Picture this: You invest a significant amount of money in sales training programs for your sales reps each year. From flying in a sales training coach to organizing annual workshops and sales focussed lectures, you spend hundreds and thousands of company budget.
However, the training programs are not engaging or effective, and you see your sales reps yawning through workshops.
Sales representatives' techniques slowly become outdated, and they're not equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to sell the company's latest products. Nor are they up-to-date with the latest industry trends, and product knowledge is limited. Reps continue to rely on old techniques, which are becoming less effective in the highly competitive marketplace.
As a result, the sales teams fail to meet their targets, and the company begins to lose market share to competitors. You realize that you've been spending years wasting valuable resources on ineffective training that does not provide a return on investment...
Sales training is essential for equipping sales teams with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the modern marketplace. Organizations with continuous and engaging sales training programs see:
Yet, all too often, the lack of regular and engaging sales training programs leaves sales representatives, like John, unable to compete effectively in the market and thus:
- Lost opportunities
- Decreased revenue growth for the company
So, that leaves the burning questions ...
How do companies create a sales training program that keeps their sales representatives engaged?
What's in This Post?
- The importance of an engaging sales training program
- What does engaging sales training look like?
- How to create an engaging sales training program that gets employees excited?
The Importance of an Engaging Sales Training Program
"As business leaders, it is our responsibility to provide those in our span of care with opportunities to realize their potential and know that who they are and what they do matters. How else can we help them realize their potential and elevate humanity? Let this practical yet inspiring compendium guide you on your journey to create a thriving organization." - Bob Chapman, Barry-Wehmiller CEO Author, Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family
Successful organizations recognize the value of an engaging sales training program and act on it. Why?
Because when a sales training program fails to engage its participants, it usually results in a huge waste of time and resources for an organization. According to McKinsey, the cost of ineffective sales training can be high, with companies losing up to 20% of their potential revenue due to a lack of proper sales training.
An unengaging training program can lead to disinterest, disengagement, and ultimately poor performance from the sales team. Participants may struggle to absorb the information being presented, leading to a lack of retention and a failure to apply the concepts in the field. This can result in missed sales opportunities, decreased revenue, and a loss of market share.
What Does Engaging Sales Training Look Like?
Engaging in sales training should be designed to meet the specific needs of sales representatives and help them develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their role. It should be interactive, relevant, accessible, and reinforced over time to ensure that the training has a lasting impact on performance.
| Need's based curriculum design | Customize the curriculum based on your company's requirements by leveraging your knowledge of business processes and priorities along with a thorough understanding of the industry. |
| Impact-focused journey | Every participant undertakes a "lighthouse" project on a critical topic that is both visible and backed by senior management and generates quantifiable business outcomes. |
| Globally consistent, locally delivered |
The learning journeys are tailored to the individual needs of each participant and are adjusted to align with the cultures and contexts of specific countries while upholding a consistent global standard of excellence. |
| Engaging training modules | Infuse personal coaching, hands-on experience in authentic settings, gamification, and digital learning tools to create an engaging and enjoyable learning experience. |
How to Create an Engaging Sales Training Program that gets Employees Excited?
1. Incorporate video-based training videos
Immersion is critical when it comes to sales training that is engaging, and video is becoming the way that companies are achieving this.
Over a period of time, humans tend to forget what they have learned, which can hinder the effectiveness of any training, including, of course, sales training. This phenomenon is explained by the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, a well-known theory that German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered in 1879. According to the theory, people tend to forget what they learned within 20 minutes of learning it.
In the context of training, this means that employees are likely to forget up to 90% of the information learned during training within a month.
Even though instructor-led classroom training remains a popular way to conduct corporate training, recent surveys have shown that video has become a widely used learning platform for corporate training.
2. Focus on soft skills sales training
Not only is soft skill training vital for sales representatives to train, but soft skill training also helps make training programs engaging by providing learners with opportunities to practice and apply their skills in real-world scenarios.
Want to read why soft skill training is vital for sales representatives? Read our article here!
Soft skills are often efficient and applicable to real-world situations, which can make them more relevant and engaging for learners. By focusing on skills like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, learners can see the direct benefits of applying these skills in their personal and professional lives.
3. Provide tailored feedback for learners
Tailored feedback is an essential component of creating an engaging sales training program, as it provides learners with specific insights and guidance on their performance and progress.
When learners receive personalized feedback that is tailored to their strengths, weaknesses, and goals, they are more likely to feel invested and engaged in the training, and motivated to improve their skills.
Salespeople are often required to sit through long, disconnected sessions that fail to connect with their daily activities, leading to disengagement and poor results. Long story short, effective sales training must be engaging to drive meaningful results.
When salespeople feel motivated and enthusiastic about the training they receive, they are more likely to remember the information, apply it during sales interactions, and ultimately increase sales revenue.
Want to see how Retorio's AI-powered video training platform could help your organization level up your sales training with engaging content? Click the button below to try it for free!
