Investing in the training of your sales team to accelerate business recovery

For many companies, the containment measures imposed by the pandemic led to a slowdown in business. Forced work stoppages and remote reorganization in certain sectors of activity represent real organizational challenges.

So, how are your sales now? 

Obviously, the complexity of the situation will have generated a drop in revenue for several companies. The objective now is to resume activities quickly and efficiently in order to recover from this crisis. 

To optimize business growth as fast as possible, you will have to rely on the performance of your human capital. Investing in the training of your sales team, therefore, becomes an essential strategy for the success of post-containment.

Don’t wait for things to go back to “normal”. Start from today to accelerate your business recovery with your online training program.

Investing in your sales team

Subsidies or warehouse stocks are not what drives the business. For a company to survive and grow, it must sell its products or services and thus generate income. 

For many industries, sales are not completely automated and require the assistance of a business development representative. Responsible for converting your potential customers into buyers, they are much like your front line employees.

The performance of your sales team is therefore essential to the success of your business!

The myth of super-sellers 

Sellers are often expected to be sales machines who sign contract after contract. Once you've explained the products to them, in theory, they should have everything they need to succeed. 

"It's their job" after all!

Let's defeat this preconceived idea together. Your representatives are carriers of your message and therefore need support to deliver it well. 

Your leadership abilities added to the training that you are able to provide them, therefore, influence their success. Rather than just setting sales goals, start setting teaching goals too.

Selling during deconfinement

Although the rules of containment soften, there are still several constraints that affect your usual sales processes. No more handshakes, networking activities, and events such as conventions, conferences, and fairs. 

Certainly, you need to adapt your processes and use technology to get around some of these challenges. You must also take measures to protect the physical and mental health of your team.

All these changes related to returning to work during a pandemic represent potential irritants for your salespeople. Any support you can give them is therefore essential for resuming activities.

Online training as a strategic investment lever

A Learning Management System like Workleap LMS allows you to offer a complete learning program to your sales team. In addition to in-house training, your LMS gives you several options to effectively support your employees.

Maximize the results of your business recovery by investing in an LMS today. Here's how an online training system can improve your sales team management while accelerating business recovery.

1. Teach your message and your values

If your representatives are those who have direct contact with your prospects, it is important that they know what to say. See this first approach as an opportunity to promote your business and position yourself.

Help your salespeople become real spokespersons for your corporate culture and its values. A potential buyer will be charmed by the confidence there is towards the brand and, therefore, more likely to be interested in your products.

Reinforce this attitude by creating content that keeps them loyal to the organization. Include in your training program sessions on the specifics of the company, its history, and its objectives. 

If your salespeople fall in love with the brand, it will be much easier to share this love with your future customers.

2. Support the sales infrastructure

An LMS can also be used to organize documentation and procedures. Collect your processes on an online platform to which your sellers will have access at all times!

Gathering this valuable information in one place does more than just centralize and organize it effectively. It also makes it easier for the onboarding of new talents within your team. 

Beyond procedures, you can also use this documentation strategy to train your employees on products or services. Using technical sheets and videos, highlight the characteristics of your offer. Take the opportunity to give sales tips related to this particular case!

It is also a great way to introduce new features and ensure that your representatives, even from a distance, receive the necessary information.

3. Train your employees on sales techniques

When talking about selling, it's difficult to avoid the subject of sales techniques. Of course, you should train your teams on the different marketing strategies for your products and services.

Teach them to master conversations by exposing different types of customers, situations, and obstacles. Invite them to put these concepts into practice in online exercises such as quizzes, for example. 

Also, take the time to fully explain the conversion process for a prospect who enters your organization. By knowing each step of the process, they will be more comfortable understanding and assuming their role.

4. Offer personalized support

For each of your employees, establish a customized learning path. Depending on their career goals and strengths, the training needs will be different for each salesperson.

Write with each one career and personal development plan in which they will commit to actively participate. Involve them in this step to increase their motivation and make them accountable for their success.

You should also accompany your representatives in a personalized way, even from a distance. Ask them questions to encourage them to think and introspect on their failures and successes. End each coaching session with a lesson learned or an action plan.

And don't forget to build a customized employee journey! Follow this short guide to create a unique experience for your employees and ensure that they have everything they need to thrive in their jobs!

5. Reward efforts

During their learning, as much as when they are in the field, regularly provide your vendors with feedback. Assess their performance fairly and suggest areas for improvement if necessary.

To encourage their training efforts, add incentives to your learning program through a credit system. Reward self-development with healthy competition or bonus pay. 

Celebrate individual as well as collective victories to build team spirit. This recognition will further strengthen your organizational culture, and therefore your sales strategies. 

Stop seeing sales as a linear process, it's a circular process. If you invest in your talents and well-being, they will be better representatives and sell more. It is a wheel that it is better to start feeding now to accelerate the recovery of your business.

Start doing so today with a free trial of Workleap LMS!