When your sales reps are adequately trained, they find it easier to deploy the right techniques to warm up prospects and close more deals. Yet, according to Spotio, 58% of buyers said the sales reps they dealt with couldn’t answer their questions effectively.
On top of that, Biznology reports that 82% of B2B decision makers found sales reps to be inadequately prepared. Could effective training be the missing link throwing sales reps off track? This article will delve into common sales training mistakes to watch out for to improve the quality of your training.
Following a uniform, inflexible approach
Companies often fall into the trap of not customizing the way they teach sales reps. This can be due to:
Not considering experience
Implementing sales training for all sales reps helps to smoothen workflow. However, if you follow a one-size-fits-all approach, your coaching isn’t likely to meet the needs of your whole team. For example, seasoned reps won’t appreciate a deep dive into the basics. However, green sales reps will typically need more in-depth coaching.
To make the teaching input more relevant, it’s important to tailor-make your coaching to your team’s experience level. For instance, your coaching can allow senior members to bypass certain parts of the program. That way, senior staff can focus on training in new areas or taking refresher courses where necessary.
Focusing on the same style
Learning styles often differ by individuals. If you follow a blanket approach to teaching, you may fail to reach all members effectively. To set the tone for effective learning, it often helps to use varied methods. For instance, you can use different approaches like:
- Group class set-ups
- One-on-one simulations
- In-house and virtual peer discussions
If you keep your exercises flexible, you have a higher chance of nurturing your team and allowing all members to thrive.
Not preparing your team enough
Research by Sales Performance International found that sales reps forget 50% of what they learn within the first five weeks after their training, and 84% after 90 days. These statistics show that relying on memory alone isn’t enough to make training stick.
So how can you improve the way your team retains what they learn? As the adage goes, practice makes perfect.
By allowing members adequate time to test out new knowledge in a controlled environment, your team becomes more prepared and better able to breeze through real-life interactions with customers.
Consider online simulations and role-play activities to verify how much learning your team has assimilated. It’s important to create a structured reinforcement program to assess skills regularly.
If you send your sales force out before you sharpen their skills enough, your reps will often find themselves in sticky situations that may leave them demoralized.
Cramming facts into the curriculum
The nature of a sales rep job requires vast skills and knowledge. However, trainers often err by attempting to condense all the data and information into one seminar or learning program. The excess content usually overloads trainees.
This approach often makes sales reps more focused on remembering information in order to proceed to the next level rather than practically applying knowledge.
A more effective approach often blends the right amount of content with the best methods and activities for delivery as well as assessment tools.
For instance, for a week-long workshop, you can choose to cover three or four core concepts like understanding customers, communication, and managing relationships. Leave other topics for another round of training. You can support this learning with shared experiences and situational role play and a face-to-face evaluation by managers.
Noncontinuous training
Retaining any skill boils down to how often you practice. It’s unlikely that sales reps will grasp everything in one seminar and implement learning practically. If your coaching is event based, it will likely be forgotten easily.
For example, holding a two to three-day workshop after a six-month gap in training is not likely to get reps up to speed with sales skills and techniques.
Rather than view training as a solitary event, it helps to maintain a continuous approach to training. For example, biweekly peer-to-peer reviews can help cement learning better and achieve more success.
Forgetting the managers
Sales reps often need reinforcement from immediate line managers. If your training doesn’t empower managers, it’s not likely to make a big impact.
Consider implementing programs that empower supervisors like:
- Allowing line managers to have a peek at the materials beforehand. When managers know the contents of the course, they can answer questions more effectively.
- Allowing supervisors to chime in on the planning stages to shape the nature of training.
- Using role-play between line managers to boost their confidence.
- Providing support by investing in external trainers. That way, line managers don’t bear the burden of both instruction and supervision.
By steering away from mistakes in your sales training, you can create a stronger team of sales reps who consistently hit targets.
