, applied to sales training
Level 1 asks whether people found the training favorable and relevant, Level 2 what knowledge and skill they gained, Level 3 whether they perform the critical behaviors on the job, and Level 4 what business outcomes followed. Kirkpatrick Partners, who maintain the model, advise planning from Level 4 backwards.
In sales teams the first two levels get most of the attention because a survey and a quiz are cheap. They are also the weakest evidence. Enjoying training correlates .02 with learning from it (Alliger et al. 1997), and our sales kickoff field study found 21 claims that a kickoff had an effect and none comparing attendees with non-attendees. Level 3 is where sales training meets the deal. It is measured on real calls, weeks later, and it moves through the manager's coaching on live deals.
Measuring one training on the decision process
A team trains reps to confirm the decision process before sending a proposal (illustrative). Level 1 is the end-of-day survey. Level 2 is a short test on the decision-process questions. Level 3 is a sample of real late-stage calls three and six weeks later, scored against the same standard, with each rep's deal reviewed on a call with their manager or an AI sales expert. Level 4 is the share of proposals that slip past their close date, against the quarter before.
- 1ReactionThe end-of-day survey
- 2LearningA short test on the questions
- 3BehaviorReal late-stage calls at three and six weeks
- 4ResultsProposals that slip past their close date
Level 3 is the one a manager can check in a 1:1, with one request: "Show me the last late-stage call where you asked who signs and how they decide." A rep who used the training can find the minute. A rep who passed the Level 2 test and changed nothing says "I think I covered it on the demo."
Related terms
- How to measure sales training effectiveness: the four levels in practice
- Transfer of training: why Level 3 is hard
- Sales training reinforcement: what moves Level 3
- Sales training vs sales coaching: which one changes behavior on deals
FAQ
What are the four levels of the Kirkpatrick model? The four levels are reaction, learning, behavior and results. Reaction asks how participants rated the training, learning what they acquired, behavior whether they use it on the job, and results what changed in the business.
Which Kirkpatrick level matters most for sales training? Level 3, behavior, is the link to revenue: whether reps do the trained thing on real calls weeks later. Level 4 is the goal, but without Level 3 evidence you cannot tie a result to the training.
Who created the Kirkpatrick model? Donald Kirkpatrick created it in the late 1950s. Kirkpatrick Partners maintain the model today, publish the current level definitions and advise teams to plan evaluation from Level 4 backwards.