The Business Impact of Sales Training and Enablement

Let’s talk about sales. Specifically sales enablement. If you’re reading this, you’re likely familiar with the term, so you know that it’s one that’s hard to define. If you’re still asking yourself, “What is sales enablement?” we’ve got the answer for you. We define sales enablement as the strategic use of people, processes and technology to improve sales productivity and increase revenue. Sales enablement combines sales training, feedback, coaching and the right tools to empower sales teams to grow and succeed.

If you look at sales enablement and training from a 30,000ft view, it’s clear that there are a ton of positive benefits. From more confident and efficient sales reps to better prospect and customer interactions, there’s a lot that we can talk about when it comes to the benefits of sales training.

But, here’s the thing: Just like we boiled down the definition of sales enablement to one sentence, we’re going to concentrate the ROI of sales enablement and training into one sentence. If you look at the importance of sales training and enablement, you’ll see that it ultimately drives more positive business outcomes. Let’s take a closer look at how sales enablement is a positive investment for your business.

Why sales training is important for sales reps

A well-trained sales rep is one of the most important investments your team can – and should – make. The better-trained someone is, the better they’ll perform. Period. In fact, we’ve found that the top sales training programmes improve rep engagement, retention and productivity. Don’t believe us? Then, consider these sales productivity statistics.

• The average ramp time to productivity for salespeople is between six and nine months. That means a lot of missed revenue opportunities for your team. However, CSO Insights found that effective sales training and enablement can help new reps meet quota up to seven weeks faster than the industry average.
• The average tenure of a sales rep is approximately two years. But, if it takes nearly nine months to bring a new rep up to speed, that’s a huge expense. A study by the Sales Readiness Group found that companies with great sales enablement have the lowest annual sales rep turnover at just 11.9% compared to 19.5% for organisations with less-than-satisfactory sales training.

Your sales reps are the backbone of a great sales programme. So, if you’re asking yourself, “What ROI can I expect for a sales training programme?”, take a close look at your salesforce. They need the best sales training and enablement to be successful. In return, you’ll see lower turnover and retention costs for years to come.

Sales training drives efficiency and growth

Learning new workflows and staying on top of best practices is overwhelming, which hinders sales reps from actually getting to their work. And, there’s a lot of skill and knowledge that goes into communicating with prospects and moving deals through the sales pipeline. The good news is that ongoing sales training and coaching actually increases growth exponentially when it comes to a sales rep’s confidence, efficiency and output. 

Why is that? First, sales training equips reps with the skills they need to listen, identify and communicate customer needs. Then, because they’ve been empowered to know your products and services inside-out, they can appropriately align the right product or service to best fit their prospects’ wants and needs. Simply put, this means that deals can efficiently progress through the sales process and close quicker.

The impact of sales training is endless

Sales enablement and training is much more than a tool or process to coach and educate your sales reps. It’s a solution that helps your sales team grow. From building confidence to keeping sales reps on the same page, sales training ensures that your reps spend less time worrying about the next steps of the sales process and more time focusing on what they do best: selling. 

Still not convinced? Check out our eBook The Business Impact of Sales Enablement & Training to see 15 sales training statistics that prove the benefits of sales training are practically endless. If you’re ready to positively impact your business outcomes, then we can help!