Connecting the dots between sales training and coaching and business results can be tricky. Sales leaders want to get the most from their investment, which makes it important to evaluate the effectiveness of training and sales coaching programs. When done well, the benefits of sales coaching have a noticeable impact on business results. In this post, we’ll share how you can measure the impact of your training and coaching program on business outcomes.
What are sales training and coaching?
First, it’s helpful to understand how sales training and sales coaching work together to improve a sales team’s performance. In short, sales training equips reps with the knowledge, and resources they need to get started, while sales coaching helps sellers to practice skills and grow in areas of improvement.
Sales training educates sellers on the tools, techniques, and skills they need to sell a product or service. Training paths are typically aligned to a seller’s role and focus on developing the skills and knowledge needed to hit their quota. Continuous sales training keeps sellers up to date on the messaging and resources they need in order to do their job effectively as the business evolves. That said, training alone is not enough to build a successful sales team. For best results, sales training should be used in combination with sales coaching.
Sales coaching models focus on improving the performance of individual sellers. Sales leaders facilitate coaching by identifying areas for improvement. During a sales coaching session, the coach and their team members may put together a personalized plan for professional development, taking into account the salesperson’s unique goals, strengths, and weaknesses. Coaching sessions allow sales reps to practice the knowledge they’ve gained during training with the added benefit of feedback from their coach.
Using key seller behaviors and performance metrics
Turns out you can’t manage what you don’t measure. While metrics are important in every aspect of business, they’re especially critical in sales. If you’re in sales and feel like you’ve hit a wall when it comes to measuring and improving performance, you’re not alone. You live in a world of numbers, goals, metrics, and quotas. But when teams identify what KPIs they want to hit and then create training and coaching opportunities to improve in those areas, everyone wins.
To determine if sales training and coaching pay off, we highly encourage measuring components like:
- Average ramp time: The amount of time it takes a new salesperson to complete training and reach full productivity.
- Time spent selling: The amount of time that sellers dedicate to sales. Data suggest that it’s as little as 30% of a seller’s time.
- Sales velocity: The measurement of how quickly a prospective customer moves through a company’s sales pipeline and generates revenue.
- Average deal cycle: The average amount of time it takes to close a deal. This metric can be helpful when creating sales forecasts, measuring sales efficiency, and speaking with investors.
It’s crucial to track sales performance metrics to ensure your team is heading in the right direction. Carefully picking which ones to prioritize and then course-correcting (or even completely pivoting) will put you ahead of the game. You’ll be able to analyze your progress, achieve your sales goals, and positively impact your bottom line.
Never stop growing.
Determine whether training and coaching are making a difference
When implemented correctly, training and coaching can positively impact several key business outcomes. But without accurate measurement, companies can’t encourage behaviors that lead to increased sales results. However, evaluation metrics can indicate how well your training is working and help you make necessary changes and improvements.
Benefits of sales training and coaching can include:
- Efficiency and growth: The right enablement and training prepare reps to move deals through the pipeline because they have access to relevant information.
- Engagement: Sales reps must be engaged to help the business succeed, which is why the quality of training is crucial. In fact, the sales acceleration platform Spotio reports that 65% of sales reps say they’re more engaged with their jobs when the quality of their coaching and guidance is at a high level.
- Retention: When employees receive ongoing training, they know the organization is invested in their growth and career development.
- Productivity: Training and coaching provide product and sales process knowledge that reps need to improve productivity. It can fine-tune selling and soft skills for better performance, as well as improve confidence and motivation.
With the right combination of training and sales coaching, best practices from your best reps can greatly increase the output of the whole team.
Lean on Lessonly by Seismic
Employee training and coaching software help produce top results for your organization. Any online training software worth its salt should provide comprehensive analytics and data that helps leaders and managers understand adoption rates, usage, and training impact. If you’re struggling to determine if your training and coaching efforts are paying off — we can help. Lessonly by Seismic is training and coaching software that makes it easy for you to tie training to real business results. Get a demo today.
