This post was originally published on lessonly.com.
A sales rep who is well-informed on your organization’s products and its various features, functions, and uses has the opportunity to be a top seller. But, in order to become an A+ seller, they need to first learn the ins and outs of your products.
And, that’s why product knowledge training is so important.
What is product knowledge?
Product knowledge is when sales reps have an extensive understanding of the products they’re selling. They should understand a product’s features and benefits from the customer’s point of view and how it can solve a problem or challenge they’re experiencing. This knowledge enables them to have more engaging conversations that lead to sales. In fact, according to Harvard Business Review, nearly 40% of potential customers are more likely to close a deal with a sales rep who actively listens to their problems and shows how the products they’re selling can help.
What is product knowledge training?
Product knowledge training is a tool that can (and should) be used for all new hires—and continuously for existing reps, so they have the opportunity to become familiar with the items the company sells. And, companies that take the time to create a well-thought out product training outline are well-equipped to provide reps with essential product knowledge and content that they need to be top sellers.
What are the benefits of product knowledge?
There are plenty of benefits to great product knowledge training. By instilling product intelligence in sales reps, they’re more likely to be more confident in their knowledge and overall sales readiness. That’s because product knowledge training reps have more effective demos and conversations with prospects, problem solve, and close deals faster. If that doesn’t convince you of the importance of product knowledge, then check out this ebook, which highlights 15 ways that product training and sales enablement can help your organization.
4 product knowledge training examples for your training program
- Demo competition: Are you launching a new product, or just need reps to refresh their demo messaging? Ask reps to deliver a product pitch or demo to their peers. Then, have your team vote on the best pitches or demos until a winner is identified.
- Animated videos and demo examples: Give reps the chance to see the intended use of the products in action so they can educate their consumers. This is a great way to partner with your product team for enablement.
- Online training lessons: Learning the ins and outs of products isn’t a one-and-done process. Sometimes reps need to revisit training content so they become more familiar with the new information.
- Online practice scenarios: Employees have to interact with a prospect to identify their needs, suggest a product that’s right for them, and deliver a custom demo.
- Quizzes and assessments: These not only test employee knowledge but also improve retention by recapping the main features and uses and offer immediate feedback about incorrect answers. This way, reps are able to use the product knowledge training objectives and resources to refresh their memory and bridge the gaps.
Ok, so we have the initial product training covered. Check. Now, how can you train your sales reps on the product they’re selling AND ensure they’ll remember the information year after year when they’re making a sale?
Why refresher courses and product knowledge training are important to sales teams
I took calculus in high school. That was many moons ago, but still—I remember nothing. I think it’s safe to say that even two years after that course I would have failed a calculus test. Why? Because it was a one-and-done approach to learning the material. No refreshers, no revisiting. Get where I’m headed here?
In order to retain information and build upon an existing knowledge base, we need to have it in front of us on the regular. Encouraging regular training habits keeps product knowledge fresh. Repetition helps transition your training from memorization to mastery and your reps will then become confident in their product knowledge over and over again. By building refresher courses for your teams, it makes it easier to train staff when new products are released or updated. Instead of trying to get them to take the training, you can simply push new content onto your platform.
Having a sales team that can confidently speak to the products or services that they’re selling is essential. To ensure that your prospects receive a consistent message from your team, your product, marketing, and sales teams should all be utilizing the same playbook.
Turn your sales reps into product experts
Knowing a product inside and out is a key indicator of a top-performing sales rep. With product knowledge training, your sales reps are empowered to answer questions and objections during their sales process. Lessonly by Seismic’s training and enablement software helps sales teams get up to speed on product knowledge and keep them there. Get a demo.
