How Online Learning Drives Success for Sales Training Programs

Faced with high quotas in an ever-changing buying environment, sales professionals are constantly juggling their time between selling and training.  On top of their own time constraints, a recent study shows that four out of five companies agree that they are not able to train as many salespeople as they’d like on the skills their employees need.  Lack of adequate training leads executives and managers to worry about knowledge gaps and their long-term impact on growth. In an effort to keep sales teams agile and competitive, sales organizations are searching for ways to improve their learning programs fast.  

Online learning solutions continue to grow as a popular option to do so.  In fact, data reveals companies that increase spending on learning technologies see an increase in revenue, productivity, and engagement. Here are a few of the ways an effective online learning program can reach and appeal to more employees, helping drive success for both your salesforce and training program.  

Personalized Learning Paths

Sales teams are often made up of individuals with varying skill levels, diverse backgrounds, and unique strengths and weaknesses, thus requiring different levels of training.  One-size-fits-all learning programs no longer serve as the most efficient or effective way to successfully teach a group of professionals.

To make the most of their training programs, organizations are implementing adaptive learning techniques to ensure personalized and engaging experiences. Adaptive learning technologies help companies cater to the needs of today’s learners and their desire for control over their learning journey. Adaptive learning enables employees to study at their own pace, focusing on the content most relevant to them. Through assessments and analytics, adaptive programs allow learners to skip content they are confident about and spend time improving skills where additional training might be needed.  

Competency-based Learning   

As personalized programs take the spotlight, companies that remain rooted in knowledge-based learning must find ways to adapt. Commonly used in formal education programs, knowledge-based learning does not take into account the various skillsets of professionals in today’s workforce.

Competency-based learning models, in which professionals are assessed based on their own performance as compared to occupational standards, provide a more personalized and efficient plan, helping learners apply knowledge in real-world situations.  Competency-based training can be particularly helpful for sales training, providing insight into where an individual or group might be excelling or struggling.  If a sales rep is consistently losing deals at the proposal stage, a manager can identify and prioritize their training needs based on where further development could be needed to help them succeed at a specific stage in the sales cycle.  

A Blended Learning Approach

An in-person setting continues to serve as a vital component for an effective sales training experience. The ability to interact, observe, and receive feedback is crucial to soft-skill development.  At the same time, sales professionals have high demands to meet their quotas and bring in revenue for their organizations, limiting their time to be out of the field and in a classroom. In fact, 56% of companies agree that removing reps from the field is their biggest limitation to training accessibility.  

Blended learning is an effective way to complement instructor-led training with digital components.  By offering employees various ways to access and complete training, companies are able to reach and appeal to more people.  

Want to see how Richardson Sales Performance, one of BenchPrep’s partners, incorporated a blended learning strategy into its sales training program to drive higher engagement and results? Check out the video below to see how they leverage BenchPrep’s platform to drive results.