How to train new sales team members remotely?

Sales teams generate the revenue that keeps the business engine running and we all know that revenue is the lifeblood of any business. Therefore a well trained sales team will not just outsell competitors but also build relationships for future business. 

We would never hire an Engineer, Lawyer, or an Accountant if they hadn’t been trained in the skills they are supposed to be performing everyday and sales is equally, if not more important.

Training sales reps effectively is a crucial component of any company’s success. Here’s how you can be just as successful with remote training as you were with in-person training.

In March of 2020, most businesses had to pivot to a remote model in response to the pandemic sweeping across the world. That shift presented several challenges, not least of which is training sales reps, especially those new to the industry. Remote training seems, on the surface, like it would be less effective than in-person training, and certainly more difficult to accomplish.

So while virtual training may seem like a downgrade from the in-person experience, it may be a better solution to training sales reps even after we can return to face-to-face activities.

Still, how you structure your training will make a lot of difference. There are ways to make remote training more effective, and failing to address these areas may make for less effective training after all. Here are some tips to succeed at training sales reps remotely without sacrificing the desired results.

Here are 5 effective ways you can start training sales reps remotely.

1. Identify training needs
2. Prioritize
3. Establish a process
4. Set short-term goals
5. Use technology to your advantage

Adapting your Sales Training To Changing Environments

Selling is changing, and sales team trainers are quickly trying to keep up with those changes. Whether you’re looking for a way to transition your current sales training to a remote format, or you need to re-skill your sales team to handle selling in a rapidly changing landscape you need to invest in and create the custom, branded content that supports your goals.

Common Mistakes to avoid while Training the sales team remotely

Sales training, like most other things today, has made the shift online. While online sales training is nothing new, the need to have training 100% online is a change. 

With sales teams working remotely, there is a need for sales managers to make adjustments to their sales training to ensure the team is ramped up, following the correct processes and operating as efficiently as possible.  

Mistakes can happen during the training process. These mistakes could have negative consequences, especially for new hires. Here are some of the most common mistakes to avoid while training your sales team remotely.

• Choosing the Wrong Training Tools and Processes
• Viewing Training as a One-Off  Task
• Not Enough Communication
• Not Checking In Enough
• Not Setting Training Schedules and Deadlines
• Not Having a Defined Onboarding Process for New Hires
• Not Choosing the Right Remote Training Tools
• Training Mistakes Lead to Management and Performance Mistakes

Tips to Train Remote Sales Teams

Here are some handy tips to help you train your remote sales teams efficiently and effectively,

1. Set clear expectations
2. Host regular virtual meetings
3. Focus beyond the results
4. Schedule time for team building
5. Encourage team collaboration
6. Celebrate and reward success
7. Establish boundaries between work and personal time
8. Encourage breaks
9. Monitor mental wellbeing of employees

Growing businesses face multiple challenges and build various skills to overcome them. Let’s look at what sales managers and training professionals can do to help.

Identifying the Problem

Sales and Training managers must be careful not to prescribe training or coaching for all problems. It’s important to diagnose the barrier to performance and then prescribe the solution. Training and coaching are the appropriate solution when skill (rather than attitude or environment) are the barrier to performance.

Rectifying the Problem : 

Virtual Practice Makes Perfect, Sales managers should ensure that sales reps are recording their presentations. That way, they can provide specific feedback to each of their team members and share best practice examples. This is a perfect opportunity to capture the good stuff and circulate it for peer learning. When combined with coaching from the manager as well as existing content, this approach helps “reinforce key learnings. 

Great Sales Training = The Best Sales Outcomes

Here are Salesforce’s 26 Sales Statistics That Prove Selling Is Changing, some highlights below:

• 80% of high-performing sales teams consider their training process as “very good” or “outstanding”. 
• Organizations with high-performing sales teams are twice as likely to provide ongoing training as companies with poorly performing sales teams. 
• US companies spend more than $70 billion per year on sales training. 
• Salespeople who complete excellent training programs deliver 10% higher win rates.

Conclusion : 

In the dynamic business environment that is prevalent today, coaching is more important than ever. Sales and Leadership is all about taking action and that’s why sales training is so important.  There will always be a million reasons not to invest in training, however, sales are unlikely to improve unless you take action.  If you haven’t invested in sales training recently, it may well be time to take action.