10 Best Sales Training Courses

Sales training is the organized process of training sales managers and sales representatives in their trade. Such training programs are aimed at improving sales knowledge and skills and maximizing sales over time. As a practice, most companies deploy a sales training course via a learning management system (LMS) and a professional instructor to conduct sales training online.

Talking of sales training, the Training Industry recently released a report titled, “The State of the Sales”. Among other information, the report provides an overview of the current market for sales training and discusses the common training delivery methods. It is something you’ll certainly find useful as it comes from the leading authority for corporate training.

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Depending on the stage of the sales cycle your employees are in and where they are conducting the sales from, you can deploy different types of sales training.

Basic Sales Skills

This training is targeted at those who are new in the field and it is intended to help participants master the fundamentals of sales training.

For example, some of the training topics under basic skills may include composing an email to prospects, active listening, asking questions, handling sales objections, following up, and negotiation.

Demand Generation

This is a specialized form of sales training in which a sales force is trained on how to generate demands for a product or service in the market. The training is designed to help a sales team identify the audience and guide them through the sales funnel.

For example, if you’re a startup that launched a new product or service, your priority would be to create awareness around your brand through intense advertising and marketing. This generates demands based on customers’ needs that your offerings can fulfill.

So, exceptional skills in demand generation, qualifying prospects, and finally converting prospects into long-term customers are the main topics of this training.

Inside Sales

According to LinkedIn, inside sales makes up 45.5% of all sales in the U.S.

In inside sales training, sales personnel are trained on the effective use of the traditional methods – email, phone, and chat.

In other words, the training focuses on how to conduct sales remotely from one’s office using these conventional tools.

Field Sales

Field sales teams make up 71.2% of the total sales force.

In this type of training, field sales representatives or outside sales representatives undergo in-person or face-to-face sales training.

So, interpersonal skills are an essential area that this training covers. The focus here is on consultative selling, which is based on identifying customers’ needs and addressing their pain points.

Vendor Differentiation

Growing competition necessitates businesses to create a unique selling proposition (USP) and strive to stand out from the crowd. This is what vendor differentiation training is all about.

It trains sales representatives on how to make customers feel that they should buy from you instead of your close competitors. In other words, it is training that focuses on the strategies and techniques for positioning a business as the best choice in the market.

Vendor differentiation capitalizes on prospects who are actively weighing different product or service alternatives and facing the challenges of making an informed decision.

“How you sell matters. What your process is matters. But how your customers feel when they engage with you matters more.”

~ Tiffani Bova

Sales training is interlaced with improved sales, more revenues, and business growth. Ongoing sales training equips a sales team with all the in-demand sales knowledge and skills and enables them to face present and future challenges.

In this sense, sales training is as important to a business as compliance training programs, such as sexual harassment training, if not more.

A well-designed sales training program can lead to increased sales, meeting and exceeding your sales targets.

More win rates are another benefit of effective sales training as sales personnel are trained on how to close more deals.

As a bonus, sales training can check employee turnover. Like in any other training program, sales training can make your employees feel valued since you invest in their professional development and career advancement.

The success and failure of a sales training program depend on the processes, tools, and methods you use. Make sure you keep the following in mind:

1. Assess the Learning Needs of Your Sales Team

First of all, identify gaps in your sales team’s knowledge and skills. This will help you devote your time and direct your effort to the right areas.

You can begin by assigning them sales assessment quizzes like this one to get an idea of their understanding:

2. Choose the Right Format for Your Training

The best decision would be to deploy an online training system that supports different file types or multimedia. This will ensure that your program caters to different learners with different learning styles and preferences.

3. Keep It Short and Engaging

Brief, clear, and attention-grabbing content should be a norm, not an exception. This will make self-paced microlearning and knowledge retention possible for learners.

4. Use Real-World Examples

The importance of using real-life examples in employee training cannot be overstated. If you want to build a sales team that is capable of dealing with real sales challenges, you should let them learn from real examples.

5. Include Job-Shadowing

Job-shadowing opens up opportunities for learning in the workplace through first-hand experiences. It is one of the fastest ways to learn a work process, how to operate a tool, and more.

6. Don’t Ignore Field Training

Give hands-on sales experience to your sales teams by getting them out in the field. It is where they get the best chance to face the different facets of sales, including identifying prospects, contacting them, pursuing them, and closing deals with them.

7. Reward Best Performers

Keep your sales reps motivated by using a reward & recognition program for their contributions. Sales incentive ideas, such as a job promotion, a ticket to a sporting event, and subscription boxes, can be an excellent way to acknowledge them.

There are not one but several best-selling sales training courses on the market. Many of them are developed by industry leaders and top universities. If you want to choose the best course, look at the following:

Price is just one of the factors that you’d like to consider.

If you’re still wondering how to choose the best sales training program for your organization, take time to go through these tips.

A sales force acts as a vital link between your business and customers. Achieving measurable sales training ROI begins with having the right training in place.

So, it always comes down to systematic training.

To start with, assess skills gaps in your sales personnel, which may be holding them back from reaching your sales goals. They should be capable of building trust with prospects so that they can be turned into loyal customers.

Setting SMART goals is another means to ensure better learning and evaluation. The training goals should be realistic, measurable, and time-bound. such force is known to exhibit a better understanding of the products and services they sell, close mor

Use online training software to train your salespersons. Such training systems are not only cost-effective but more efficient and impactful.

Finally, reinforce the training by following up on learners and making sure they actually implement what they learned during the training. This will make everyone’s efforts meaningful while making learning sustainable.

Let’s now resume discussing the 10 best sales training courses.