Sales training will teach you all the tools you need to succeed quickly and help you outperform your competition.
In this article, we will explore the common question of “What is sales training?” along with the different types of sales training programs available.
We will also take an in-depth look at the benefits of successful sales training programs and discuss the steps you should take to create an effective program yourself.
Key Takeaways
- Sales training is a process that teaches sales professionals the tools they need to sell products and services and develop customer relationships.
- Types of training include field, inside, service, and management sales. Training should be ongoing to ensure your team continually improves their skills and stays up to date on the latest techniques.
- Benefits of effective programs for sales professionals include increased productivity, improved product knowledge, better communication skills, improved morale, and reduced staff turnover.
- To create an effective program, you’ll want to develop clear goals, measure current performance, plan your curriculum, decide on a format, and assess success regularly.
- The most successful programs share common traits such as clear objectives, comprehensive content with interactive elements, and regular assessment measures to gauge success.
The Definition of Sales Training
Sales training is an educational process that teaches sales professionals the skills they need to sell products or services. Whether you’re new to sales or just looking for ways to make your business more successful, you might be wondering how effective sales training programs work.
Sales training focuses on multiple knowledge areas, such as identifying customer needs, understanding customer expectations, developing product knowledge, sales presentation skills, and closing techniques.
The most effective sales training programs are tailored to the different roles within a company, such as field sales representatives (customer-facing selling), inside sales reps (telephone or online selling), and service reps (sales support). You will also want to provide sales manager training to ensure leadership knows how to manage sales teams effectively.
Why Is Sales Training Important?
Sales training programs are essential for any business that wants to stay competitive in the market and improve its chances of long-term success. Sales training teaches you and your sales force how to work better as a team, maximize sales opportunities, and develop stronger customer relationships. Sales training also helps your sales organization stay ahead of the competition by remaining up-to-date on industry best practices.
Types of Sales Training
There is no one-size-fits-all sales training process. Instead, developing unique training programs for each sales role your business has is important. You can use several types of sales training methods depending on the services you offer and your training goals. Let’s take a more in-depth look at the most common types of sales training.
Field Sales Training
Field sales training focuses on developing interpersonal selling skills, such as basic relationship-building skills and upselling. In this type of program, you and your sales force will learn how to identify customer needs, prepare presentations, and nail closing techniques.
Inside Sales Training
Inside sales training is a bit different from field sales training. Here, the focus is on developing knowledge of customer service and communication skills for tasks like cold and warm calls. You will also learn about management information systems (MIS) to organize data better and use this data to improve your performance.
Service Sales Training
Service sales training focuses on helping each sales rep develop and refine customer service skills, such as responding to customer inquiries, providing product information, and troubleshooting. This type of program also includes communication skills and motivational techniques to help you deliver your services effectively.
Sales Management Training
Sales management training is geared towards developing the skills of your sales managers. In this program, sales managers will learn how to approve strategies and manage activities effectively to enhance productivity and achieve organizational goals. This is crucial for sales leaders to ensure not only the success of the sales force but to help them develop skills that will lead to higher employee morale and satisfaction.
The Benefits of Sales Training Programs
Sales training programs are valuable tools to help your business improve its overall performance and achieve its goals. Here are some of the key benefits you can expect to see by investing in sales training.
Increased Productivity
When companies invest in sales training, they often see an increase in productivity from their sales team. This is because sales professionals learn new skills and techniques during the sales training process that helps them close deals faster and more efficiently. Plus, sales managers can stay on top of the latest sales trends and tools and use this knowledge to adjust their strategies accordingly, yielding better results.
Improved Knowledge
With sales training programs, you can give your team the tools they need to be experts on your products and services. This way, when customers come to your sales professionals with questions about a product or service, your reps can use their comprehensive knowledge to answer them. A good sales training program will enable your employees to provide accurate information and targeted solutions that truly add value for your customers.
Better Communication Skills
Sales training programs also help you or your sales team hone communication skills. You will learn to ask the right questions, listen attentively, and develop empathy toward customers. Sales training can also provide invaluable insight into other areas, such as customer negotiation techniques and presenting solutions clearly.
Higher Morale
Sales training programs have a positive impact on employee morale. When you’re involved in meaningful learning opportunities and understand how your efforts contribute to the company’s growth and development, it’s easier to feel more motivated and passionate about your work.
Employees value companies that take the time to invest in them and help them succeed. Whether you develop your own sales training program or invest in the help of sales training companies, providing this option to your sales team typically results in higher job satisfaction and greater team morale.
Reduced Staff Turnover
Similar to improving your staff’s morale, providing sales training programs to your team helps lower staff turnover rates. When your employees feel appreciated and have the skills they need to succeed, your business will benefit from employee loyalty.
They’ll also stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends and be less prone to making costly mistakes due to a lack of knowledge or experience in sales roles.
Improved Sales Skills
Training programs will help your sales professionals develop new skills and hone existing ones. Since training programs are so individualized, the sales skills they focus on will vary based on each company’s goals. One common training focus is communication. Sales training can teach you specific techniques for sharing your message and addressing customer concerns in the most effective way possible. This helps you sharpen your customer service skills and improve at closing a sale.
Sales training can also teach you how to build relationships with your customers and nurture them over time. It can enhance skills that might have been overlooked, such as active listening techniques, improved emotional intelligence, and how to be a better collaborator.
How to Create an Effective Sales Training Program
Creating a beneficial sales training program is no small feat. It requires careful planning, research, and evaluation. While you always have the option of outsourcing these tasks to a sales training company that is knowledgeable about your industry, it’s definitely possible to develop a complete sales training program yourself.
Here are some of the most important first steps to consider when creating a sales training program.
Develop Clear Goals
The first step to creating a sales training program is to identify the goals of your program. What do you ultimately want your employees or reps to achieve with this training? Do you want them to increase their knowledge about a particular product or service? Improve cross-selling skills? Master softer skills such as communication and negotiation tactics? Once you have clear goals in mind, it’s time to start planning the content and structure of the program.
Evaluate Your Current Sales Performance
Next, you need to evaluate your current sales performance as a team. Take the time to look at who needs more help or guidance in certain areas and what techniques they already know. With this data, you can determine which topics should be based on individual strengths and weaknesses.
Quantifying your desired outcomes using numbers or sales data is also a good idea. When you set specific, measurable performance goals, including sales quotas, it becomes much easier to focus and guide your training toward your desired outcome.
Plan Your Curriculum
Once you know the purpose of your sales training program and have identified what topics need to be covered, it’s time to plan out your curriculum. Ask yourself questions like: How will each topic be taught? What types of activities or exercises should I include? Does my team need help with customer service techniques in addition to selling skills? Is there any technology that can aid in these sessions and enhance learning outcomes?
Some other curriculum management considerations include how much participation you will require and your team’s learning preferences. You should also decide on the scope of your training. Would it be more beneficial to broadly cover many topics or focus on one or two?
Before diving too deeply into curriculum planning, determine your available time for program development. If you’re concerned about not having enough free time or resources to create the training program you need, you can always turn to professional sales training companies for help.
Decide on a Training Format
When deciding on a format for your training program, your options are virtual or in-person. Virtual sales training allows reps to train remotely, which saves time and money.
With in-person training, you can tailor the sessions to what each rep needs while providing an interactive learning environment that encourages collaboration. It’s also possible to create a hybrid format that combines both methods. Consider your company culture, team preferences, and available tools when choosing a training format.
Assess Your Program’s Success and Make Modifications
As with any effective training program, it’s important to assess your success after completing it and make modifications if needed. This way, you’ll clearly understand how well the training was received by your team and can tailor future updates accordingly.
Ask employees their opinion of the material covered during the program and what topics they want to see in future sessions. Over time, your sales goals, tactics, and technology will likely change, so it’s important to update your training program accordingly.
In sales management, it’s important to regularly assess your team’s strengths and brainstorm methods for improving any weaknesses. Your training program should be regularly updated to stay relevant to your current goals.
Top Features of Successful Sales Training Programs
Successful sales training programs require careful planning, organization, and continual assessment. The most successful training programs share several common traits:
- Clear, measurable goals
- Comprehensive curriculum that covers multiple topics
- Interactive elements to keep learning engaging
- Assessment measures to gauge success and make necessary updates
In addition to these features, the best sales training programs cover skills that go beyond data points and product information. Top programs will also instruct sales teams on how to build relationships with their clients by actively listening and caring for them throughout the sales process.
Final Thoughts
Success starts with sales training. Now that we’ve answered the question “What is sales training?” you have a clearer understanding of what it entails. Sales training is a critical component of any successful sales organization and one that’s well worth investing in. Quality sales training programs give your team the knowledge and skills they need to excel and increase productivity while boosting morale and creating loyalty among employees.
With careful planning and ongoing assessment, you can create an effective program tailored specifically to your company culture that achieves a high return on your investment.
Richard Brooks is a sales expert who has worked in the industry for decades. Richard enjoys staying current on emerging sales trends and learning about new tactics to help deploy across his team. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Richard loves to explore the city with his wife, sampling all the craft beer and great food.