The First Step of the Sales Training Process is Documentation

by Unboxed Staff | Nov. 23, 2020 | 5 Min Read

Sales Training

Reports show that 80% of high-performance sales teams rate their sales training between very good and outstanding. If you want to increase sales, you need to invest in effective sales training for your team.

Do you have a sales training process in place?

Do you know the benefits of a formally documented sales process?

Are you searching for the most effective sales training?

Read on to learn what the first step of the sales training process is, the benefits you can expect from documenting your sales process, and the key elements of sales training.

What is a Sales Training Process?

At a high-level, a sales training process is the framework an organization uses to teach new sales reps how to facilitate sales properly (e.g., pipeline management, negotiations, prospecting, etc.).

An effective sales training process is:

Clear
Replicable
Predictable
Goal-oriented
Measurable and quantifiable

When you formulate a clear sales training process, you enable your sales reps with the tools they need to perform at their best.

The First Step of the Sales Training Process is...

The first step of the sales training process is documentation. Without documenting your process, you can’t train reps on how to sell “the right way.” If you try to piece together a scrapbook version of your sales process – that tends to change every sales call – you can’t expect consistent results.

Once you document what the first step of the sales process is at your organization, you should assess your sales reps. Everyone on the sales team might be on a different page regarding how to sell, what to say, and when to say it if a sales process hasn’t been established.

Start with an assessment to figure out what your new hires know, what they don’t know, and areas for improvement. Assessments will help you identify the specific weaknesses of each team member and train them accordingly.

Now, let’s talk about the tangible benefits of a sales training process.

3 Benefits of a Sales Process That’s Documented

A holistic sales process equips and empowers sales teams to sell with confidence.

You’ll start to see the benefits of a sales process when you begin to document it. A formal sales process directly influences ROI and improves rep performance.

Investing in a sales training program, following a documented process, is the difference between sales reps who exceed sales goals and ones who fall short.

When you implement a corporate sales process, you can expect the following benefits.

1. Increase in Revenue Growth

Effective pipeline management through a formal sales process directly correlates to revenue growth. Companies that define and document their sales process see an 18% difference in revenue growth than companies that don’t. Close more deals with a formal sales process.

2. Improve Employee Retention

Organizations spend all of this money onboarding new hires every year, but an employee is only as good as their training. When you can hand new employees a clear set of guidelines on their first day (or preferably before day 1), setting expectations, objectives, and processes, you’ll improve retention rates and on-the-job performance.

3. Predictable, Replicable Results

Documenting your sales process creates a replicable tool that you can use to train employees and predict consistent results. A sales process is essentially your sales team’s recipe for success. If you don’t have the right ingredients or use random ingredients every time, you won’t be able to share your sales recipe with anyone because the result is inconsistent.

Do any of the benefits appeal to you? If so, then it might be time to take a more standardized approach to your sales training process.

Key Elements of Sales Training for Success

Below are some learning topics that you’ll want your sales training course content to include:

Positive body language
Emotional intelligence
Overcoming objections
Interpersonal communication
Cold calling competency
Sales psychology
Understanding your company's target market
Knowledge of key competitors and differentiators
Navigating a CRM

If you’re looking into how to build a sales training program for your organization, here are some helpful tips.

Implement a Sales Training System

An intelligent sales enablement system can identify learner knowledge gaps through AI and elevate those topics as the primary focus of a sales rep’s personalized training program. A mobile sales training platform like Hub360 speeds up your sales training process, getting reps on the floor (or phones) faster to make sales sooner.

Using a sales training delivery platform also ensures that all sales reps follow a consistent sales process.

Create a Coaching Culture

Create a coaching culture to reinforce and support sales training course content. New hires especially need plenty of feedback as they learn your sales training process. If they receive regular feedback from a coach, they can quickly course-correct what they’re doing wrong before it becomes a bad habit.

Keep in mind that feedback should be constructive. If a learner has done something wrong, explain to them how they can do better in the future. Coaching can improve employee performance and retention, so it’s a great addition to your sales training program.

Monitor Learner Progress

Monitor learner progress throughout the sales training program. Take note of how they're doing by administering learning assessments at pre-established milestones. Identify your training KPIs to measure its effectiveness accurately and determine whether your learners are on target.

Plan to track objective and subjective factors, such as lift in sales and how confident reps feel.

Champion Continuous Learning

Even when the formal training period is over, that doesn't mean learning stops! Continuous learning is the backbone of strong sales teams. Have coaches intentionally check-in with salespeople. Coaches provide an additional level of accountability, but a continuous learning platform keeps reps trained-up with refresher training.

A continuous learning platform allows learners to communicate with each other, ask questions, centralize documentation, and even encourage them to go above and beyond by participating in non-required training.

Now that you’ve got your homework cut out for you (document your sales training process!), here are some training tools to help.

Build the Most Effective Sales Training Program Today

Building out a sales training program may seem like a big deal, and it is, but we do it every day!

Our team at Unboxed Training & Technology provides training solutions to businesses like yours that need to train, manage, and coach sales teams for success.

Keep these sales training tips in mind as you start documenting your sales process. Request a demo of the following training and technology resources for additional guidance and support:

3 Key Benefits of a Sales Training Process