7 Sales Training Techniques You Need to Know About

Sales is never stagnant. There is always a new goal to reach, a new target to meet, and a new way to approach a routine task. This nature is what makes sales dynamic, interesting, and engaging. There is always something new to learn to improve your sales team, such as sales training techniques. 

Make sure you use these up-to-date training strategies to boost performance in your sales team.

1. E-learning

Electronic learning (e-learning) is one of the fastest growing sectors of training and development. An increasing number of companies are teaching and training their sales team with learning modules that are integrated with their CRM. 

E-learning gives employees the freedom to work on sales training when it is convenient for them. It also allows them to access information about training when they run into a problem or need to learn a better solution to what they’re doing. It gives sales teams the agency to develop their skills knowledge at their own pace and on their own schedule.

2. Product Knowledge

No matter how great reps are at selling, they can’t do their jobs effectively if they don’t know or fully understand the products or services they’re selling. Giving your sales team as much product knowledge as possible will help them do their jobs better. 

Once they have that knowledge, they will be able to answer customer questions and come up with tailored, creative solutions, which conveys confidence to the customer. It increases trust, builds credibility, and helps reps build stronger relationships—which will help them increase sales.

3. Onboarding

Sales training starts with onboarding, which is why this is one of the sales training techniques you need to be using. It’s important for new hires to be immersed in the onboarding process as soon as possible. They need to learn about the company, their jobs, and their teams, and they need to start learning product information and company processes immediately to ramp up quickly.

4. Conveying Company Strategy

A sales team works more efficiently when reps understand what exactly it is they’re working towards. Therefore, it’s important to convey the company’s overall goals and strategy to your sales team.

This is different from sharing weekly targets or sales goals. Sharing a company’s strategy allows your sales team to see where the company is and where it’s headed. Your sales reps are the front-line workers who make company success possible. Help them help your company succeed by sharing your strategy and vision, so they can work toward it.

5. Pairing Up

A great sales training technique is pairing up a junior sales team member with a senior colleague. This is a fantastic way for your junior member to learn new techniques and habits, as well as to ask questions. It’s also a great training opportunity for your senior sales team member to learn how to manage and mentor someone. During these mentorship opportunities, both parties grow and learn, which benefits the company.

6. Rewarding Success

This seems rather evident, but it’s an important sales training technique: Reward your team’s successes. Did they pass a quiz? Congratulate them! When you reward success, you’re helping build camaraderie within your team and putting positivity and enthusiasm into the workplace. 

You’re also showing team members you notice their efforts, care about how they are doing, and want them to succeed.

7. Team Building

Team building can be challenging when you’re working in sales. Reps are rarely in the office together. They’re out making sales! However, for your company to be successful, your entire team needs to feel included and wanted. Team-building exercises can include celebrating birthdays and achievements as well as holding off-site team-building excursions.