Let’s get right to it. If your sales reps have a problem, your organization has a problem.
It may not be worthy of an ambulance ride. You probably don’t need to see a specialist. But just about any pain point for your sales team is worth paying attention to. Why? Because if your sales team is feeling the pain, rest assured that the rest of your organization will soon feel it too.
We have the honor and the privilege of providing powerfully simple training and coaching software that helps sales teams tackle their biggest challenges. Here are a few of the ones we hear on the regular—you might be surprised at how a stellar sales training program can alleviate the pain.
5 common pain points for sales reps
1. Confusing processes take far too long to understand.
No one likes to feel incompetent at their job. Confusing and complex processes often exacerbate feeling less-than-confident. Repetitive questions abound. Mistakes are made. It’s no one’s best use of time.
2. Complicated or frequently changing product offerings.
Sure, it’s fun to sell new products or services. But it’s also incredibly difficult. Organizations with high levels of change in their product offerings often feel like they’re in a pinch here. That’s because there’s a never-ending balance between information overload and not-quite-enough enablement.
3. Administrative tasks and busywork clutter their calendars.
It’s frustrating for sales reps to feel like they’re using their time ineffectively. If I had to bet, I’d say a sales rep probably invented the saying, “Time is money.” Administrative tasks and non-skilled to-dos are necessary to keep any organization running as it should, but they can feel less than efficient to sales reps.
4. Ineffective internal meetings.
Let’s continue on with our theme of poor time management. If time is money, internal meetings are that line of the budget that always seems to dip into the red. “Can this meeting be an email?” is probably a question sales reps wish was more widely used.
5. A lack of personalized training and coaching.
One coaching study found that 48.2% of sales reps say they don’t receive any coaching. Surprisingly, 82.1% of the sales leaders at the same organizations claim they’re providing coaching to each member of their team. That gap shows us a lot—mostly that reps aren’t receiving the kind of coaching that they value most.
The impressive impact of online sales training programs
Okay, so we’ve sufficiently exposed the wound here—ouch! Now, let’s look at how the best sales training programs solve the challenges your sales reps face.
Formerly confusing processes are explained in an always-available reference point.
Particularly with advanced sales training topics, it’s important that training content is readily available and easily referenced. Using an online training software, like ours at Lessonly, can go a long way. That way, complex processes can be outlined step-by-step for anyone to reference in their moment of need.
Reduced ramp time for new products, new responsibilities, and new teammates alike.
Regardless of the b2c or b2b sales training topics you cover, a well-executed training program will significantly reduce the time it takes to move reps from reluctant to ready.
More efficient and effective work in general.
There are so many types of sales training programs, but the best ones simply make organizations better. Of course, the definition of “better” can vary from one company to another, but it’s safe to say that efficiency is usually a big one.
Let’s think back on those administrative tasks that sales reps often resent. A great training tool helps them learn how to complete tasks faster for more time in the day. It also allows them to disseminate best practices across the entire sales organization for large-scale productivity boosts.
Some sales training topics formerly covered in meetings are now lessons.
If time is money, this is like giving your sales reps an added bonus. When you use online training software, reps can focus on training when they have the time and energy to focus on it best. That way, reps are more likely to actually pay attention to the content and put the innovative sales training techniques you teach them into practice. And that’s kind of the whole point!
Personalized coaching at scale, so that no rep is left behind.
Mark this on your list of sales topics for discussion with your team—are your reps really getting the kind of coaching that they want? If the answer is less than lackluster, consider software that helps you develop personalized coaching at scale. When sales coaching is done well, production, productivity, and retention all increase by over 20%—it’s hard to say no to that!
Of course, we could give you a long list of sales topics or recommend the best sales courses in the world, but that wouldn’t do much if you don’t have the right training tools to implement them. Enter Lessonly by Seismic, the simple training and coaching software for teams like yours.
