If you’re not reaching sales targets every quarter, you may need to consider updating your sales team’s skills, even if you have a knowledgeable team crushing sales goals month after month. All teams must hone their skills to maintain a competitive edge in today’s market. That’s why there’s a growing demand for e-learning for sales teams, and it’s due to several good reasons. Here’s how e-learning can support sales activities and why your sales team should use e-learning platforms like SOCO Academy.
What is E-learning?
E-learning is a form of electronic learning. It uses the internet to access instructions on computers or other devices outside the traditional classroom setting. Simply, it’s a way of delivering a selection or all of a sales training program via digital means.
Companies use this sales training methodology exclusively or use a blended learning system with in-person instruction to provide supplementary, personalized training. E-learning is known by several terms, including distance learning, computer-assisted learning and web-based training.
How does e-learning support sales activity?
Today, e-learning is everywhere, and for a very good reason — it works. Yet, many companies are reluctant to include e-learning in their corporate training curriculum. These businesses have the mindset that employees won’t do it. And frankly, this can be true. An e-learning sales training program that gets consumed and implemented isn’t as easy as sending them the login details. There needs to be a system in place to encourage learning and monitor completion. Here’s how an appropriate e-learning platform that supports completion rates can benefit your company
1. Easy onboarding
Most new hires will take around 10 months or longer to contribute to business goals successfully. That’s a long time for businesses to wait for a return on investment. E-learning for sales teams makes this process easier than usual in-person onboarding sessions. That’s because it gives reps instant access to the knowledge needed to go out and start generating business.
One problem that sales teams frequently encounter is incorporating new team members into the existing group. By implementing e-learning, new team members can learn everything from basic to advanced sales strategies immediately.
This eliminates the time-consuming process of extensive training and allows new team members to start contributing almost immediately. It also prevents potential profit loss due to new reps not knowing how the company and sales team operate.
Also read: 6-Step Guide To Successfully Onboarding Sales Reps
2. Instils sales standards
To achieve set goals, sales teams must juggle sales funnels, individual pipelines, and planners, which require various processes to complete. That’s why one of the most crucial aspects of sales training is learning industry sales standards, best practices and techniques. E-learning for sales teams achieves this by providing engaging, step-by-step video guides. Usually followed by relatable examples and quizzes or assessments to test sales teams’ understanding. Having all team members trained on the same topics allows consistency in the company’s sales culture.
3. Reduces training costs
Lower business costs make e-learning for sales teams an attractive alternative to other popular instructional options. Switching to an online learning environment eliminates most of the major expenses businesses must pay when they conduct live training. These savings include the cost of printing physical learning materials, travel and lodging costs for trainers, catering, venue rentals, and lost productivity. These savings, in addition to effective results, translate into a high ROI.
Also read:
- Is VR Training in the Workplace The Future Of Upskilling Sales Teams?
- How To Choose The Best Sales Training Company: A Step-By-Step Guide
- How To Reinforce Sales Training In The Workplace To Maximise ROI
4. Creates flexibility
Asynchronous courses mean businesses no longer have to struggle to find a time when all employees are available for training. E-learning for sales teams allows companies to train employees all day, every day of the year. Wherever and whenever the employee has free time. Since each employee works through the online course independently, they can catch up on the information they need whenever they have a free moment.
5. Connect remote teams
Another advantage of online sales training is that it works excellently for companies with global sales teams. Because the training is online and not person-to-person, international sales teams can easily learn without worrying about the logistics and expense of transporting training personnel.
Online sales training programs can also be translated into the languages spoken, meaning all teams worldwide can get the same training delivered in their language of choice.
6. Interactivity increases learning retention
Interactivity is a large part of e-learning for sales teams. Most computer-based learning utilizes multimedia and reality-based simulations to stimulate and challenge employees. Most companies discover that when they include features such as competitions and gamification in their e-learning courses, trainees tend to enjoy their experience more while retaining more information than in other educational settings.
7. Customisable Learning
Customizable e-learning learning helps sales teams understand what they need to know. Without wasting time going over information that some have already mastered. Everyone’s knowledge gap is unique, and everyone absorbs information at different rates. When you use e-learning for sales teams, reps can choose exactly what they want to learn and progress at their own pace. This approach keeps all employees motivated and guarantees they are learning something useful from each training session without becoming frustrated.
8. Encourages performance reviews
Assessments are immediate with e-learning. For instance, you can offer the members of your sales team ongoing and automatic assessments and feedback while they work through the course. These mini-assessments help the trainee to perfect his knowledge in small, easily mastered chunks while providing positive reinforcement. In addition, since all assessments take place online, your company’s HR department or management has an easy way to review the level of knowledge of each of your sales team members.
Download: Sales Performance Improvement Plan Worksheet
Whether you are looking for better ways to onboard your new hires faster or want to expand the knowledge level of your existing sales team without spending a lot of time, effort or money, e-learning is a great alternative to in-person corporate training.
9. Creates a central bank of resources
New staff members can quickly catch up on discussions about a certain topic by keeping all sales training-related discussions in the online training program. In addition, the sales team can work together to create a database containing their most common objections, closing methods, qualifying questions, and so on. It would become an organic document being consistently updated and reviewed to keep all team members geographically dispersed or not on the same page.
This eliminates the common problem where a few salespeople do something well, and others do not. Moreover, they can share their knowledge, and all grow together.
10. Maximises downtime
E-learning benefits not only new team members but existing sales professionals as well. While existing sales teams are often busy with their own business, there are certainly times when these teams have little to do. Instead of assigning menial tasks for sales professionals during slower periods, putting them through extensive training can increase their sales knowledge and ensure they are spending this downtime productively. The existing sales teams can then use the knowledge they gained when their business picks up to maximize closing rates.
What to look for in an E-Learning platform for sales teams
When looking for an online sales training program that fits your team, it’s essential to take a few things into consideration.
- Short videos: Keep the attention of learners, often called microlearning. This allows for a faster sense of completion and learning to happen even if the learner only has 10 minutes during a commute to learn.
- Incentives: Programs that provide incentives to complete the training (such as learning badges) are one method of encouraging your sales team to finish the training whilst maintaining employee morale.
- Resources: an effective training program will often include editable, shareable documents that are optimal for the team to collaborate on and enhance their own skills by learning from each other’s ideas.
- A system to check on learner’s progress: This allows leaders to encourage learning when needed and award those who are completing the courses.
- Mobile ready: A training program available for mobile devices can prove invaluable for sales teams on the go due to its ease of access and portability.
How to make the most of E-Learning
A common issue with e-learning is low completion rates. This happens when learners aren’t given deadlines or held accountable for finishing their online courses. To ensure the best results, a team leader who can check on the learners’ progress to help move them along their learning journey should be appointed.
Another great way to maximize learning is to implement blended learning; a combination of e-learning and live training. This can be done either online through webinars or in person, but it allows for additional collaboration and customization of training.
SOCO/ Academy: The E-Learning Platform for Sales Teams Everywhere
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