The professional selling industry is ever evolving. Since the dawn of human trade, the way people make sales and close deals have significantly changed.
Enter the new millennium: digital processes and modern technology are the norms. To keep up with such developments, the sales departments of any industry should stay abreast of the ever-changing standards of sales and sales training.
Current sales methods and trainings are driven by numbers and statistical data. For an industry to keep thriving, it has to provide its sales team the best training platform. There are so many so-called experts advertising different success stories with their training methods, but every manager should keep in mind to find training platforms that work perfectly for their team, tailored to meet the business objectives of that specific industry.
Looking inwards first
So what should managers be looking for in a sales training platform? Before looking outwardly for that perfect training platform, managers should look inwards first and consider several factors within their businesses. One of these factors is the business goal. Before starting the training of your sales team and the sales representatives, there should be clear company goals and sales metrics that should be set.
Another thing to consider is the business process and the company’s vision, mission and values. The sales training platform should be in line with the business process so as not to deviate from the workflow and make significant changes to the way services or products are sold. The next thing to consider is the sales history by the numbers – the sales data itself. Every manager should prepare, compile and organize the significant data and information needed for starting a data driven sales training. The numbers and data you will provide to your team will set the guidelines for a perfect and tailor-fit data driven sales training platform.
Looking outward for that platform
Considering that managers know what their businesses need and what are the necessary data to gather for their sales team, it’s time to find that sales training platform or method that can take into account the business needs and business-specific data. Every manager should keep in mind that the best training platform should provide measurable and repeatable results. A good training platform should be able to set numbers and sales data into specific, measurable and attainable sales goals for the sales team.
One other thing to consider is the training resources. Sales teams and representatives need guides and references for their sales processes, sales systems, metrics and more. If your training platform provides copies of these guides to the trainees, then it’s a good choice. Another important thing to consider is for the sales training platform to provide continuous sales coaching.
A training platform that takes training a step higher into providing coaching on a regular basis is a truly great find. It is not just enough to have sales teams and sales representatives acquire sales skills and product knowledge. There should also be data reviews and tracking of the individual sales and team sales progress over time and the applicable coaching that should be applied based on individual and team performance.
Now that we have these things to consider in looking for a perfect platform for a data driven sales training, we can be assured of being a step closer to making a success sales team that is focused on data and achieving their sales number goals. It is not enough to choose a training platform that works for the time being or one that provides instant results and success to your sales team. What matters is a training platform that provides a tailor-fit training design for your process and shows measurable and repeatable results. Data and numbers from successful practices and individual and team sales performance analysis can create an efficient and successful data-driven sales training and in turn result in sustainable success in sales teams.
