- Your team's success starts with you.
And that success depends greatly
on the training that your team gets.
A focused training strategy can align sales training methods
with your business strategy, goals, and needs.
It can encourage the right mindset from your reps,
it can help your team better understand your customers,
and it can keep your reps up-to-date on changes
and break news in the industry.
Training isn't one size fits all
and it doesn't end after on-boarding.
Training must be an on-going and continuous process
where your reps develop the craft of sales
throughout their careers.
Equipping your team with the latest techniques
and strategies is necessary to succeed
in a constantly evolving world.
To manage your team,
you have to understand your team's strengths and weaknesses.
And you also have to consider what you need to teach them
to keep them on the top of their game.
Here's some questions you can ask yourself
to better understand your team.
First, can your reps explain what your product does
in just two sentences?
If you put them on the spot and they stumble there,
they're going to need more training
if they're going to give persuasive sales presentations.
Next, who are your best reps
and what unique skills make them exceptional?
Training them to coach these skills
not only recognizes and empowers your best reps,
but replicates these skills throughout the rest of the team.
Also, what skills do your underperforming reps need
in order to improve?
By identifying weaknesses,
you can focus your training efforts
to take your team's performance to the next level.
Another one, what learning style works for your team?
Not everyone learns in the same way
and by personalizing your training
for your reps' unique learning styles,
you engage their minds and make learning easier.
For example,
you wouldn't only want to have written training,
you'll want to get your reps
hands-on in their training as well,
because a lot of people learn better that way.
Finally, are all your reps using the same sales processes?
Teams work best when everyone's on the same page.
A great sales playbook can help you train your team
and keep the message consistent.
The methods used to train are also key.
When making a training program,
remember to keep it visually interesting
by using infographics, charts, and color coding.
For auditory learners, podcasts and webinars are helpful.
For those who find numbers and statistics engaging,
figures are not only interesting, but also add context.
For written training materials,
make sure you keep the sentences short
and stick to two or three sentences per paragraph.
Information is much easier to take in
when broken into bite-sized pieces.
Now, think of your own team
and write down five ideas for your own training strategy.
Keep their individual personalities,
learning styles, and unique needs in mind.
By doing so, you'll be able to create a training program
that will minimize wasted time and maximize success.