For a long time sales teams were like ballet troops: Dominated by a handful of naturally talented superstars, who took center stage and nailed every performance.
Having someone you can count on to deliver their numbers under pressure is still an asset. But it’s also risky and impossible to scale. Unless…
Instead of relying on one or two salespeople to meet their quotas every month, you can coach your whole team to hit their numbers. And by combining numerous sales tools like SalesForce, Outreach, or even sales enablement software like ours you can turn every hire into an effective salesperson, while still empowering top salespeople to shoot for even more challenging targets.
Here’s how to give all your sales reps a boost through tailored coaching, high-quality content, and a smoother collaboration process.
The right training turns rookies into consistent performers
We don’t expect athletes to achieve peak performance in the first game they play. It takes consistent, tailored training. We give them coaches to help them hone their natural talents, trusting that this combination of instruction, practice, and ability will eventually produce results. The same goes for your sales reps, minus the sprint drills and Lycra (unless that’s your thing).
Today, excellent sales reps are made, not born. Companies that provide high-quality, ongoing coaching don’t need to rely so heavily on outstanding natural talent because all their reps have the training necessary to hit their targets consistently.
But to make a real impact on all your reps, your sales training program should be:
- Interactive: Use quizzes and surveys to test how much your reps are truly engaging with training material. Applying the information you’ve given them keeps them on their toes, and it also highlights areas where they’re more and less confident. This helps you close gaps in their knowledge and move them closer to hitting quotas.
- Mobile: So much of our lives take place on our phones, so why not sales training? Mobile-friendly sales coaching feels natural to the next generation of reps. It’s convenient and accessible and gamifies the learning process.
- Personalized: The days of one-PowerPoint-fits-all sales coaching are over (about time!). Yes, there are basics everyone needs to cover, but as your people progress through your coaching curriculum, use the data you’re collecting to personalize their training programs. This lets you address the difficulties causing them to fall behind, and even tailor lessons to their interests. Helping keep them on track and excited for the future.
- Ongoing: For most people, learning any new skill takes more than one lesson. Continue to support your sales reps with access to regular coaching. Track their performance as they go as it shows you how quickly they’re picking up the material, and motivates them to keep learning.
Look at sales training as part of a bigger goal: achieving readiness. Always looking to make it as data-driven, continual (not a one and done), and targeted as possible throughout every deal.
Take your reps to the next level with the right tools
If your sales reps use outdated or uninspired material in their pitches to buyers, they’re going in with a severe disadvantage.
Buyers today are used to being wowed, not just charmed. Reps need access to high-quality content that engages clients and demonstrates what your business can do at its absolute best.
Improve all your reps’ odds of getting a deal with content that is:
- In line with trends: According to recent research, a not-to-be-sniffed-at 85% of buyers will open a video while ignoring all other types of content. There’s still a time and place for more traditional white papers, emails and, yes, slide presentations. But recognize the parts of the buyer journey where video and interactive graphics pack a stronger punch—and equip your reps as appropriate.
- Personalized: Just as tailored coaching programs drive your training home more clearly than a generalized approach, buyers also appreciate a personalized pitch. Give reps content that they can easily customize to suit specific clients. That doesn’t mean starting from scratch every time. Sales enablement tools are here to make things easier. Instead, simply upload your product and marketing-approved content into a tool like Showpad and let teams personalize where possible.
- Easy to access: Speaking of product and marketing, let’s give them well-deserved credit. There’s a strong possibility that your creative, forward-thinking colleagues already know the type of content that gets buyers excited. Go, team! And they’ve even probably already put some of it together—but it’s likely somewhere your sales reps don’t know it exists or can’t readily access. Typical! Showpad stops this and makes it easy for sales to find and adapt the content you need and collaborate with product and marketing on the next iteration.
Orchestrate your sales strategy
The image of the brilliant lone wolf salesperson is as outdated as the encyclopedias they traditionally hawked. Companies today know that the more people sales reps have in their corner, the stronger their outcomes. That’s why it’s essential to have a seamless sales process that connects with marketing, enablement and realization.
To orchestrate your sales strategy, you need to:
- Share data: Sales and marketing benefit when they each have access to the other’s data. Marketing can help sales identify potential leads, while sales data shows marketing which content grabs clients’ attention. Showpad makes sure both departments have access to the other’s data and know how to use it effectively for their respective missions.
- Share knowledge: Modern Selling is a team effort. Don’t let essential client details get stuck in one person’s head. Instead, make it easy to share data and content across the sales team, so buyers get the whole experience no matter who seals the deal. Because when the whole team works together, everyone gets the support they need to crush their quotas—not just the supersellers.
Every sales department has its superstars, but there’s space in the spotlight with the right tools, insights, and processes for everyone. It’s time to let them shine (super cheesy, we know, but true).
To find out how to streamline the relationship between sales and marketing to make selling easier, read our “Woo, Don’t Pursue” ebook today.
