Why Online Sales Training Is More Important Now Than Ever
The business world has come to a point where online sales training is imperative to success.
Why?
To put it simply: In recent years, the business world has entered completely new and uncharted territory. And, with uncharted territory comes a slew of new challenges and hurdles to overcome that often make success feel impossible.
Sound familiar?
You might be thinking to yourself... Sure we're in uncharted territory and I've certainly got business problems, but how will sales training save me and my business?
We're about to break down into simple terms why online sales training is more important now than ever if you want to achieve business success.
And were not talking about a run-of-the mill, online webinar or pre-recorded sales training. Instead, we’re talking about a full-blown, live course that does more than just teach the ins and outs of sales.
Take or leave the advice... but the hard truth is that most of the world's most dominant companies currently use sales training to propel themselves forward through their challenges.
Furthermore, here's everything you need to know about online sales training courses, and why they are imperative to you achieving your business goals!
Why Most Online Sales Training Programs Fail
Like we mentioned above, we're not suggesting that you jump into any old sales coaching or training program!
Because the truth is... most online sales training programs are simply terrible.
What makes them so terrible?
While there are several reasons why, the primary reason is because most sales training programs only create more problems for business owners!
How do they create more problems?
They create more problems because they teach you to solve your existing sales problems by implementing overly-complicated sales tactics and strategies.
As a result of implementing the complicated tactics and strategies, you only end up creating additional business problems!
Before you know it... You're not just dealing with the initial problem, but the initial problem plus a whole slew of new problems!
Complexity never helped anyone solve their problems, yet that's exactly what conventional outbound and inbound sales training programs do.
Also, don't get blown away by training programs that market themselves with flashy terms and phrases like, "go at your own pace", "all you need to do is ___", or "great for all different learners". More often than not, it's pure mumbo jumbo marketing!
In conclusion, most online sales training courses epically fail. Therefore, choosing the right course is of the utmost importance!
What Makes the Best Sales Training Programs the Best?
Now that you know what makes a bad sales training program bad, the next question is... What makes the best sales training programs the best?
Straight-up, the best online sales training courses are simply the best because they don't add additional problems to your plate!
Instead of teaching you more and more sales skills, such as how to effectively use your LinkedIn account, make proper sales calls, or take advantage of social selling, they teach you how to create processes to tackle your worst business problems!
Moreover, instead of instructing you to add this, this, and this to your sales process, they simplify things for you.
That way, you don't create more problems for yourself. With fewer problems, you have more free time to focus on the opportunities at hand.
Additionally, the best sales training programs aren't all about teaching you a set of selling skills and then walking away. To be honest, if that's what you're looking for, then you're better off buying a plain-old sales book on Amazon and calling it a day.
Rather than teaching you a set of skills, the best sales training courses are all about teaching problem solving, something that having skills alone won't help with!
You will know you are in on the best sales training program possible when you feel empowered after each training session.
Who Should Take Online Sales Training?
Now you might be saying to yourself... I don't have a problem with sales, therefore I don't need sales training.
If that sounds like you... then you are in for an awakening!
Before going any further, answer this question: Do you have a business goal? It doesn't matter what it is, but is there some vision that you have for your business that you're either actively working towards or want to work towards?
If you answered yes, then odds are that sales training is for you and potentially your sales team members as well!
It doesn't matter if you think you have a sales problem or not, because the root of achieving almost ANY business goal lies in increasing sales!
Think about it... Want to increase your market share? More sales! Want to expand to new markets? More sales! Want to hire additional team members or invest in new technology but don't have the budget for it? More sales!
In short: There is no business growth or progress if there is no sales growth!
That being said, if you have a goal or vision for where you want to be in the future, then odds are that increasing your sales or improving your current sales process is a MUST.
How do you do that? A top-notch online sales training program of course.
And, not just any old seminar training solution, but one like we described above!
Here’s Why Online Sales Training Is More Important Now Than Ever
Now without further ado, here are the key reasons why investing in a top notch online sales training program is more important now than ever.
And, we're not just talking about your run-of-the mill pre-recorded program that teaches you some new skills and offers a few supplementary worksheets.
Instead, we're talking about the best sales training programs that empower you to come up with processes to overcome your biggest business challenges. That way, you can keep your eyes on your goals instead of creating more problems for yourself!
Furthermore, here is why we highly suggest investing in a top-level online sales training program to help you reach your business goals.
The Education System Is Taking Business Progress Backwards
Americans are more educated now than ever. The proportion of adults holding college degrees has been on a steep, uphill climb for the past few decades.
While there are certainly many reasons to celebrate this fact, there are also some reasons to be skeptical about it in terms of the effects that it has on businesses.
By that, we mean skepticism as to whether or not having more people with more education helps or hinders business performance.
Here's the thing: We're not bashing the modern day education system. But, we are saying that there are some negative aspects of the education system that are potentially hurting overall business and sales performance.
The most blatant example of this is the mental conditioning that the education system puts students through. More specifically, the conditioning that having more skills and developing the most complicated processes is what leads to success.
To put it simply: The education system has conditioned students into thinking that, if something is complicated, it's more likely to produce results.
However, that couldn't be further from the truth!
This is where sales training can come in and save the day.
Training will help erase some of the negative conditioning that sales reps have gone through.
Particularly the conditioning that has led them to believe that having more selling skills and more complicated sales processes leads to success.
Unless they eliminate that conditioning, salespeople will continue to lay out sales strategies and plans that are exceedingly overcomplicated, and therefore ineffective.
Highly educated sales professionals have so much potential. And, unlocking their full potential begins not with teaching them new skills... but eliminating the harmful conditioning that the education system has inflicted on them.
Sales Team Members Need a Boost In Confidence
Want to know another unfortunate side effect of the modern education system?
In short: Schools and universities are excellent at equipping students with knowledge. But, they aren't equally as excellent at teaching their students how to apply that knowledge!
So, you end up with a group of bright, well-educated people who don't know what to do with what they know.
As a result of not knowing how to apply knowledge, those highly-educated salespeople lack confidence!
And, lacking confidence in sales makes it virtually impossible for salespeople to reach their full potential, particularly when it comes to:
- Effective sales prospecting
- Developing solid customer relationships
- Controlling sales conversations
Again, here is where a top notch online course in sales can help out!
You see, sales training isn't necessarily about teaching sales pros more skills and strategies. Instead, it's about showing them that they already have all the knowledge they need... they just need to learn how to apply it.
Taking this kind of approach reinforces mega confidence in salespeople!
With confidence, every one of your sales team members can reach their full potential.
The Business World Is Only Getting More Competitive
You don't need us to tell you that the business world is only getting more competitive.
With more access to technology across the globe, more people than ever have the opportunity to jump into the market and sell their products or services.
On one hand, this is fantastic. More people creating companies around the world helps create new jobs and provide new solutions to old problems.
On the other hand, this can create problems for businesses that have been in the game for a long time. Because all of a sudden, there is a whole lot more competition on the block!
When business owners and sales managers see increased competition in their market, they often panic! And, nothing good ever comes out of panicking...
Instead of coming up with simple, effective ways to deal with the new competition, they go nuts trying to come up with new strategies to not only stand out, but crush the competition. In the end, going nuts only hurts them more.
Top-level sales training programs teach entrepreneurs and sales managers how to effectively navigate a competitive field. And, not just navigate it, but use it to their advantage to take business to the next level!
The way sales training does that is by teaching entrepreneurs and salespeople how to highlight their company's unique value proposition.
The unique value proposition is what, at the end of the day, sets a company apart from its competitors. Most importantly it helps them connect with their potential customers on an emotional level!
And, if you're a regular here on the Business Growth Insider, then you already know that capturing potential customers with emotions is key to sales success!
Bottom line: A sales training program will show you how your business can thrive in a highly competitive field.
There Are More Sales Options Than Ever
Not only is the business world rapidly becoming more competitive, but it's also becoming more saturated with business options.
By options, we mean options for businesses to invest in new technology, social media solutions, and sales techniques just to name a few!
With so many options, knowing what to and what not to opt for can be challenging to say the least.
And, depending on which options a business goes with will ultimately play a big role in their sales success.
That being said, with so many options out there, you need to know what is best for you and your business. A top-level sales training course will help show you just that.
How does training help you identify what's worth investing in?
As we mentioned above, sales training helps you come up with a sales methodology that highlights your company's unique value proposition. And, it is precisely that unique value proposition that helps reveal what is and isn't worth investing in.
As a result, entrepreneurs gain clarity on what is and isn’t worth the time and resources to invest in!
Business Clarity Is Essential Yet Few People Have It
Take a moment to ask yourself this question: Do you have a goal or desired outcome for your business? For example, do you want to make a specific number of sales this coming year?
If you answered yes to the above question, then ask yourself this next question: Do you have a clear path in front of you in which you can see your goal at the end? Or, is there a dense fog in-between where you are now and where you want to be?
Believe it or not, but most entrepreneurs have a desired business goal, but little to no clarity on the path to get there.
This startling fact deeply burdens their potential to reach their goals!
Why?
Because... Unless you have a clear path in front of you, you will have no idea how to get to where you want to be. To put it simply, it's like throwing darts in the dark and expecting to hit a bullseye!
Perhaps the most important reason why more businesses need online sales training now more than ever is to address this lack of clarity!
In short: Top-level business growth training will help clear out the fog in your path.
By doing so, you will reveal the fundamental processes that need to take place for you to reach that desired business outcome!
Without clarity, it's impossible to have better sales outcomes. And without better sales outcomes, it's nearly impossible to achieve almost any business goal.
Blatant Misinformation About What Works & Doesn't Work In Sales
Last but certainly not least, here's a hard truth to swallow: For far too long, many sales e-learning programs have been doing the opposite of helping people close deals and achieve greater sales success.
Instead of sharing truths on core sales-related issues, they've actually been spreading sales misinformation!
By misinformation, we mean complete lies on how sales works and how one can simply develop a successful sales process.
What kind of misinformation is circulating as a result of these programs? Here are just a couple of examples:
- They have been telling people to create more complex sales processes
- They're not teaching the importance of customer relationships to increase retention rates
- They've been teaching all of the wrong sales techniques, including sales tactics and strategies
If you want to turn your sales success around, then you need to confront the fact that there are probably many members of your sales team who have been taught blatant sales misinformation.
For example, so many salespeople are shooting themselves in the foot because they've been taught that being assertive kills their sales career. However, the truth is assertiveness is essential for sales success!
Another example is that many sales leaders have been taught from conventional advice that long sales cycles are more effective sales cycles. But, that couldn't be further from the truth.
The bottom line is this: There is A LOT of sales misinformation out there. If you want to know once and for all what works and what doesn't, then you need to invest in top-notch sales training.
Don’t let something as ridiculous as misinformation dampen your B2B sales success.
Is your current knowledge about sales based on fact or fiction? Only sales training will tell you!
Final Thoughts on the Importance of Online Sales Training Programs
As you can see, sales training programs are more important now than ever!
And not just any old webinar and module program, but hard core training programs that do more than just teach the same useless sales skills... But empower entrepreneurs, sales leaders, and salespeople to make use of their current knowledge base to develop processes that lead to business success.
Whether you've already gone through a training program or not, don't waste your time going the sub-par route.
In order to get the steep business results you want, you must commit yourself to doing what it takes to get there!
Sales potential lies all in your hands. The question is... what are you going to do with that potential?
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