1.Preboarding and Onboarding
It is typical for an organization to start its sales team training program with an onboarding process. However, if your new hires have zero experience, it might be better to give them a head start with preboarding.
Preboarding can help ease your reps into your organization after they sign the contract but before they officially start working. It will set the tone for them, giving them time to learn the basics and get the essential to-do items out of the way before Day 1.
A good preboarding kit would include a brief history of the organization, an overview of the business strategy, your value proposition, and a video welcoming them to the company. In the end, you can incorporate a short quiz to verify that your rep has learned the material.
By carefully planning a preboarding process, you can make the subsequent onboarding process more effective. It will make the critical first days and weeks of your new reps more meaningful and satisfying, ultimately giving your organization a high employee retention rate.
2.Communication Skills
When training a sales team, you need to focus on effective communication. It will help your sales reps keep the potential customer engaged in the conversation by knowing when to talk and when to listen.
Armed with effective communication skills, your reps can avoid hard-selling, which most customers find off-putting. It will also be easier for them to connect with prospective clients at a meaningful level. With a stronger customer relationship, you have a better chance of closing the transaction and making the sale.
3.Product Knowledge
Today’s consumers have a higher level of expectation, and they ask a number of questions before making a purchasing decision. For your sales reps to be effective, they must know your products inside and out so they can provide the right answers to the potential customer. That is why the best training for sales team members includes product knowledge.
On top of being able to answer the questions, a sales rep with extensive product knowledge will be able to highlight key features and benefits, depending on the unique needs of the prospective client. This will make for a much more compelling conversation that will present the product as the ideal solution to the consumer’s problem.
4.Sales Process
Aside from product knowledge, effective training for sales team members involves mastery of the sales process. Understanding the sales process will make it easier for your reps to know which stage of the buyer’s journey the customer is in so they can take the appropriate action.
To better illustrate, a typical sales funnel consists of several steps, from prospecting potential customers to closing the sale to doing follow-ups to encourage repeat business. You can provide clear guidelines on how to recognize each stage and what activities to complete. Make sure that you supplement this course with sales materials that your reps can share with the buyers.
5.Understanding Buyer Persona
While it is critical for your sales reps to know your products and your sales process, understanding the needs of your target audience is equally important, if not more. Knowing your ideal buyer’s pain points will make it easier for your reps to think of ways to present your products as the solution, increasing their chances of completing the transaction.
For this reason, understanding the buyer persona must be a prominent feature of your sales team training activities. This is true not only when you are onboarding new hires but also when updating the skills of your more experienced reps.
6.Industry Trends
As most sales organizations know, industry practices change from time to time. This is a result of technological advancements, evolving consumer behavior, and anything that can disrupt the existing norm.
To keep your sales force up-to-date with the latest developments, include industry trends in your training. These materials do not have to come in the form of 30-page studies or research reports, but you can incorporate 600-word blogs or short news articles into your courses. Doing this will help your reps appreciate the fact that they are part of a changing and dynamic profession and that they have to do their best to stay ahead of the curve.
7.Using Stories to Sell
A big part of being a persuasive salesperson is creating a compelling narrative for a product or service, and it is crucial for your team to develop this skill. Presenting the right story at the right time will maximize the impact of your sales process by invoking a strong emotional reaction from prospective buyers and strengthening your brand’s relationship with your customers.
8.Closing the Deal by Handling Buyer Objections
Customer objections are a normal part of a sales rep’s life, and those who are not prepared to handle them will lose out on a lot of opportunities to sell.
Boost your team’s ability to close the deal by teaching them how to react to common objections, including product misunderstandings, skepticism, drawbacks, and indifference. By preparing your team for various situations, they will be able to use different closing techniques depending on what is needed.
9.Help Your Reps Reach Their Full Potential
Your organization’s success is tied closely to your sales reps’ performance. So if you want your company to reach new heights, you need your team to be at its best. Help them reach their full potential by integrating the right elements to create an effective, insightful, compelling training program.