My Sales Team Needs Training!

There’s a famous saying in business called sales cures all,” and it’s very accurate in many ways. With that said, producing the best sales performance isn’t always straightforward. Many sales managers struggle to decide on the type of sales team training needed and how frequently they should train their staff.

Furthermore, sales managers often have strict time constraints. Therefore, they choose a classic sales training seminar. These seminars often have an expert sales coach giving traditional sales information. Unfortunately, many of your staff members will forget the training quickly.

The truth is, there isn't a one-size-fits-all method to sales. Every staff member has strengths, weaknesses, and different extrinsic motivations. However, it’s entirely possible to create a sales training program that caters to all personalities and motivations.

If you think my sales team needs training, it only takes a little strategic planning. Here are some excellent ways you can fire up your sales team and drive up your bottom line!

1 - Keep the training practical

An excellent way to ensure you have a high-quality sales training program is by keeping it practical. If you can have your team enjoying using the tools you gave them, your company’s productivity will increase.

It’s an excellent idea to train your staff to use the tools that are already in place. Furthermore, whenever your team notices immediate positive impacts on their day-to-day lives, it becomes easier to keep your team motivated through prolonged training courses.

Using practical training methods is also a superb way to boost team morale and encourage togetherness!

2 - Find inspiration

What inspires your team to hit those sales targets? What makes your team get up early in the morning and want to break sales records? If you think my sales team needs training, you might want to figure out what inspires them.

Here are some ways to inspire your team:

1 - Create a recognition culture

Without a doubt, commission inspires a lot of people to sell more products and services. However, it’s not always enough to inspire your sales reps.

You should encourage a team-orientated mindset that recognizes those making the most sales and performing well.

2- Focus on purpose

When your sales team engages in your company’s vision and purpose, they will sell considerably more. Unfortunately, when a sales team doesn’t believe in the product’s purpose, sales will often decrease.

Make sure your sales team understands your purpose and the drive to improve the lives of other people. If you do that, you’ll see an increase in sales performance.

3 - Create a culture of collaboration, not competition

Salespeople are often competitive people, and that’s often a great thing. Nonetheless, when your sales team goes head-to-head with each other, it can lead to negative motivation and a lack of inspiration.

You should gauge how much competition you need to encourage performance but pursue an emphasis on togetherness. It will lead to increased knowledge-sharing, mentorships, and better overall sales.

4 - Celebrate wins and success

Working in sales means handling a lot of rejection daily, but if you can celebrate big and small wins, you can inspire your sales team to perform daily.

An excellent way to find inspiration is to track daily wins. This will inspire your team to reflect on their performance every day.

3 - Be consistent

The key to driving excellent sales and boosting your bottom line is consistency. Unfortunately, consistency is something that many sales teams struggle to manage. Many musicians have one-hit wonders, but they lack the consistency to become The Beatles.

Any sales team can have an excellent quarter, but the sales team that can deliver every month of the year are the sales teams that drive success. So, what is the best way to drive consistency in a constantly changing environment?

Here are some great ways to encourage consistency in your team:

1 - Have a clear and concise plan

You can determine your consistency through your behavior. The greatest way to ensure consistency is through a plan. For example, in sales, effective plans prioritize finding prospects, following up on the prospects, and finally closing the sale. You must remind your sales team of your plan daily.

Moreover, some sales managers like to create a daily list to tick off each task as they complete them. However, you can find your own planning method that inspires and increases your sales team's performance.

2 - Eliminate distractions

You’ll rarely see your top sales performers standing around the office chatting about the latest computer game. However, that doesn’t mean that breaks and downtime aren’t important, but you should try to ensure your sales team stays focused on the goal.

It’s very challenging to stay consistent when things distract your sales team. Make sure you motivate your team, set clear goals, and encourage them to prioritize the most challenging tasks.

3 - Make sure you know your numbers

One of the best ways to ensure consistent sales is knowing your numbers. If you’re looking for a true reflection of your sales team’s performance, the numbers will not lie. Nonetheless, many sales teams don’t go deep into their numbers, but those who do, are always the ones who produce better results.

When you look at your sales team’s numbers, you can see why you’re struggling to achieve consistent sales. Once you know why you lack consistency, you can start planning towards improving those areas.

4 - Set benchmarks

Benchmarks are the best way to understand which metrics you need to hit to obtain success in your market. Benchmarks are critical for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they let you know if your KPIs are realistic. Secondly, they give you an insight into your competition’s performance and where your sales team needs to be.

Here are some superb ways to set benchmarks:

1 - Decide what you’re going to measure

In sales, almost all companies will identify their KPIs. These metrics may include conversion rate, visitor engagement, pricing targets, mailing list effectiveness, and so much more. Once you’ve decided what you’re going to measure, you’ll be in a fantastic place to move forward.

2 - Research your competition

Once you’ve decided what you’re going to measure, you’ll need to research your competition. You should make sure you research companies with a similar business model and the same industry. Once you’ve completed your market research, you can bring some benchmarks to your sales team.

3 - Communicate those benchmarks effectively

So, now you’ve established your benchmarks? You’ll now need to communicate those benchmarks effectively to your sales team. Again, try to ensure transparency and make sure the whole team understands these benchmarks and what your team is striving towards.

4 - Take action

Now it’s time to take action, which is an essential part of setting benchmarks. Use your data to drive specific, measurable, and realistic goals. Then, you can motivate your sales team to take action and drive home success.

5 - Use free resources

If you think my sales team needs training, it’s tempting to spend lots of money on sales courses, but there are many free resources out there. Besides, these free resources can give you an incredible – and highly affordable – insight into driving sales.

It’s often not practical to send your whole sales team to a two-day sales training course. Firstly, these courses can eat into your budget. Secondly, these courses don’t always mean your staff will deliver results.

Thankfully, the internet has provided the beauty of online training. It allows a sales team to enjoy customized, personal, cost-effective, and schedule-friendly training. Therefore, if a certain sales team member struggles with a certain sales area, you can focus directly on that.

However, many sales managers will choose in-person sales courses. Unfortunately, these courses can be unproductive, un-personalized, and leave your sales team bored and unmotivated. There are some excellent sales courses out there, but you can also train your sales staff effectively using free resources on the internet.

6 - Be mindful

Sales can be very challenging. It’s a challenge that many sales team members love and a challenge that leaves many sales team members stressed out. It’s essential to hit your sales targets, and it’s equally as important to promote a culture of mindfulness.

Mindfulness can help sales teams deal with rejection, failure, and setbacks. When you’re constantly trying to achieve your targets, you need some mindfulness to keep you grounded. In addition, you’ll also get along with your fellow sales team members better when there’s a culture of mindfulness.

Mindfulness can also improve confidence, productivity, reduce turnover, and can connect to larger goals. If you want your sales team to value your company and feel 100 percent ready to perform at their highest ability, try to ensure a culture of mindfulness surrounds your sales team.

Learn more about our direct training options at Uvaro

If you’re feeling overwhelmed about the training your sales team needs, you shouldn’t worry. Uvaro has a comprehensive sales training program fit for any sales-related career. We specialize in direct training and can blend our curriculum to your product or sales process.

Whether your reps need to learn and practice handling objections, prospecting through video and email, cold-call theory, and research the discovery – the program is perfect for you.

Feel free to contact us for more information about our direct sales training options to kickstart your sales team's growth!