Having a well-rounded sales training program is critical to growing your company. But with so many sales training options available, deciding what is best for your team takes time. The right sales training program should be tailored to your sales goals and address gaps through a skill gap analysis.
Motivation
It’s critical to consider what motivates your salespeople to learn and implement new behaviors. If the training only focuses on intellectual issues like techniques and product knowledge, it can hold back those with low achievement drive or need more self-belief. On the other hand, overemphasizing motivation can push a high achiever to go full force into new skills and risk becoming frustrated with the results. B2B sales training programs include a variety of learning opportunities that meet your reps where they are physically and mentally. It will track their progress through quizzes and assessments and make it easy for them to share with coworkers. It should provide real-time feedback and insights to ensure the training delivers the desired results.Lastly, it’s essential to consider the training offered to your sales managers. Some training providers offer manager-specific programs designed to equip sales managers to coach and mentor their teams so that they can achieve quotas. It is an excellent way to cultivate homegrown stars and reduce the reliance on outside vendors. A good B2B sales training program will help your salespeople develop a more comprehensive selling strategy that can address all the various aspects of the customer buying process.
Skills
The right sales training program can give your team the skills to build lasting buyer relationships based on mutual benefit and value. However, the training must be implemented correctly to deliver the desired results. A critical factor in this is ensuring that your sales team understands the importance of the new behaviors and is ready to adopt them. A good training provider will work with you to ensure your organization is prepared to adopt the new skills before beginning the program. Another important consideration is the method by which the training is delivered. A lecture-like course may not be engaging for many learners and can cause them to lose interest, leading to an ineffective upskilling experience. A better approach is a hands-on program that allows participants to practice their new skills in a realistic learning environment and offers ongoing feedback.
The curriculum should also be customized to meet the needs of your sales team. It includes considering the different skill sets needed for various roles within your sales organization, such as new business development reps versus account executives or strategic account managers. Finding a provider that can create a program that will be successful for all of your sales roles is essential. Finally, the training program should include coaching and one-on-one support for your sellers after the class.
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Attitude
The right attitude is an essential element of any sales training program. A good salesperson must have genuine empathy for customers, so a course that trains them to see things from the buyer’s perspective can be a great way to build that skill. Also, an approach that emphasizes the importance of active listening skills can help salespeople avoid common mistakes like talking over their customers or needing to be more knowledgeable about the products they are selling.
Sales training should also focus on improving salespeople’s ability to generate leads. A program that teaches them how to create a prospect list with targeted emails can be an excellent tool for increasing sales. Finally, a good sales training program will be focused on delivering tangible results. The program should offer salespeople clear goals and expectations and give them a sense of accomplishment when they reach their targets.
Knowledge
Whether selling to new customers or growing relationships with existing ones, salespeople need the skills to understand buyers and their challenges. It includes understanding their products or services, how they address those problems, and how to build a value proposition for each customer. Practical sales training also teaches your business unique selling techniques and strategies. It ensures that each team member is working consistently, allowing them to coach each other and build more accurate sales forecasts. Salespeople must also recognize when to adapt their approach to meet a buyer’s needs or rethink their strategy. Having this flexibility means they can deliver better results for each customer.
A strong sales training program will prepare your team to handle even the most picky customers and obstacles. It often involves helping them to develop a more collaborative relationship with the customer, which can be difficult for some people. Other times, it’s about teaching them to identify common negotiation tactics buyers use and how to respond to them. To assess the success of your sales training program, you need to look at both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data includes the evaluation of your training by participants and observations of their behavior on the job. Quantitative data can include win rates, deal size, gross margin, discounts, account growth percentage, sales cycle time, and more.
