What is sales training software?

It’s no secret that the world of sales is a competitive environment. To stay ahead of the competition, sales teams are turning to sales training software to reduce the ramp-up time of new hires, enable their current workforce and increase performance. First, this is because sales training software helps new sellers learn the ins and outs of their new role. It also equips veteran sales reps with ongoing enablement and training to keep their skills and knowledge fresh. The result? One salesforce that marches to the same beat and is enabled for practically every angle of their job.

So, if you’re still under the impression that spending money on sales training software isn’t a good investment, you may want to think again. The reality is that giving your sales reps the tools they need to succeed, like sales training programmes with various sales training courses, is key to employee retention, engagement and, ultimately, revenue goals. Now that we know why you should consider sales training software, let’s figure out exactly what we’re talking about when we use the phrase web-based sales training.

The purpose of sales training

Hiring new sellers can be a bit daunting for a number of reasons. The sales team arguably has the most contact with people and groups outside your company’s walls. Ideally, new sales team hires will have a set of sales skills that they can refer to whenever it comes down to a cold call, but if your business has specific selling methods or niche products and services, sales training can come in very handy. In its most simple form, sales training comes down to teaching your reps the most successful selling techniques and knowledge of what they are selling. Training can vary in size, scope and depth, but sales skills training makes sure that your sales reps know what they are talking about when they interact with a buyer.

As the sales industry rapidly evolves and more teams are dispersed across locations, online sales training programmes have an increasingly popular training method. Sales training software is more prevalent than ever thanks to its ability to be available whenever and wherever reps need it. It also helps sales leaders easily create, update, manage and track sales training.

Sales training software programs

The only downside to so many companies offering different software skills training platforms is deciding which one is right for your company’s needs. There are different variables that need to be considered when deciding which software program will be the best fit; size, features and probably most importantly, pricing. Below we’ve put together a sales training programme outline to define a few of the best sales training programmes you will find and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

• eLearning software: These software platforms are flexible and scalable to the information that you place into it. These can work across a variety of industries and have proven valuable in providing sales training on the most important topics that sales teams need to know. Depending on the size of the software company, these platforms can support everything from small businesses to medium-to-large companies.
• Online training development software: Training development programmes have been around for as long as employees have needed to get better at what they do. These software platforms are more aimed to develop existing skills that employees have rather than start from scratch. These come in handy for technically advanced positions like web development or industries that require recurring certifications. Training software solely focused on the development of existing knowledge tends to be focused on a singular topic and doesn’t always scale for an entire company.
• Industry-specific training software: Often there are important pieces of information contained within industries that are so in-depth that they necessitate their own training programmes. Think of hospitals and medicine in this respect. These training software programmes are highly specialised and rarely work outside of their intended industries, but are critical in training employees with the ins and outs of a specific work environment. A few examples include real estate sales training programmes, pharmaceutical sales training programmes and insurance sales training programmes.
• Retail sales training programme: Programmes that are built for the retail sales space often offer different skills to be trained and tested on. These are more likely customer service-focused programmes that train new employees on how to sell to the customer in a retail setting while giving updates on new products or sales that come down the line.

With all the different types of selling and learning software out there, it’s easy to get wrapped up in one that targets a niche. The truth of the matter is, many organisations simply need a learning software platform that you can incorporate and build your own, unique online sales training courses.

Benefits of sales training software

At the very basic level, training exists to help people – inside and outside of work – be the best that they can be. There’s a sense of comfort that can be provided to an employee when they just know what they have to do, and that is amplified on the sales team. Bringing in sales training programmes for your employee takes away the anxiety of not knowing what to do when they’re face-to-face with a client. With software sales training courses employees can stay on top of the newest products when selling to customers, educate themselves on how their product is better than the competition and generally stay more engaged in the company and what’s going on. Sales training courses are the oil that makes your sales team run more smoothly and efficiently. By offering these sales training courses online, you give your employees the freedom to soak up information where they do it the best. Not all learning situations work for everyone’s knowledge retention, so by giving people the choice to take it on their terms, there’s a greater chance that sales skills training is going to stick.

Being able to create, assign and track lessons and training for your sales team, you place more trust in them. For all the benefits that the learners receive, sales training software allows the administrators and managers to measure the progress of their employees to see how their lessons are going. In addition, centralised software helps keep your entire team on the same page without them spending time in conference rooms, aeroplanes and on the road. This, in turn, creates better team members than sales training seminars could ever provide by keeping things close to home and employing web-based sales training that you can track, monitor and implement all from your own office.

Making the move to online sales training software

Implementing sales training software may seem like there’s a ton of work involved. But, the reality is that online sales training software can help your sales reps learn, practise and perform more than ever before. When it comes to moving your offline sales training into an online environment, there are a few things you’ll want to consider. We’ve seen that the companies with the best sales training programmes do these six things:

Assess your training efforts: Creating the top sales training programmes starts with an honest evaluation of your team’s current efforts. Talk with your sales reps and sales managers and review data to find the successes and challenges of your training programme.

Make a plan: Once you’ve assessed your training programme, it’s time to make a sales training agenda that incorporates your plan for sales training ideas. Ask yourself how your online sales training programmes will differ for new hires from veteran sales reps and what’s your timeline for training?

Work with subject matter experts: The content in your sales training courses is everything. So, when it comes time to start building your sales training programme, remember to harness the knowledge and expertise of your frontline reps.

Maximise training impact: Training is only effective if your reps engage with their sales training programme. That’s why we love sales training software. First, it supports various sales training methods, like videos, photos and practice scenarios, so it’s likely to attract different types of learning styles. Additionally, it makes training available on-demand, so reps can complete training when and where it’s best for them.

Reinforce skills and deliver feedback: Training truly never ends. When sales training is paired with intentional practice and thoughtful coaching, it’s a recipe for success. Sales training software is a one-stop-shop to deliver training, encourage thoughtful practice and deliver one-on-one feedback.

Measure results: In the end, sales training is about delivering results. Instead of tracking sales training engagement and results, find sales training software that makes it easy to tap into the power of data. This means you’ll be able to easily measure training engagement, completion rates and performance.

How we can help with your sales training programme

GTM teams need a wide variety of sales training, from onboarding to product knowledge, to skill development. And while traditional sales training materials and methods were once the industry norm, today’s best-in-class sales teams need sales training that’s easy to access when and where they need it. When sellers find all of their onboarding, sales content, coaching and sales training courses online and in one place, they get to spend more time with buyers and less time searching for answers. This results in an engaging and effective sales training programme that gets – and keeps – sellers ready for the field. Interested in learning more? Learn how one customer reduced new hire ramp time by 58% while increasing pipeline generation by 3x. Or, jump into this free lesson to see why sellers love Lessonly by Seismic’s sales training software.