Is it the Company or the Sales Persons Responsibility to Pay for Training?

I've posted this question to numerous LinkedIn Groups that I am apart of and based on the replies, it seems like a 60/40 split. 60% feel the company should pay, 40% feel the sales person should pay.

100% however believe that the other will benefit from continued education in sales training.

I've worked with companies that had excellent product / service training on what we were to sell and I've worked for companies that simply said "here's your phone and a sheet of names/numbers... start dialing"

Most companies it seems are somewhere in the middle of those two scenarios. Most organizations have some form of training (usually a week or two) before they let new hires hit the phones.

Almost none these days offer a continued education / sales skills development program for their staff.... however almost all agree that they should.

It reminds me of the lion / gazelle story:

"Every morning the lion and the gazelle wake up running. The lion, to eat. The gazelle, to avoid being eaten. Either way, when you wake up, you'd better be running!"

My personal experience is this... those that aren't afraid to invest in themselves far out earn their colleagues who wait around for the company.

Companies that are willing to continuously invest (say once a quarter or bi-annually) come out ahead of their competition.