Sales team training is an essential investment for any organization. When individuals and teams undergo sales training, they learn the skills and techniques needed to be successful in sales.
However, not everyone knows how to make the most of their team sales training. In this article, we will discuss some tips for doing just that.
Follow Up with Your Sales Trainer
Learning shouldn’t end after your training sessions are over. Following up with your sales trainer after the program ends is essential so you can continue to learn and grow as a sales professional.
Individuals who focus on sales training can help you identify areas where you need improvement and offer guidance on how to best utilize the new skills you learned during the training program.
If you’re not sure how to follow up with your sales trainer, here are a few tips:
- Schedule a meeting with your sales trainer to debrief about the program. This is an excellent opportunity to ask questions about what you learned and get clarification on anything that wasn’t clear during the training.
- Send an email to your sales trainer thanking them for their time and effort in conducting the training. This is also an excellent time to ask any questions that you may have about the material covered.
- Connect with your sales trainer on LinkedIn and continue the conversation about sales best practices.
- Set up a follow-up training to ensure you follow-up on any areas of weakness that were not initially addressed.
Many sales trainers (including our team at The Brooks Group) are happy to connect with you and continue providing valuable insights even after the program ends.
By staying connected, you can ensure that you’re always up-to-date on the latest sales strategies.
Practice Makes Perfect (and Permanent!)
Just like athletes who train for their sport, your sales team must also practice regularly to hone their skills and stay sharp.
You should set aside time each week for them to practice what they’ve learned in the sales training program. This practice could take the form of role-playing exercises, mock sales calls, or simply reviewing key concepts together.
Not only will this help your team retain what they’ve learned in sales training courses, but it will also give you a chance to see how they’re progressing and identify any additional areas that need more attention.
So don’t just rely on your sales training alone – make sure your team is getting regular practice too. It’ll make all the difference in their sales performance.
Maintain a Positive Attitude & Outlook
Sales can be challenging. You can be working on a great sales team and have participated in a quality sales training program, but confidence in oneself is crucial to the success of a sales professional.
A positive attitude and outlook are crucial for staying focused on goals. Even when things are challenging or new tactics don’t work out as desired, remember that becoming a better sales professional will take time.
As a sales manager, ensuring that there is positive energy within your sales team is a must. Providing positive feedback and helping individuals boost confidence with their skills can make a significant difference in how well a sales professional performs.
If you’re feeling positive and confident about the sales training that your team just completed, that energy will be contagious and will help motivate teammates. On the other hand, if you’re feeling down or doubtful about the training, that negativity can quickly spread throughout the team. Do your best to see the positivity in the opportunity to develop and grow as a sales professional.
Be Prepared for a Learning Curve
Sales training can be extremely beneficial for a team to partake in, but that doesn’t mean that the tactics, methodology, or skills taught in the program are going to work right off the bat. After finishing a sales training course, have some grace with yourself as there is a learning curve and overall adjustment period as a sales professional adapts to new skills.
While it can be discouraging to learn about all of these new tactics only to be met with a sales call that doesn’t close, it’s important to persevere and learn from each situation.
If you’re prepared for this learning curve, your sales training can become extremely valuable as you learn how to apply the lessons learned.
Be Coachable and Open to Feedback
As we just mentioned, there is going to be a window of time where an individual who just completed sales training re-adjusts and learns to apply the knowledge they’ve just learned. Whether you’re a sales manager or a sales representative, being open and receptive to feedback is essential.
After a sales training program, one of the most important things a sales rep can do is listen to their coach or sales manager. They may have suggestions on how you can improve your sales technique, or they may see areas where you need improvement based on points made in the course.
In addition to being coachable, it’s also essential to be willing to give feedback. If you see another sales rep struggling with something, offer your help. We’re all in this profession together and should help each other succeed.
So, if you want to be successful in sales and make the most of your sales training, ensure you’re coachable and open to feedback. It’s the best way to grow and learn in this ever-changing profession.
Be a Team Player
It takes a team to close deals and achieve sales quotas, but more importantly, it takes a team mentality and drive to succeed as a group. No single sales rep can do it all alone. In order to be successful, sales reps need to learn how to be team players, and that includes assisting one another before, during, and after a sales training course.
Being a team player for training is essential for several reasons:
- First, the sales process is complex and involves many steps. Multiple people are usually involved in each step, from research and prospecting to closing the deal. By learning as a team, a sales team can improve their abilities to reach goals and close deals.
- Effective sales training requires teamwork. Therefore, sales departments need to work together to develop and implement training programs that will help everyone meet their goals and succeed as individuals.
- Working as a team allows salespeople to share information and resources that can help them close more deals and reach their quotas faster. Use your
If you want to succeed in sales, it takes a team. Remember, everyone has a role to play and each member is important. You need to be able to rely on your teammates, and they need to be able to depend on you. Work together and you’ll be successful.
Set Realistic Goals
Individual growth is crucial for a sales professional, which is why goals are such a consistent piece for individuals within this industry. When it comes to day-to-day sales as well as personal growth, goals can be a great way to check in. That being said, it’s important to set realistic goals that can keep you motivated without feeling defeated.
Many factors will go into making a sale, which is why there are various pieces of sales specific goals. How many calls are you making on a regular basis? How many cold leads are you reaching out to? How many services/products are you trying to sell during a conversation?
Similar to sales goals, personal development goals will have various goals that make them up. Now that you’ve finished your sales training course, it’s time to figure out which areas of your profession you’d like to focus on improving. Maybe it’s your ability to turn a cold lead into a warm lead or your ability to negotiate a no to a soft yes.
Start by determining which area of your skillset you’re looking to develop. From there, determine smaller steps (or goals) that can help you work your way to this larger goal. Let’s say, for example, that you want to work on your communication skills. Smaller goals that you can set for yourself can include working on your email response, making new connections within your sales team, and learning new ways to create interpersonal connections with your leads.
These smaller, achievable goals can help keep you accountable when it comes to developing certain skills. They’re also a great way to practice the various skills and lessons taught during your sales training course.
One thing to keep in mind with goals is that they need to be realistic. Developing new skills and habits takes time, and if you aren’t gracious with yourself during this period of time, you may find yourself discouraged or frustrated. When individuals get to this point, it can be difficult to return to a place of motivation. So, start with reasonable, realistic goals that encourage growth, and set larger goals as you’ve established your skills.
Keep Track of Your Progress
When it comes to sales performance, there is no room for complacency – if you want your team to succeed, you need to ensure that everyone is always working towards their goals. The same can be said about sales training and the growth that it allows.
A sales department and sales reps must track progress to help them see how well they are doing and where they need to improve. Tracking sales progress can also help to motivate them to do better.
Here are two ways that you can keep track of your progress when it comes to skills:
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- Ask your team leader for feedback: They can give you an idea of where you stand and what areas need noticeable improvement.
- Look at your sales numbers: This includes things like the number of sales calls made, appointments set, and deals closed. By tracking these numbers, you can get a good idea of whether or not these new skills are working well for you as an individual.
- Set personal goals: There are various topics that will be taught during sales training courses. If there’s a particular area that you’d like to grow in, try and set some personal goals to check in on. Maybe it’s calling additional cold leads or trying out a new method of communication. Whatever it may be, setting personal goals can be a great way to ensure you’re making the most of the skills you learned.
If you want to be successful in sales, it is important to keep track of your progress. Doing so with your training and personal development will help you understand where you need to improve and give you the motivation to do better.
Celebrate Your Wins
It’s important to celebrate your wins, both as an individual and as a sales team, for the following reasons:
- It keeps morale high, which is essential for a sales rep’s performance.
- It shows that you’re willing to invest in your entire sales team, not just the rep with the highest performance.
- It shows that you’re committed to the success of the entire sales team.
So, how can you go about celebrating your personal-development wins? Here are a few ideas:
- Have a team-wide celebration when someone hits their sales or professional goal. This could be something as simple as ordering pizza for everyone or taking everyone out for drinks after work.
- Give individual recognition for their achievements. This could be a bonus, a gift card, or even a handwritten note from the sales manager. Recognition for a job well done can make a significant difference in the morale and attitude of an individual.
- Celebrate milestones like anniversaries and tenure with your company. This is a great way to show your appreciation for employees who have been with you for a long time.
No matter how you choose to celebrate your wins, remember that it’s essential to show your sales team that you’re invested in their success – both in sales and their overall personal development. When you take the time to celebrate their accomplishments, they’ll be more motivated to keep up the excellent work. And that will lead to even more sales success down the road.
Take Care of Yourself
Sales is a tough job. You’re constantly on the go, meeting new people and trying to close deals. It’s easy to get burned out – that’s why it’s essential to take care of yourself and ensure your team is doing the same.
Self-care is not selfish. It’s necessary if you want to be successful in sales.
When you take care of yourself, you can bring your best self to your work. As a result, you’ll be more focused, energized, and more likely to close deals.
So what are some things you can do to take care of yourself? Here are a few ideas to implement in your own life and encourage in the life of those on your sales team:
Get enough sleep: Most people need around eight hours per night. But as a busy sales professional, you might need more. So make sure to get enough rest so you can be at the top of your game.
Eat healthy: Eating junk food on the go can lead to low energy and poor focus. Instead, fuel up with healthy foods that give you sustained energy throughout the day.
Exercise: Exercise releases endorphins, which have mood-boosting effects. A little bit of exercise can go a long way in terms of relieving stress and making you feel good.
Take breaks: When you’re constantly on the go, it’s important to take a break every now and then. Step away from your work and take some time for yourself. Relax, recharge, and come back refreshed.
Taking care of yourself is essential if you want to be successful in sales. Make sure to prioritize your health and wellbeing so you can be at the top of your game. When you are taken care of in your personal life, you have a greater capacity to perform at work, which includes the ability to actively think about the skills you’ve learned and how you can apply them.
Stay Motivated
You’re the company’s best hope when new sales opportunities come in. It’s easy to get bogged down and feel stuck in a rut when new sales opportunities pop up, but staying motivated is essential. The same goes for new methods, skills, or lessons that you’re working to implement into your everyday routine.
We touched on the adjustment period that can happen when working to implement a new skill or approach. During this time, stay motivated and keep fighting for personal growth. Motivation is a key component when it comes to a successful career as a sales professional.
Never Give Up on Sales
Sales leaders and professionals are always looking for that next big deal. The one that will take them to the next level. But what if there’s a lull in incoming sales? What if you’ve been working on a deal for months, and it’s just not happening?
The answer is simple: don’t give up.
Sure, it’s easy to say that you’ll never give up when things are going well. But it’s much harder to keep that positive attitude when times are tough and sales are slow. That’s why it’s so important to remind yourself why giving up is never an option, especially after having gone through a sales training course.
Use your sales training course as an opportunity to turn your efforts around. While there may have been various sales that have yet to close, new skills and approaches can help you change that. Continue to work hard and grow as a sales professional and you will see that you will overcome the rut of low sales.
Your Sales Team Should Never Stop Learning
The sales industry is constantly changing, and the sales teams that don’t change will get left behind. Therefore, ongoing training is essential to keeping your team up-to-date on the latest sales strategies and techniques.
Your sales team is never too old or too good to learn. So, don’t make the mistake of thinking that your sales team doesn’t need sales training because they’re “too experienced.” The truth is that all sales teams can benefit from effective sales training programs.
If you want your sales team to be the best it can be, you need to invest in a proper sales training program. By doing so, you’ll never stop learning, and neither will your entire team. And that’s a good thing because the best sales teams are constantly learning and growing.
Choose the Brooks Group for Sales Team Training
The Brooks Group provides various sales training programs customized to any business and skill you’re looking to improve within your team. The IMPACT sales training course that we offer is designed to help individuals develop the necessary skills to build relationships, negotiate, and close deals. This unique sales training program can be customized to your specific industry or goals that your sales team is working towards, making it valuable for every type of sales team.
Have you already gone through the IMPACT Sales Training course? The Brooks Group also offers an IMPACT refresher course.
If you’re looking for high-quality training courses for your sales team, don’t wait – contact us today to get more information on how we can provide sales training for your team.
