What's Missing From Your Sales Online Training Program?
Sales aren’t all about expensive client lunches and charismatic product pitches. In fact, most sales employees are struggling to meet their quotas on the floor and rarely have the opportunity to meet with clients one on one, even virtually. In short, being a sales associate isn’t easy. However, with the right sales online training program and ongoing support, you can help your team achieve their goals and retain your top talent. Here are 8 essential elements to include in your next sales online training course.
8 Essential Elements To Add To Your Sales Online Training Course
1. Product Video Demos
Sales employees must be well versed in the product features, benefits, and specs. But they should also know how the product works in the real world so that they can pass that knowledge on to the consumer. Your sales online training course should include product video demos that show the item in action. As well as how to maintain the product to extend its life so that customers get the best value for their money. Some companies even offer demos of their goods and services, which can help cut costs. For instance, appliance manufacturers may be able to provide you with links to videos on how to operate and upkeep the item.
2. Negotiation Skill-Building Simulations
Every successful salesperson has one thing in common: they’ve mastered the art of negotiation. They usually have honed their persuasion skills, as well. Your sales online training course should give employees the opportunity to cultivate these abilities through interactive online training simulations. For example, the employee must interact with a virtual client to not only choose the best product but iron out the finer details. Such as securing the best price or convincing them to invest in add-ons.
3. POS Tutorials
It’s not all about sealing the deal, sales employees must also have some technical know-how. Namely, how to use the POS terminal to ring up sales or process payments through your commerce gateway. Provide tutorials on how to use the system step by step and troubleshoot the most common issues in your sales online training program. Such as what to do in the event of a power outage or how to resolve login errors. Your sales staff should also possess a basic understanding of how to complete returns or exchanges in the system.
4. Customer Persona Serious Games
One of the perks of being a sales employee is that you’re able to interact with a diverse range of customers. There’s never a dull moment in the sales industry. But this also presents a variety of unexpected challenges. Some customers are more difficult to deal with, especially if they’re unhappy about a prior purchase. Or are simply having a bad day when they walk into the shop or call your company. Serious games allow your sales team to engage with a broad spectrum of personality types so that they are prepared for virtually anything. For instance, one level involves a customer who is misinformed about your product and isn’t willing to listen to your sales employees’ advice.
5. Deal-Breaker Infographics
Most customers have some degree of hesitation or reluctance when they’re making a purchase. Even if they’ve studied all the product specs. These sticking points are the deal-breakers that your sales team must overcome. Develop infographics that feature the most common ‘excuses’ customers have for not purchasing a product. Then provide tips that employees can use to put them at ease and address their concerns, as a part of your sales online training course.
6. Social Media Group For Sales Support
It’s impossible to be there for your sales employees every step of the way. Managers and supervisors are dealing with their own on-the-job challenges and you don’t want to stretch them too thin. On the other hand, their sales team still needs support to deal with work obstacles, such as when they’re struggling to complete a task. In comes social media groups. These valuable online training tools allow your sales employees to share tips and experiences with their remote peers in the course of your sales online training program. Thereby, offering ongoing support that benefits every member of the organization. Take it even further by inviting more experienced employees to host live online training events for the betterment of their peers. Everyone has the opportunity to discuss techniques that work for them and customer service anecdotes.
7. Performance Management Microlearning Library
Deploy a microlearning online training library that contains all the bite-sized resources your sales team needs to achieve their goals. Focus on performance management topics that enable employees to develop essential skills on their own time. For example, brief simulations or branching scenarios they can use to test their task mastery. Other great examples of sales microlearning resources are podcasts, infographics, and walkthroughs that focus on a single topic/task.
8. Self-Assessments To Disclose Personal Gaps
Some employees might not be aware of performance or skill gaps they need to work on. Self-assessments give them the chance to disclose personal gaps so that they can take a more proactive L&D approach. They also appreciate the fact that your organization is putting them in the driver’s seat. Rather than enacting mandatory exams. They have the ability to test autonomously and then remedy issues privately. In addition, they can periodically retest to see how far they’ve come and reveal new sticking points. No need to wait until the next formal training session to start improving task performance or cultivating integral sales skills.
Conclusion
These 8 sales online training program components offer your employees continual support and allow them to spot trouble areas autonomously. They’re able to identify gaps that hurt their monthly figures and customer satisfaction scores. Of course, it’s also wise to gather eLearning feedback and expand this essentials list based on their input. As well as conduct frequent training check-ups to verify that your online training strategy still aligns with organizational needs.
The right outsourcing partner can help you enrich your sales enablement strategy without going over budget. Use our exclusive online directory to find the best eLearning content provider for your sales online training program.
