There’s no single approach that works when it comes to sales training. With attention spans growing increasingly shorter, you must find creative methods of keeping people engaged throughout.
One way of making the learning experience enjoyable and engaging is integrating video-game components into training sessions, making the experience fun while at the same time reinforcing newly acquired skills.
AI-Powered Sales Training
AI sales tools like XANT can train sales reps on how to employ specific skills and techniques that will enable them to meet their sales goals more quickly and without losing their human touch. Predictive analytics help identify a rep’s strengths and weaknesses as well as suggest training courses designed to boost performance.
Cresta and Chorus, two AI-driven sales training tools, use sales calls to analyze them in order to provide real-time coaching to sales reps in real-time. Both tools offer personalized coaching based on each rep’s learning style while simultaneously monitoring multiple assessment factors to provide accurate feedback quickly and provide prompt coaching assistance.
AI can eliminate the need for manual reviews of sales call and pitch practice by automating them with its machine learning capabilities, freeing trainers to focus on other tasks while giving sales leaders an objective analysis of team member performance. This makes onboarding new salespeople, tracking progress, identifying skills gaps as well as training their teams better to handle objections and negotiate better deals much simpler and efficient.
Cloud-Based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems
CRM clouds are software designed to store and organize leads, customers, partners and primary business contacts information in one central place. In addition, these CRMs provide analytics based on various metrics to assist businesses in making informed decisions. CRM systems play an integral part of sales training programs as they ensure sales representatives have all of the knowledge they need in order to close a sale successfully.
A good CRM system should provide for customized reinforcement based on individual learning preferences. Some learners may respond better to online courses that provide constant reminders and pointers tailored to their unique learning profiles, while others might prefer more hands-on, practical applications of new skills such as role plays or even gamification that promotes friendly competition among sales teams who all took the same training.
Innovation training methods not only ensure sales teams have an in-depth knowledge of a product or service, but can also drive learning engagement and employee retention – something especially vital for millennials who seek jobs with companies who invest in their growth and development. Furthermore, these new training methods can increase return on sales training investments.
Accountability Triads
As their name implies, these triads are partnerships among three members of your team who collaborate to tackle one specific task together and achieve clarity, focus, action and results in relation to it. Each member of a triad understands that its successes or failures do not solely depend on any one person – rather, success lies with all.
When creating these triads, try matching teachers who possess complementary sets of skills or experiences. That way, they will be able to learn from one another and share best practices – keeping the training alive after it has concluded.
Conducting innovative sales trainings doesn’t need to involve drones and talking robots; all it requires is some buy-in from your team. A Sales Growth Team, Accountability Triads, Sales PlayBook, remote trainings and inclusive trainings can all make for an engaging training experience during regular sales meetings – giving your team long-term success through inclusion. By using tools such as these in your routine regiment you will continue improving sales processes continuously.
Sales PlayBook
Giving sales reps access to a documented sales process ensures they have all of the information they need for daily activities in an orderly and consistent way, freeing them up to focus more time selling than searching for information.
Start building your sales playbook by collecting internal sales collateral and resources that reps use, to gain an idea of the content to include and the areas where improvements should be prioritized.
Next, analyze what top performers are doing to hit their quotas and identify ways you can optimize your own processes. For instance, one top performer might use a playbook for creating customized customer communications or prospecting for specific buyers, while another may outline strategies on how best to demonstrate product features to buyers.
Once you’ve identified all of the necessary plays, create them and keep updating the playbook to account for changes to your business, products, sales strategy or buyer needs – this will keep your team on the path toward reaching their goals more efficiently.
Remote Trainings
Virtual sales training involves professional-grade online programs delivered directly to team members without taking them away from the field. This innovative method enables sellers to complete their training at their own convenience, increasing learning engagement and employee retention rates in tandem.
Wilson Learning was established to meet the ever-evolving buying process, providing practical salespeople training that helps expand leads and close deals more easily. Their sales programs can be personalized for each organization or seller to generate maximum ROI.
An effective sales strategy requires ongoing training to keep your team informed on the most up-to-date techniques and methodologies. Furthermore, training helps hone salespeople’s abilities to address each customer’s individual needs while building trust between customer interactions.
All salespeople should receive consistent core sales training whether working from an office setting or remotely. To ensure this occurs, consider using a sales training management system with virtual classroom sessions and webinars as the foundation of training delivery.
