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A strong sales team is one of the most important tools a company can equip itself with when looking to significantly drive growth. According to sources, the competence of the salesperson in a B2B environment is the most significant element prompting prospects to buy. In the United States, more than $5 billion is invested in sales training and improvement, and for good reason. While ongoing training in 1-1 meetings is always important, bringing in outside expertise to coach and identify gaps in your process is also critical.
Whether you’re building out an entirely new sales organization at your company, or are a veteran department considering investing in ongoing training here’s 6 reasons why investing in sales training for your team should be a no brainer:
1. Improved Communication
While most salespeople are typically good communicators, this is probably the most important skill required for a sales rep. More than just dealing with people, sales reps must connect with clients on a deeper level.
- What are their pain points?
- How are you helping them solve problems?
When a sales rep communicates effectively, the client feels that their opinions and needs are not only being heard but also acted on. Each client is going to be different and requires a specific type and level of communication. Training programs allow the sales rep to understand, empathize, and effectively communicate with diverse populations.
Today, most people don’t want to be sold to. They want a solution to the problem they are facing, and a good sales rep will be able to explain how your product does that and work together with the client to find success rather than just sell.
2. Thorough Understanding of Products and Practices
It can prove difficult to sell something if you don’t know the ins and outs of the product or service you are offering. Sales training will give reps a leg up when they understand all of the different features of a product and the best way to position them to potential clients.
It’s also imperative that sales reps are prepared to answer the question: how do you size up to competitors? In most cases, your competitors have trained their teams to answer this question effectively.
With a clear understanding of not only the company product but the entire industry landscape and how your team’s product fits into it, sales reps will be seen as thought leaders in the space that can be trusted.
Recommendation: Meet on a weekly basis and have your sales team talk through objection handling. This can be a collaborative way for the team to discuss with their peers issues their facing while demo’ing the product and have to overcome them.
3. Help to Attract and Retain Top Talent
If your company is investing in ongoing training and development not only does it help you attract top talent, but it also helps you retain the talent you already have. Sales professionals are driven, and financially incentivized. Showing them a path to move up in their career by mastering their craft is a smart move for every business.
Not only does training help motivate individual sales reps, but also the entire team – which ultimately is key in driving overall company growth. The most successful sales organizations are those with clearly defined sales processes that are consistently executed on. While more than 70% of executives believe employee engagement is the key to organizational success, seven in 10 employees rank empowerment as an important element to their engagement. Sales is a high-pressure environment and with stakes remaining high, sales teams need to feel proper support in order to avoid high turnover rates. Training gives reps the capabilities they need to grow and succeed.
4. Fuels Innovative Thinking
Innovation is the key to success. Without new ideas, your sales techniques will remain stagnant. Each training allows for internal and external voices to be heard, creating a platform of shared ideas where people feel comfortable brainstorming ways to improve current plans in place.
During sales training, current strategies in place are often reevaluated and this provides an opportunity for the team to provide feedback on what is serving as beneficial and what’s not. An effective sales training program will encourage employees, old and new, to think abstractly, be curious, and be open to new ideas for growth as a team and individually.
5. Integrated Best Practices
Any fresh hires, no matter how experienced, need help learning the ropes of your organization. Goals, expectations, and procedures need to be made very clear from the beginning. One of the best ways for new hires to get adjusted and learn is to understand where the team has seen success in the past, and where challenges have arisen also.
Each business is unique and needs to be treated that way. New hires may have worked in similar industries, but they’ll still need to be brought up to speed on products and services, along with internal sales processes and techniques..
With so much access to different resources, particularly online, some people could be fooled into thinking that a google search for “sales best practices” will give you all a salesperson needs to know. However, best practices are different for each team and company. In fact, ensuring best practices are not only taught but stick is an entirely more complex proposition. A good sales program will not only educate on best practices, but also clarify their purpose and significance and how they might help in specific moments.
6. Develop Accurate Forecasting
Professional sales training will provide you with the skills needed to accurately predict both long-term and short-term results. With these goals in place, you and your team will be capable of making better business decisions throughout the journey to reach these results.
Regardless of the product or service you’re selling, having an effective sales training program in place is vital to the success of your business. According to sources, reps who took part in a sales training program exceed expectations in achieving quotas and scoring win rates. This report also revealed that nearly 95% of the companies that have a solid training system met and exceeded their annual revenue plan.
If you’re looking to bring in outside expertise to boost your internal sales program, here are a few consultants to consider: