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Friday, June 3, 2022
10 Tips to Choose the Best Sales Training Platform
The sales teams are crucial for any business. Some companies decide not to invest in their training because it seems costly. However, they can pay a higher price for that choice in the long run.
Numbers imply that investing in employees and their training increases revenue. Overall, efficient sales training courses make a sales team more productive by reducing ramp time by 50% and other costs linked to employee retention. There are different ways to approach employee training. Still, with the rise of technology, it is clear that training platforms that rely on machine learning and data sets have the upper hand compared to their competition.
Wonderway, our sales training platform powered by machine learning, uses sales reps' performance data to determine which sales skills a particular employee needs to improve. It helps you detect and acknowledge the employees' strongest or weakest points to provide the proper training material and let them become better sales representatives. To see how Wonderway works, you can sign up with your email on our platform.
If you are one of the sales leaders who doubt the benefits of effective sales training programs, continue reading this blog post and learn how to choose the best sales training platform to create a top-notch sales team.
What is a sales training platform?
Sales representatives are critical players in a company. They present your product or service while interacting with potential customers and directly impact your revenue. Due to their crucial role, your success depends on them.
If sales reps don't present your product or service well, not many customers will be interested in paying for it even if it is outstanding. For this reason, they must do their best to achieve your business objectives.
According to the Harvard Business Review, the turnover rate among sales employees in the United States is twice as high as in the overall workforce. The constant fluctuation of employees is costly for businesses. They have to train new employees while also losing their precious time onboarding and integrating new hires into their system.
Best sales training programs reduce these challenges by helping sales reps improve their selling skills and become better-suited workers for a given company. It also helps sales reps excel, become satisfied with their jobs, and stay loyal to their employers.
These sales training platforms vary greatly by quality, as some offer just a couple of basic sales training not adjusted to each employee specific needs. On the other hand, some platforms, such as Wonderway, provide highly personalized sales coaching to boost sales performance of new sales reps.
There are no downsides to signing up for a sales training software, as its benefits are numerous.
13 reasons to invest in a sales training platform
We can split the benefits of investing in a sales training software into two groups, one being direct benefits, those whose impact is right away visible and easily measurable, and the other group with indirect benefits.
Direct benefits:
- Lower employee turnover rates
- Achieving revenue goals
- Faster ramp time
- More deals closed by low-performing employees
- Reduced operational costs
Indirect benefits:
- Improved training process
- Increased training engagement across the entire team
- Measuring performance automatically
- Easy training of remote workers
- Continuous learning of new skills and high selling value
- Improved selling techniques and sales methodology
- Increased product knowledge
- Ongoing training and knowledge retention
Now that you understand why signing up for sales training software is beneficial, let’s discuss how to choose the best platform for your business.
10 tips for finding the best sales training platform for your business
1. Take a look at your current sales results
Sales results are a direct measure of your sales team effectiveness. They show you their success rates in turning prospects into customers. To know when and where you need to make improvements, you need to be aware of the current situation and detect possible issues. To learn more, read our article on defining and measuring the effectiveness of sales reps.
2. Define what you want to achieve with sales training
Once you have measured your sales team effectiveness and detected weaknesses, you can easily define what you want to achieve with their training. For example, you can focus on reducing the ramp time of new employees by providing them with online sales training to make them successful more quickly.
3. Decide on your sales training platform requirements
Not all platforms are the same. Quite the contrary, some sales coaching platforms provide basic features without a tailored approach to new salespeople. Each company has a different number of employees, type of product or service it sells, client base, etc. Because of these differences, the sales training platform must offer a personalized approach and advanced customization to sales training.
4. Find a platform that includes all features you need
Suppose you want to set targets and get world-class training content and customizable training templates, including performance analytics connected to your CRM. In that case, you need to find a platform that offers all of these features.
5. Look for user ratings and reviews
As with any product or service you want to pay for, user ratings and reviews can help you decide which sales training platform to choose. They can show you if real users are satisfied and if there are any downsides to signing up for a specific sales training software.
6. Check the user experience and design of the platform
You have to take care of your employees; they bring you profits. Therefore, your employees must have a positive experience using sales training programs. It is crucial to check the sales training platform to understand if it has a user-friendly design with excellent navigation so your sales reps can easily find the necessary training content.
7. Check the training content quality
The content of online sales training is crucial. When checking the design and user experience, you also have to go through the content and ensure that top sales performers in the industry created it. Relevance is crucial, and your employees shouldn't lose time when going through training. They should acquire knowledge fast to sell more efficiently.
8. Look at integration options
The chosen platform must integrate different facets of sales reps' jobs, so they are not using it only for training. Things like product information, sales opportunities, and high-quality content should be available on the platform. A platform should have options for integrating other sales teams' needed features.
9. Check if it provides a dedicated customer success manager
The chosen platform needs to offer a dedicated manager that will oversee your use of the sales training platform and offer you help with reaching your goals. It is always necessary to have someone you can rely on in case of any issues.
10. Make sure it aligns with your budget
Lastly, the sales training platform you choose should be affordable. Signing up for an online training platform is usually far cheaper than paying high fees to expert trainers to hold lectures and training at your company.
Now that you know what features to focus on when choosing the right platform for your business, let's discuss Wonderway as a concrete example of a sales training platform that helps you improve your sales team performance.
How Wonderway sales training programs improve your teams’ sales performance
1. Onboarding
Do not leave your new employees in the dark. The sooner they get introduced to your company and their job, the sooner they become efficient sellers. By using Wonderway sales onboarding software, you can show your new employees the shortest way to success.
You will have a Sales Enablement Consultant at your disposal, and they will review your development program and help you set clear goals. By combining high quality content with customizable training templates, the Consultant can help you make months-long programs that reduce ramp up time by 50%.
In addition, your sales coaches do not have to repeat their training sessions. Instead, they can automate them and even include interactive content to make the training more engaging. It will let them focus on what’s most important – giving feedback to the new employees.
Wonderway onboarding software provides you with analytics you can connect to your CRM. It helps you with performance tracking and automatically sends you notifications when employees fall behind to solve issues on time.
2. Upskilling
Wonderway sales training platform helps you discover skill gaps among employees. It enables you to create a survey you can send to sales managers and assess if sales reps' skills align with their job requirements.
Our software also collects performance data so employees can see what skills they lack compared to top sales performers. With this data, you can separate high and low-performing employees and reduce the gap with our coaching solution.
With Wonderway, you can also track improvements over time and understand how your sales team performance influences your return on investment.
3. Certifications
Wonderway certifications help you evaluate your employees' efforts and track their participation during the training. You can receive notifications about their activities or conduct quantitative or qualitative assessments to ensure your sales reps are actively paying attention.
With Wonderway, your sales team will always be up-to-date with your training program's latest modules. It will help them practice critical sales skills on their own before they start working with your clients.
Apart from offering the three main features listed above, why is Wonderway so successful?
What makes Wonderway unique
1. Machine learning and training automation
First of all, Wonderway uses machine learning and intelligent data to match appropriate training with the skills that your employees lack. Machine learning is faster, more objective, and safer than human judgment, which can often be biased and subjective.
2. Skill profiles
Skill profiles at Wonderway help you distinguish what makes your top performers so successful and apply your findings to training low-achieving workers. You can integrate your CRM with Wonderway to store performance data in one place and help sales managers review sales reps' achievements to make further improvements.
3. Off-the-shelf training programs
Wonderway provides off-the-shelf online sales training programs for each stage of the sales process. In other words, if you need training specifically for negotiation, prospecting, cold calling, or discovery, Wonderway gets you covered. It includes high-quality content created by the best sales trainers, which you can customize to your specific needs.
4. Assessments
Wonderway offers qualitative and quantitative assessments of your employees' knowledge and sales skills. It combines theoretical and practical assignments since your sales reps can practice their new skills while working with your clients.
5. Advanced analytics
Analytics offers you a way to track improvements and see in which ways your investment into Wonderway paid off. Numbers can show you how much you reduced ramp time or increased conversion rates.
These five reasons make Wonderway a unique choice for a sales training platform.
Sales training platform: Final words
In this article, we gave you ten tips for choosing an online sales training platform. These digital tools provide training for sales representatives of any business that wants to see higher revenues, shorter ramp times, and higher conversion rates.
We then split the benefits into direct and indirect, giving an overview of how your business can profit from using sales training software. We also pointed out tips for finding a suitable platform, considering they can differ significantly in features and quality.
Finally, we presented Wonderway as an example of a sales training platform with proven impact in three areas related to the sales team's performance: onboarding, upskilling, and certifications.
By using machine learning and offering skill profiles, off-the-shelf training programs, assessments, and advanced analytics, Wonderway represents an excellent choice for your company that will undoubtedly make your sales reps more productive. Visit our platform and sign up for our service today.
Sales training program: FAQ
What is the best method for training salespeople?
The best method for training salespeople is proven to be a machine learning program that can offer consistent training to all sales team members, no matter in which region they work. Only technology-based programs can offer entirely objective measurements and solutions for improving salespeople effectiveness.
How do you do sales training?
Sales managers approach sales training differently, but the best way is to see them as a continuous need. Training should not occur only through the onboarding process but throughout the sales reps career and each step of the sales process. Sales professionals should be up to date with innovations and constantly deliver their best work.
What four methods are used for delivering sales training?
There are more than four methods for delivering sales training. However, we will mention Instructor-led training, a live program that requires full engagement of the participants, and Virtual instructor-led training, which is similar to the former, except it occurs in the digital space.
A third method worth mentioning is simulations, which are often fun and engaging as they require a simulation of actual events and situations. This type of training can prepare salespeople for real-life experiences.
Lastly, e-learning platforms, as a fourth method, offer flexibility and interactiveness, as well as the easy measurement of participants' success.
Who benefits from sales training?
Benefits are numerous for all involved in the process. Employees benefit as they gain new knowledge and improve their sales skills. Clients benefit from the sales team's better approach and more transparent communication. Finally, the business benefits from higher revenues and increased retention of good workers.
Which company has the best sales training?
The answer depends on your needs as each company significantly differs from the other. However, we recommend you start using Wonderway since we have proven results in onboarding, upskilling, and certifying sales professionals.