“Sales training is boring,” complains just about every salesperson ever.
They’re right. Most B2B sales training sessions are full of powerpoint presentations and one-sided lectures. The worst part is that the training takes up valuable time when they could be responding to clients or closing sales.
You want to be different. You want to be vibrantly engaging and grow your B2B sales training expertise. You want them to see tangible results from your training. You want to be so good, that everyone’s begging for you to come back. How do you achieve this? Follow these guides, and you’re sure to reach your client’s sales team in powerful and meaningful ways.
Combine Training and Selling
When you use a hands-on approach involving real customers and prospects, salespeople are able to earn while they’re in your course. Training is suddenly a lot less boring when sellers earn a commission as they make progress and close business during the training process. The organization itself will also see an immediate ROI from your presentation, affirming the value of your services.
Use an Online Delivery Method
With today’s technology, you don’t always have to gather everyone in a conference room to impart knowledge. Make some of your course information available on-line so salespeople can experience the freedom of completing training segments at their own, individual convenience. They’ll appreciate that you respect their busy schedule.
Combine Online and On-Site Workshops
When you integrate your workshops, both online and on-site, you’ll be able to scaffold upon the information you’ve already shared. It will also give you the opportunity to assess knowledge retention, and field questions they may have about information already covered. A sales team, like any other group of people, has a wide variety of learners. You may be able to reach someone in an online workshop, but the person who sits at the desk next to them needs to discuss the same information in person for it to fully sink in.
Always Have a Prep Assignment and Follow-Up Activity Related to Selling
A great way to integrate online and on-site workshops is to have a prep assignment, and a follow-up activity. When you send information on the prep assignment, be clear that enrollment in the online course is a requirement. In your own preparation, be sure to send them a reminder email, as well.
Follow-up activities ensure that the training you provided is being applied. If done correctly, these activities should help salespeople actualize the value of their time spent with you in cold, hard numbers.
Engage Participants During On-Site Workshops
A big part of your job is teaching through speaking, but that shouldn’t be the only part. In order to make what you’re teaching engaging, you need to actually engage your learners. First, model the behavior you want them to emulate. Then, give them the opportunity to practice the behavior. Finally, have them apply it to real-life customers or new business prospect. This can be done in the training itself, the follow-up activity, or both.
Involve Games and Energizers to Keep People Moving
Another way to keep people from falling asleep is to keep them physically moving. Games or other energizers that get people out of their seats are especially effective after a break, when most people are dreading returning to do nothing but sit for another hour.
When salespeople can link results and revenue to your training, they’re going to be excited. When they know that they won’t have to sit and watch an endless power point, they’re going to prefer you over boring lecturers. You’ve already convinced their boss of your value, but when they love you, they’re going to lobby for you to come back. They’ll probably win their case. They are salespeople, after all.
