The way businesses are selling has changed, so sales training has had to change too. Many of our clients request sales training because they want a branded experience – the brand and culture of an organization are foundational for sales reps to understand in order to successfully differentiate themselves from the competition. How can brands deliver effectively on their brand promise virtually?
Here’s how to use remote training to create the biggest impact and successfully prepare sales teams.
Best Practices for Running Remote Sales Training
- Live Streaming Events: Remote training can still be effective, authentic, and engaging. Instead of generic training, learners can live stream immersive, branded training experiences remotely. Live streaming events give new hires a way to feel included in a team dynamic without being onsite. It also allows for an engaging, live presentation that can be conducted with all participants safely socially distant.
- Take a Blended Learning Approach: A typical on-site training event would likely include a mix of training methods, from role playing to knowledge and concept quizzes, to incentive-based games meant to inspire friendly competition. This can (and should) still be a part of remote training. Well-facilitated, virtual instructor-led training can help learners refine and master new skills through practice sessions, immersive discussions, and real-time feedback and coaching opportunities. Additional eLearning resources can support interactive experiences for learners, including adaptive simulations, branching scenarios, and immersive game-like experiences.
- Don’t Forget Reference Materials and Job Aides: In-person training events are filled with tools that are designed to support future job performance, infographics, leave-behinds, quick reference cards, and reference guides. Not only are these tools helpful for getting new team members up to speed and offering them a useful post-training resource, these materials are part of a cohesive, branded training experience that serves to reestablish the message and mission of the organization. Make sure to still offer these resources digitally to all training participants.
- Tap Into the Knowledge of Existing Sales Team Members: The strongest company brands are represented in full by their employees. Sales employees are incredibly busy with prospecting and trying to meet quotas, but having sales teams members serve as speakers for remote training events can help inspire new incoming sales reps and bring together sales teams around a common goal. Some organizations aren’t looking to onboard new employees but need to re-train their teams to sell remote. This gives teams an opportunity to collaborate and draw from each other’s experience to support the success of the business as a whole by discussing current challenges in a larger forum and troubleshooting new solutions.
Selling is changing, and sales team trainers are quickly trying to keep up with those changes. Whether you’re looking for a way to transition your current sales training to a remote format, or you need to reskill your sales team to handle selling in a rapidly changing landscape, we can help you invest in and create the custom, branded content that supports your goals.
Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help support your sales training goals with customized learning solutions that get your team ready to take on the challenges of selling in today’s rapidly change sales environment.
