In sales, it is important for a salesperson to be properly trained as effective sales training can go a long way towards ensuring long-term success.

However, when it comes to designing and operating a sales training program, it is not enough to simply list out the basics and lecture about what a sales professional is supposed to do on a daily basis.

There are some key principles that must be followed for a sales training program to be effective. By following these principles, a trainee will understand the skills they are being taught and how to use them to the best of their ability in their professional lives. Here are the key principles of effective sales training:

Teaching and Retainment of the Fundamentals

The fundamental skills of sales are often the first and primary thing learned in most sales training programs. Many average programs simply teach the skills needed to be a salesperson and leave it at that. While there are other aspects of sales that effective training should focus on, the fundamentals of sales are still incredibly important.

This primarily includes the basics, including product knowledge, knowing how to give a pitch, problem solving, time management skills, negotiation skills, proper presentation, and client prospecting. These basics are foundational for a sales person’s career as they are the skills they will be consistently drawing from, especially during a sales pitch. Any sales training program worth its salt will be teaching these fundamental skills, else it would be a complete waste of time.

However, a truly effective sales training program will not only teach sales people these skills but will make sure they retain these fundamental skills. Throughout the course, they will encourage you to practice and to make use of these skills, giving you proper feedback on how to properly teach these skills. They will also continuously reinforce these skills and may dive deeper into them in order for you to have a solid grasp on them, through a variety of methods such as roleplaying, gamification, and even in-person pitches. Eventually, an effective sales training program will ensure that these skills are second nature for a salesperson. Their methods of reinforcement and retainment not only apply to the basics, but to every skill that a salesperson develops throughout their time in the program, including proper communication and relationship building skills.

 

Developing Relationship Building and Communication Skills

According to Lori Richardson, founder of Score More Sales: “Selling is really about having conversations with people and helping improve their company or their life.” During a sales pitch, the primary goal is not to advertise a service, but to have a conversation with a client in order to find out their problem and how your service may be a solution to their problem. The most critical aspect of sales and the difference maker between a good and a bad salesperson is their ability to communicate with their clients and build relationships with them. Thus, what makes a sales training program great, one that will create other great salespeople, is their ability to develop their communication and relationship building skills.

There are many skills and techniques included in this, such as verbal and written communication, emotional intelligence, active listening, doing research beforehand, storytelling, and so much more. What techniques a person uses can depend on both the client and the salesperson themself as they are more effective with one style or another.

However, the individual skills and techniques learned are not quite as important as the intangible elements of a sales pitch, which cannot be laid out on a check list. Rather they are intuited through experience. Effective sales training will be able to give you this experience by either going through simulated sales pitches with fellow students and teachers or by giving you hands-on experience with clients. This includes being able to manage a conversation, build rapport with a client, using the aforementioned skills seamlessly in a conversation, and being adaptable enough to go wherever the conversation takes you.

Doing this will not only help you to be more likable and approachable to a potential client but may be the starting point to building a business relationship with them. Effective sales training will also teach you how to build and maintain these relationships through follow-up, proper communication, feedback, and ensuring they know they are appreciated. These are what makes a client want to stay with a business and will ensure the success of a sales person.

Adaptability to Others

An additional layer of what will make an effective sales training program is their ability to adapt to the businesses they are catering to and the students they are teaching. Being able to implement the specific services, pain points, and goals of a business into their program in order to suit the needs of a sales team, will go a long way in making it easier for the students to implement the program’s lessons in their work. Furthermore, being able to adapt to the needs of a student through direct feedback, working one on one, and sometimes even customized curriculums may also push a great sales training program into an amazing one.