Why Sales Managers Need to Invest in Training

Make Sales Training a Continuous Process

When sales reps receive an invite labeled “sales training,” they are likely going to do one of two things: sigh and accept or try to get out of it. Sales reps want to spend their time trying to forge relationships and close deals.

According to a recent survey, 84% of all sales training is lost after 90 days. This is majorly due to the lack of information retention among sales personnel. This highlights the need for refresher training from time to time along with effective sales training.

Some sales reps think training is a complete waste of time. They want to concentrate their efforts on calling and scheduling appointments, not being taught something new. Many will use excuses such as “I’ve done this before” or “this way has worked well for me in the past.” A great way to combat this is to invest in sales intelligence software.

When training is reinforced by in-the-field coaching, companies see up to four times the ROI from training programs alone.

The insight that can be derived from a sales team’s calling activities can not only help give managers higher-level insight; It can also put an end to negative behaviors while reinforcing the positive ones. Analytics like the number of calls made, appointments set, or average talk time are the KPIs any intelligent manager will want to measure. If you want to increase your team’s sales performance tools like Gryphon’s Sales Performance Dashboard can help managers measure their reps performance and provide valuable training as needed.

According to Forbes magazine, 55% of salespeople lack basic sales skills, and 55% of sales reps don’t have effective communications skills.

Benefits of Constant Sales Training

Backed up by data-driven insights, sales managers can gain a deeper knowledge of the activities that sales reps conduct every day. Turning this knowledge into coachable moments will contribute to a wider pipeline, an enhanced top line, and a moderated bottom line.

74% of leading companies say coaching is the most important role frontline sales managers play, and sales training can improve the performance of individual sales rep on average by 20%.

Getting adequate training on emerging technologies is an important aspect of being an expert salesperson. New technology improves the productivity of a sales team, but only if they actually learn how to use it.

60% of salespeople are more likely to leave their job if their manager is a poor coach. Interestingly 50% of sales managers are too busy to train and develop their sales teams. 

Continous sales training will arm your team with the skills they need to:

• Increase sales
• Help meet and exceed quota
• Improve product knowledge
• Stay up to date on industry trends and your competition
• Identify individual strengths and weaknesses
• Provide a better sales experience for current and prospective clients

If you are going to spend the money to hire talent, it is important to make an ongoing effort to invest in their success. Sales training is time and money well spent.