by R. McGhee | July 11, 2022 | 5 Min Read

Essential B2B Sales Team Training Checklist

sales-enablement-technology-man-sitting-computer.jpg

How does your team stack up? Complete our B2B Sales Team Training Checklist to see how your sales training programs compare to the best in the business.

Why effective sales teams use a custom sales training solution:

To create a team where everyone is a top performer, you’ll need customized sales training programs that help them stay sharp. Sending a salesperson out into the field without the proper training will not only negatively impact their individual quota, but it can also hurt your company’s reputation.

In many cases, you might be losing more than just that one sale—you may lose the opportunity to convert that prospect into a paying customer down the road. Even small missteps can have a negative effect on customer relationships.

That’s why it’s essential to fully prepare your salespeople for their roles and responsibilities. Experts agree that your employees are your company’s greatest asset. Thought leaders like Forbes and LinkedIn both assert that when it comes to success, your people are at the center of it all. When your salespeople perform at a high level and are engaged in their work, your company (and your profits) will benefit. Providing the training they need to be successful helps guarantee you’ll continue to meet your company’s goals.

In this article, we’ll cover:

  • Two essential elements of a professional sales training program
  • Benefits individual sales training will bring to your company
  • How customization can enhance those benefits

When you set your salespeople up for success, you set your entire company up for success. Read on to learn how your company can benefit from customized sales training programs.

Two essentials: Sales training and sales enablement

Let’s start by reviewing the difference between sales training and sales enablement.

Sales training is the process of teaching your team what they need to know and do. Sales enablement refers to the tools and resources they need to put their knowledge and skills into action. It’s important to include both of these elements when preparing your team for the field, especially new salespeople—you really can’t have one without the other.

Consider an employee who has all of the sales tools and resources at their disposal, but doesn’t know where to start or how to implement them. Or, what about an employee who has the knowledge and skills to do great work, but can’t access the tools they need to apply that knowledge to their work. That’s why you need to ensure that you build sales enablement into your sales training program.

When you invest resources into your team’s training and development, that’s when you’ll really see the benefits of a highly trained team.

Benefits of a professional sales training program

Your training program should be more than just a few sales training exercises once a year. With continually changing market conditions, new competitors, and industry trends, you’ll want to ensure your team has ongoing access to the most current information at all times. This way, they’ll be able to anticipate changes, adapt their approach, and continue to get consistent results even through challenging circumstances.

Implementing a professional sales training program, will give you results like:

  • Higher closed deal percentages
  • Boosts in employee morale
  • More cohesive teamwork
  • Increased employee and customer satisfaction

You want your team to know the fundamental skills they need to perform their roles, but you also want to make sure they get the most relevant information possible. With so much variation from company to company and market to market, there’s rarely a one-size-fits-all solution.

That’s where custom sales training comes in.

Customized sales training programs: The secret to effective sales teams

Ensuring your employees get the most relevant information possible through their training makes all the difference in the world. When people know that what they’re learning is specific to their situation and goals, they’re more engaged and more likely to retain the information.

A custom sales training solution is the best way to prepare your team and your company to persist through constant changes. You could use the same general sales training to cover generic information and your employees might walk away with some basic skills. Or, you could offer sales training exercises with tailor-made content that matches your company’s products/services, goals, and customers. Which do you think is more effective?

A custom sales training program allows more flexibility, and typically features the following:

  • Alignment with an employee’s level in the company
  • Relevant content inclusive of the products/services they sell
  • Real-world scenarios that allow for practice responding to typical (and out-of-the-box) objections customers say
  • Real-time coaching and feedback

With that level of customization, employees will see themselves and their role reflected in a way that makes it all the more real and applicable. They’ll be better prepared for the field, knowing exactly how to respond to prospects by leaning on their sales training knowledge.

Additionally, your employees may all respond differently to various training formats. Some may love reading long guides, while others only have the attention to digest quick videos before they tune out. Either way, implementing a custom program allows you to use different modalities to ensure each individual sales training experience is as meaningful as possible.

Launch your custom sales training solution today

You don’t have to be an expert on how to train a sales team to implement customized sales training programs.

Unboxed Training & Technology’s Custom Training content is dynamic, engaging, and contextualized within your organization’s business world. Your sales team will get the information they need to know, when they need to know it, in a format that works for them.

Our team is ready to help your people – your company’s greatest asset – be the best that they can be. We ensure that the training you invest in is right for your company and will help your team continually expand their skill sets. Request a demo to see the difference a custom sales training solution can make!

More articles like this one