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Ongoing Sales Training

The majority of sales managers recognize the necessity of training new salespeople. It’s a must in any industry. When we recruit someone new, we want them to be as successful as possible, and we want them to be successful as soon as possible. Which calls for good onboarding and training.

The issue we see all the time at Pearl Lemon Sales however is that salespeople are frequently left on their own after that initial onboarding. Developing a systematic ongoing training program can be difficult, especially for sales leaders in fast-paced organizations where revenue-generating tasks take precedence, but ongoing sales training is a must, as much as that initial training is. Which is why outsourcing ongoing sales training to a company like Pearl Lemon Sales is a win for both salespeople and the companies they work for.

What Ongoing Sales Training Will Do For Your Sales Team AND Your Bottom Line

Here’s the thing: According to numerous research reports, the largest rates of sales rep turnover (both voluntary and involuntary) occur in years two and three. Sales executives must adopt an attitude of continuous training and development for their people to reduce that attrition. Staff turnover is costly, disruptive and does not allow for that sales rep/client rapport you need to maintain long-term accounts.

Salespeople require continuing mentoring and training to execute their jobs properly, and this is true for both new and experienced salespeople. Business never stands still, resulting in a crowded market and consumers who are becoming more sophisticated by the day.

If your salespeople aren’t provided the hands-on ongoing sales training they need to keep pace and perform well in their current sales environment, they’ll go on a job hunt for another company that does.

Inquire of your sales staff about the issues they confront on a regular basis in the field. Is it difficult for them to compete with lower-cost competitors? Is it proving difficult for them to grasp the concept of social selling? Determine their pain points and then plan to offer ongoing sales training that will help them meet the challenges they face head on.

Ongoing Sales Training can Provide a Sales Career Path

According to more research, the most common reason employees leave a company is a lack of advancement opportunities. If you hire skilled and ambitious salespeople (which you should), they will most certainly want to advance their careers—whether that’s with your firm or somewhere else is up to you.

You need to give your salespeople new challenges and motivation to develop themselves and their sales skills on a regular basis to keep them from becoming bored. Ongoing sales training is the perfect way to do this.

Take some time to sketch up a career path for a typical freshly hired salesperson. Questions to ponder include: can an inside salesperson progress to an outside function, then to a Key Accounts role? Do those jobs even require the same set of skills? What ongoing training can we provide to allow for the kinds of promotions from within that career minded sales staff are looking for.

It’s crucial to be absolutely clear about what a successful career path looks like within your organization, but it doesn’t end there. To get your new hires excited about moving up in the company, clearly express this goal to them.

How Ongoing Sales Training Keeps Top Performers Engaged

When salespeople are routinely hitting their targets, sales management may feel compelled to take a step back and let them “do their own thing.” However, checking in with your employees on a frequent basis to see how engaged they are, as well as asking them what they want out of their future with you, can be an effective method to develop ongoing training plans.

Salespeople who are more engaged have a greater sales rate. When salespeople feel that their management and company executives are invested in their success, they become more engaged and devoted to the company, making them less likely to leave.

Set aside time for your sales agents to construct career development plans and set short and long-term goals for themselves. Ask questions to determine where they require ongoing sales training such as:

“In a year’s time, where do you see yourself in the company?”

“What do you think you need to improve on before you’re ready for that higher level job?”

Having an ongoing sales training and development strategy in place not only helps to retain your present sales talent, but it also helps to recruit new top sales talent to your team. Top performers want the chance to advance their careers in your company, and giving ample ongoing sales training and mentoring increases your employer value proposition.

Too many companies overlook the fact that the onboarding process never actually ends. Those that see the value of ongoing sales training and development set themselves apart and use skill as a competitive advantage.

Why Work With Pearl Lemon Sales?

More than any other form of sales training, it’s essential – and crucial to its success – that ongoing training programs are bespoke, customized to the unique needs of each business and its sales teams. The problem is that most sales training companies are unable – or unwilling – to offer this kind of sales training because it’s a lot more work than pumping out a few new generalized sales courses a year.

At Pearl Lemon Sales, every sales training program we offer is bespoke. This is especially true of ongoing sales training.

When we offer ongoing sales training we’re in it for the long haul, making ourselves – and our skilled sales educators – available on a consistent basis to address those issues that your salespeople face in the field as they arise, ensuring that they get the help they need fast and that your overall sales figures remain at the levels you need and that your sales talent feels so supported and appreciated that they would never dream of working for anyone else.

Ready to implement ongoing sales training for your sales teams?

Contact us. We’d love to hear from you!

If you have any questions, please do get in touch with us! If you’d prefer to speak directly to a consultant, book a call!