Working in sales is typically highly competitive and sales teams often need to continuously learn and develop new skills to stay ahead of the competition. It's no longer as simple as doing initial training and never adapting your approach. The role of a good manager is to support sales teams with their ongoing training and career development, setting them up for success.
Utilising up-to-date selling techniques can make a difference not only to the performance of your sales team and business overall, but also to the morale of your employees, keeping them motivated to continue the high standard they have achieved. Additionally, productive sales training can foster a culture of growth and support in your business, ensuring clear communication and collaborative teamwork amongst your sales staff.
Research has shown that when sales teams have a combination of effective training, regular coaching rhythm, and effective management, they are 63% more likely to be top performers. This demonstrates the importance and benefits for managers of implementing the right training, to keep their sales team evolving their techniques to better reflect their customers and continually winning new business.
Being a manager demands a lot of hard work and continuous learning, it's not a skill you're simply born with. With that in mind, let's look at the 10 best sales techniques and training methods that managers can use to develop their skills and support their teams in the most effective way possible.
Field training is an important part of developing good sales techniques, as it allows your teams to get hands-on experience and have a clear understanding of what they need to do to succeed. If sellers and their managers are taking time away from their usual responsibilities to complete training, this must be time well spent and valuable for trainees, which is why fieldwork can be so beneficial.
It's easy for businesses to fall into the trap of just providing a few theoretical training sessions without any practical application. As a result, sellers receive unfocused content that doesn't apply to specific selling situations once they are in them, negatively impacting their performance.
In fact, statistics show that 85%-90% of sales training has no lasting effect after 120 days, but with the right mix of relevant training for your teams, you can avoid becoming part of that statistic. Field training should be part of your curriculum as it often takes repeating the action through consistent practice for sellers to understand the process foundations to then build their confidence to make the job their own.
We have just referred to one example above, but there are several different types of training methods, allowing managers to customise their plans to suit the business and sales teams they are working with. For example, whilst in-person sales training remains popular and effective, virtual training led by an instructor is becoming more commonplace, with some learning and development professionals believing that virtual training results in better outcomes.
Every individual is different and will learn best in different ways, which is why when delivering group training sessions, it is often beneficial to provide a blended approach that engages with sellers and achieves results. This might include:
Talking through sales theories and simulations is helpful for trainees, but it's not enough to teach these methods without providing examples of why these selling techniques work. By including real-world success stories and positive examples, you can inspire your sales trainees and offer motivation for them to achieve or even exceed these targets.
You should choose rounded case studies for your training sessions that cover what worked well, what didn't work as well, and how the sales process worked from start to finish. It is also useful to break down successful sales examples to look for any patterns or consistent metrics. This will allow you to create actionable steps for your team that they can apply to their sales, working as a sales template that they can refer to during training. The techniques from case studies can also be taken and applied to other areas of training. For example, practising the methods used in a case study in the field can offer more context and work to build confidence for sellers.
Training shouldn't be approached with a one-and-done type of mentality, even though it takes time away from everyday responsibilities, it's important to reinforce and follow up with regular training to maintain high standards and successful sales. Be proactive rather than allowing the burden to fully be on your sellers to make sure that their training sticks. There are many different ways that sales training can be reinforced including:
Whichever way you approach reinforcement, it's important to be flexible. People learn and master skills in different ways, so what might work for one seller may not for another. Holding one-to-one meetings and check-ins is also a good way to ensure training is being utilised effectively. The regular communication allows you to explore what your sellers might be struggling with and address any weaknesses that might need extra training.
Assigning your sales trainees with a mentor can have a positive impact on performance and increase retention rates. Mentorship is not about age, a mentor can be from any generation and should be allocated based on their capability, experience in the role, and talent. A mentor can also be provided to help a trainee with a specific area where they might be struggling and not necessarily for their job role overall. They should be a dedicated point of contact for trainees to ask questions and get support whenever they need it.
As a manager, one way that you can optimise the effectiveness of your sales techniques and training is to gain certification for it. Testing and certification offer a great opportunity for you to learn best practices around providing training, familiarise yourself with the training program, and work with experienced facilitators to develop your skills as a trainer. Some key areas that might be considered during training and certification are preparation, outcomes, delivery approach, and management.
There isn't one set skill or method that closes a sale, with sales teams often relying on multiple specific skills and developing them until they become strengths. A business won't benefit from a uniform sales team that all try to sell in exactly the same way, which is why encouraging each seller to specialise and focus on their individual strengths is a useful way to promote successful sales tactics.
Also, you can pair your sellers with other sellers who thrive in different areas to create a culture of ongoing cross-training and positive support. However, whilst leaning into their specialised skills is important, a good manager will also make sure that their team's weaker areas are still being addressed and not overlooked to focus on strengths.
A significant part of a salesperson's job role centres around goals and actions. For example, they know they typically have a quota to hit or a new business target they need to meet. Therefore, they need to consider what actions will be required to achieve those goals. By helping your sellers build a plan, set goals, and identify the actions needed to achieve them you can ensure they are holding themselves accountable for their own success. A goal-setting plan can include the following steps:
Internal training with your managers and relevant training providers is good, but you may also want to consider bringing in relevant thought leaders in your industry. They will be able to share their own experiences and deeper insights that resulted in their success. You could focus on specific areas such as inviting someone who is successful in social selling or has a reputation for closing complex deals to talk through their approach and what has worked for them in those achievements.
When your team has the opportunity to learn from an industry leader they can take advice and implement it into their own training and development to improve their success rate. This doesn't have to be a regular part of your training program, but it can be worth dedicating an hour or two every once in a while, with an expert in the field.
Whilst sales team management is a fundamental part of your role, it's important for sellers to take ownership of their own individual success, or they won't be able to reach their full potential. The best managers are aware of this and will work with their teams to maximise their sense of ownership. This can be done by presenting different optional challenges for sellers to hit, but it has to be their choice to do it, which is why it's advised not to make productivity challenges compulsory. Those who are committed to achieving and being successful will more often embrace training, challenges, and extra support that is presented to them. As a result, they get the best outcomes and go on to achieve impressive results in their sales careers.
Hopefully, this guide has helped provide a better understanding of some of the key sales training techniques that managers should be aware of, to give their teams the best chance of success. An additional way you can support your sales team during training and with their job roles as a whole is through the implementation of valuable digital tools like E-Sign.
E-Sign is an industry-leading electronic signature and digital document platform that can help organisations streamline their workflows and save valuable time during transactions in a secure and efficient way. This is particularly relevant for sales teams that regularly handle large quantities of documents such as agreements and invoices when carrying out their daily tasks. E-Sign can help them manage their transactions more effectively, so they can focus on closing more details faster.
Contact us today to discuss your requirements and our digital transformation team will be able to ensure you have a tailored solution that meets your document needs. You can also get started with us by registering for our 14-day free trial, which will allow you to explore the features and functionality of the platform for yourself and see how it could work for your business.
