Sales are the lifeblood of most companies. Your sales team plays a vital role in achieving your business goals and driving your profits.Sales training, then, is something you need to take very seriously. The better you train your sales managers and reps, the better they can sell your product or service. Seems simple enough, right? Yes. But, there’s a knack for getting sales training right. We break those best practices down in this guide and answer all your burning questions, like:
- What is sales training?
- What are the benefits of sales training programs?
- What key sales skills should a successful training program cover?
What is sales training?
Sales training is the process of giving your sales team the skills they need to perform their function effectively and help them close any knowledge gaps. In today’s market, new technologies and products come along all the time, so continuous training is necessary to keep your sales reps competitive.The best sales training programs focus on actual behavior change in your sales team members. They should learn, absorb, and then apply the new selling skills on the job.This is why you should approach sales training programs as learning experience design for adults. Teaching your sales team to be better at sales can take place in person, online, or through blended learning. You can do this in-house or through the services of a training company.When performed correctly, sales training will increase close rates, improve sales cycle time, the average deal size, and more. Next up, we go in-depth into the benefits that sales training programs can bring to your organization.5 sales training benefits companies need to know
Let’s not beat around the bush—a good and comprehensive sales training course isn’t going to be cheap and easy.So why should you spend time and money on it?Well, because it brings many benefits to your selling organization. Here are the five main ones.Benefit #1: Higher close rate
Arguably the most important benefit of a sales training course is a higher close rate. In a nutshell, better salespeople will also be better closers. If you’ve had to resort to desperate measures to motivate your sales reps to become closers, maybe it’s time to rethink how they’re being trained.An effective sales training program will teach your team the right sales strategy. Many sales reps waste their time using sales techniques and strategies which are not right, either for them personally or for the product or service on sale.Identifying this misalignment and related skill gaps will give sales reps the right know-how. When you discard incorrect sales strategies in favor of better ones, time will free up to streamline sales processes and close deals.#2: Employee retention
If movies like Glengarry Glen Ross and Boiler Room have taught us anything, it’s that sales is a tough and high-pressure environment. So, it’s not surprising that there’s a lot of employee turnover. In fact, according to the Harvard Business Review, estimates place the sales team employee turnover rate in the US at 27% annually. Turnover in any department is costly for a company, but it’s especially felt in such a vital function as sales. Can sales training programs help at all?Yes, they can. In at least two ways, actually. Firstly, you can use your sales coaching to foster a supportive environment that empowers your team to grow and succeed. This will boost their performance (and sales).Secondly, a supportive environment will help you hold on to your best salespeople and keep your new hires from leaving too soon.That is; the closers, the sales leaders, the ones with a lot of sales skills who can afford to leave a company over culture fit issues.#3: Shorter sales cycles
A sales cycle covers all the steps needed to close a deal, from start to finish.As expected, each of these steps takes time. There are many sales strategies to shorten the sales cycle. They include making the value proposition of your product very clear and identifying the right person to talk to from the get-go.Exactly the kind of things you should include in your sales management training, right? By increasing the sales skills of your sales team through training, you can help them shorten the sales cycle. If this is successful, a salesperson can save valuable time (which they can invest elsewhere).#4: Achieve objectives
Each company has different goals, but ultimately it’s all about the profits.Financial goals are at the top of the priority stack, and since sales generate money, better sales results help you achieve your objectives.This is why continuous sales training is a must. Case studies have found that companies that reinforce their sales training see their new salespeople hit targets 34% more often.So you see, there’s a clear correlation between how much you invest in sales training courses and how effective your sales team is. Effective sales management training can also hones the necessary skills to accurately predict short-term and long-term results. This makes it possible to set realistic targets.Objectives set too high or too low in a sales organization are damaging, and sales training programs can help avoid that.#5: Business growth
Achieving your business objectives will result in more business growth. Sales training has a role to play here. When more profits pour in from things such as opportunities generated by good sales training, you can use them to grow your business. Sales success is business success, in a nutshell.This is true if you want to hire new team members, expand your market share, or acquire your competition.A good stepping stone to all that good stuff is effective sales training.More sales, more money, better bottom line.We’ve convinced you of the benefits of sales training courses. But how do you make it effective?5 ways to make sales training effective
We’ve seen the benefits. Now, it’s time to bring you back down to Earth.All those benefits we discussed?You’re not gonna see them if your sales-related corporate training courses aren’t effective. There are some sobering statistics to consider. On average, learners forget 70% of what they’ve learned in just 24 hours. This is the “forgetting curve,” and it’s the L&D professional’s nemesis. Luckily, we’ve assembled five ways to do just that.#1: Create interactive sessions
If you’ve been reading our learning glossary, then you already know—boring lecture-style learning experiences have gone the way of the Dodo.And in the context of selling, why would you ever have non-interactive training sessions?Selling is one of the most interactive human activities, so naturally, sales training should be interactive too.One great way to make sure it’s interactive is to use role-playing. There’s a reason why it remains a tried and true training tool.Online interactive courses are also a great idea. From online roleplay simulations to interactive images to exercises that encourage trainees to think and participate, e-learning is a surefire way to get your sales reps engaged.In general, you want to avoid the kind of learning experience where people can just doze off while they listen to someone drone on. Interactive sessions allow learners to practice their communication skills in real-world scenarios and simulate a customer relationship. In the end, this leads to better sales conversations.#2: Gain customer perspective
Great sales are as much an art as a science. A lot of the selling process is about getting into the mindset of the person you’re selling to. Nobody knows the buyer's experience better than the customers themselves.This is why you should invite your customers to participate in training sessions. This will give your sales reps a unique and valuable perspective. And with today’s video conferencing tools, it’s easy to have someone patch in from anywhere in the world. Most of the top Learning Management Systems (LMSs), such as Docebo, integrate with webinar and video conferencing software so you can include customers in your sales training. For instance, you can organize and hold virtual sessions within the LMS and share surveys, resources, and training courses.Use that to your advantage by having one of your customers come in and give their insights to the salespeople.#3: Motivate sellers
Motivating your employees is the key to productivity, achievement, and engagement. Sellers typically have two main motivations:- Psychological motivation and reinforcement
- Salaries and commissions
#4: Impact training
To get the most out of sales training programs, you have to be ready to put the pedal to the metal. After all, your business goals and growth are at stake here. One excellent way to push it to the max is impact training.Best suited for urgent, short-term sales issues, this is a boot-camp-style exercise that lets you get your entire salesforce on the same page fast. Depending on your situation and needs, you can host a virtual or instructor-led Impact training session. Alternatively, if your salesforce spends a lot of time out on the field (or working in different states or time zones), online sales training works best.#5: Evaluate sellers
There’s only one way to know how your sales training program is fairing–by defining clear metrics and KPIs. You must know how your sellers are performing and how far they are from achieving their goals.Regular pulse checks reveal urgent skills gaps and shed light on what’s missing from the training.Ongoing coaching also helps. It’s a chance for sales leaders to follow up, give feedback, and reinforce the knowledge and skills the sales reps picked up during training. Sales training should take place continuously from the time of onboarding onwards.Comparing close rates before and after a sales training program will also give you a feel for how effective it is. In short, you have to put processes in place that will give clear metrics on how effective your salesforce is. You can then use this data to both design and evaluate training programs.Next up, we look at what skills to evaluate in your salesforce.6 sales skills every salesperson needs
Of course, the skills your salesforce need will depend on the industry, company values, client profile, etc. But here are six fundamental skills every good seller needs to have to excel in their job. Whether they’re scoping out potential customers or about to hop onto a cold call, these basic traits will serve them well.Making sure your sales team has these skills is a key step in your sales enablement.#1: Emotional intelligence (EQ)
Sure, having a high IQ is great, but what about emotional intelligence? Also called Emotional Quotient (EQ), this is the ability to be aware of your own emotions as well as the emotions of others. And research shows that those sellers with higher EQs outperform those with lower ones and make more successful sales.Why?Well, it has to do with the five components of EQ:- Self-awareness
- Self-regulation
- Social skills
- Empathy
- Motivation