Even in the digital age, human-to-human connection remains key. Top sales teams bridge the gap, delivering personalized solutions that resonate with individual needs. It should come as no surprise that productive sales staff is essential to the success of any business. But what’s the key to sales team success? Strong sales training.
Effective sales training empowers your team with the knowledge and skills needed to build enduring customer relationships, close deals more efficiently, and secure your company's position in the market. According to Aberdeen Group's "Sales Training 2023: The Future of Sales Training" report, companies that provide ongoing sales training achieve 50% higher net sales per employee.1 To equip your sales staff with the latest information and drive substantial revenue growth, one of the most valuable tools you can use is a dynamic sales training platform, such as Absorb LMS, to organize and deliver your sales training programs.
In this blog post, we’ll cover the importance of sales training, explore the benefits of using an LMS like Absorb to design and execute your sales training initiatives, and share practical tips for creating results-driven sales training programs.
First, let’s start with the basics.
What is sales training?
Sales training is the process of equipping individuals or teams with the knowledge and interpersonal skills to sell your company’s products or services. The goal of sales training is to boost your sales team’s ability to build relationships, present effectively, close deals, and drive company growth.
4 Reasons to invest in your sales training program
Effective sales training is critical to the success of your organization and its sales team. With shifting market dynamics, product offerings, and customer needs, sales professionals must continuously hone their skills and stay ahead of industry trends. Four key reasons to invest in sales training include:
- Improved sales performance: Comprehensive sales training helps your team develop crucial skills such as negotiation, presentation, and relationship-building, leading to increased sales productivity and revenue growth.
- Enhanced customer relationships: Equipped with in-depth product knowledge and exceptional communication skills, your sales team will be better positioned to cultivate and maintain strong relationships with clients, fostering loyalty and repeat business.
- Boosted employee engagement and retention: Providing ongoing learning opportunities can lead to enhanced job satisfaction, increased engagement, and reduced employee turnover.
- Competitive advantage: A well-trained and confident sales team ensures your organization stands out from its competitors.
How a sales training platform can support you
A sales training platform, like Absorb LMS, offers a range of flexible features and tools specially designed to optimize sales training programs. Key elements of our platform that enhance sales training include:
- Onboarding and training: Solid onboarding sets your team up for success from day one. An onboarding LMS is crucial for salespeople in particular because you won't see the ROI until they make their first sale, and they won't make their first sale till they understand your company’s processes, values, and products.
- Dynamic course content: With Absorb Create, you can build educational materials, from multimedia presentations and videos to quizzes and assessments, ensuring your sales team stays motivated and informed. Plus, using our GenAI course builder, you can research, design, and structure courses in minutes.
- Integrations: By integrating your LMS with third-party software and tools, you empower your sales teams to access product information in the flow of work. Sales and service teams can easily support their clients, prospects, and partners by sharing and tracking progress through training content without leaving their CRM.
- Gamification and social learning: Boost engagement and retention levels by incorporating gamified elements, such as leaderboards and badges, or by facilitating peer-to-peer learning through social learning features. Plus, the nature of sales often involves striving for specific targets and meeting quotas – this can foster a competitive environment, making gamification a natural addition to your sales training program.
- Robust analytics and reporting: Track your sales training program's effectiveness with advanced analytics capabilities, enabling continuous improvement of your training initiatives.
On top of these features, our client experiences speak for themselves. Litmus, an all-in-one email marketing solution, needed a sales training platform that would accelerate business growth. According to Bill Petersen, the company’s head of sales enablement, Absorb LMS’s interface and learner experience are a hit: “We’ve had very positive feedback from our sales team and no concerns about usability or how to use the platform,” he said. “Our leadership team likes it too—I’ll often receive requests from sales leadership to add resources or files to Absorb LMS. It’s helped sales training become a more collaborative initiative across all our departments.”
On top of these features, our client experiences speak for themselves. Litmus, an all-in-one email marketing solution, needed a sales training platform that would accelerate business growth.
According to Bill Petersen, the company’s head of sales enablement, Absorb LMS’s interface and learner experience are a hit:
Read the case study: Litmus Unleashes Untethered Sales Training with Absorb LMS
4 Tips to build your sales training program
Maximize the impact of your sales training with these practical tips for crafting powerful, result-oriented programs:
- Set clear objectives: Begin by defining your training program's specific goals and desired outcomes, ensuring management and participants are aligned on expectations and measurable results.
- Use microlearning: Lean into bite-sized, focused learning modules to help your sales team quickly absorb and retain critical information without disrupting their daily workflow.
- Encourage active participation: Foster active engagement by incorporating problem-solving exercises, role-playing scenarios, or discussion forums, which promote collaboration and the sharing of best practices.
- Offer ongoing support and development: Ensure long-term success by regularly updating course content and providing additional resources, such as coaching sessions, mentorship programs, or follow-up training workshops.
Read the blog: Closing deals with confidence: Sales training best practices in LMS
Measuring the progress of your sales training programs
As with any business investment, it's essential to evaluate the success of your sales training initiatives based on quantifiable metrics. Consider the following key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine your program's effectiveness:
- Sales revenue growth: Monitor and compare revenue figures before and after implementing your sales training program to gauge whether it has had the desired impact on overall sales performance.
- Conversion rates: Track the number of sales leads converted into closed deals, providing insight into how effectively your sales professionals apply their training in real-world situations.
- Customer satisfaction and retention: Customer feedback and retention rates can serve as indicators of the effectiveness of your sales team's communication and relationship-building skills.
- Employee engagement and turnover: Assess the impact of your training program on job satisfaction, employee engagement, and staff retention rates, ensuring the effectiveness of these initiatives in fostering long-term success.
Meet Absorb: Your key to sales training program success
As the demands of the modern marketplace continue to evolve, a well-trained, high-performing sales team plays a crucial role in driving your organization's success. With Absorb LMS at the helm of your sales training initiatives, you can equip your sales professionals with the skills, knowledge, and confidence needed to excel.
Explore how our sales training software is used by companies around the globe to design, manage, and deliver engaging and results-driven sales training programs. To learn more about the benefits of Absorb LMS for sales training, contact our team of experts today for a personalized consultation.
