“Training deserves a seat at the table next to marketing and other company priorities,” our friend Dan Elzer told us in the Breakthrough Ideas webinar that he presented for us last summer. Dan founded The Training Academy, his clients include some of the most successful companies in America, and he is right. Top executives in many companies still see training as a “nice to have” activity, not a “must have” imperative.

We can’t see into the minds of company leaders who think that training is a secondary priority. Perhaps they think that training, unlike marketing or advertising, doesn’t produce profits quickly enough. Maybe they think training is an expense, not a profit-generator. As training professionals, we know that thinking is wrong.

But what can you do if you are getting pushback from company leaders who don’t see a clear ROI for training? In brief, you have to demonstrate that your training has a quantifiable, profit-generating value that should make it an immediate priority. If it’s a battle you are fighting, here are some ways to win.

Talk about Dollars, Income and Profit

If you tell company leaders that customers will be 15% more satisfied because of your training program, they will probably miss its value. But if you show that the salespeople who took part in a training program three months ago each brought in $40,000 more than they did in the previous quarter, that is going to get attention.

So the message is clear. Talk dollars and show exactly how training has affected the bottom line.

Align Training with Current Company Priorities

If your leaders are focused on a new product launch, for example, get on board and create training programs that support its success. You can train your technicians to service the product, your salespeople to sell its unique value to customers, your retailers to present it effectively, and more.

It seems that some training directors go on pushing training programs that seem disconnected from current company initiatives. But if you get things aligned, you will get support.

Engage Company Leaders in Creating Measurables

When you ask company executives exactly what they would like training to achieve and then deliver it, you prove its value. Don’t hesitate to ask for specifics. Would your head of marketing like to see a 40% increase in sales of a specific product at the retail level? Would the head of your real estate company like to see each agent bring in $2 million or more in new listings in the next six months? Would the COO of your hotel chain like to see 20% of guests become repeat customers in the next year, as opposed to the current 5%?

If you ask for specifics and then deliver them, you will prove that training is at the center of company activities, not out on the edges.

Communicate Your Results Strategically

There is not much point in achieving deliverables if your company leaders don’t notice them. Communicating what you have achieved requires some strategic thought. It can mean identifying the right decision-makers in your company and sending them monthly email updates on results. It can mean getting onto the right agendas at the right meetings. It can mean making sure that increased profits are included in the spreadsheets that top executives review. It can also mean forging key alliances with your potential champions in top management – executives who have the foresight to understand the strategic value of training and who will support it.

You know who the key decision-makers are in your organization, how budgeting decisions are made, what your company culture is, and more. If you put that knowledge to work and get the word out, training can become a top company priority. And don’t we all know, it should be.