Read about 4 learning tools that make online sales training modules impactful.
We all know that properly trained sales reps are adept at closing deals effectively, and thereby, augment companies’, improve their bottom line. Effective training enables salespeople to understand the needs of customers and offer the right solution to meet the needs. This, in turn, ensures the loyalty of customers and brings in more revenue.
In recent years, most companies are moving their sales training programs online. Factors such as reduction in training expenditure and the facility to enable busy learners choose their own convenient learning paths are the major reasons for the growing use of e-learning to train sales reps. Today, we will examine 4 online learning tools that are very useful to impart high-quality training to your sales force.
1. Learning Videos
You can use videos with a high degree of efficacy to train your salespersons to hold good conversations. Videos are ideal tools to show how to greet a customer, open the conversation, learn about his needs, offer the right solution, and end the conversation effectively. Video-based lessons can be used to teach your sales reps how to get the body language right, modulate their tone to show empathy, and use other verbal and non-verbal cues to convey the intended message in an effective manner. It is a good idea to record conversations held by experienced reps and use in online sales training programs.
Videos can also be used for training sales reps on another important aspect – products. One of our clients in the consumer electronics space uses an animated video-based curriculum that explains how the different parts of its products function. Animated videos can also be used to demonstrate the working of products to customers.
2. Dialog Simulations
These simulations can be used to depict real-life customer conversations and help your sales reps master conversation skills, in a risk-free environment. They help personnel develop the required soft skills, including listening skills, when interacting with customers. Dialog-based simulations can be repeated as many times as you want, and constant training will help reps hold effective conversations.
You can use iSpring Suite to develop effective simulations of customer conversations. The rapid authoring tool comes with an inbuilt application, iSpring TalkMaster that enables you to create characters and scenarios that depict communication in a real-life selling situation. TalkMaster also allows you to incorporate voiceovers in dialog simulations to make them natural.
3. Scenarios
Salespeople, who have a good idea of how their products are used by customers, can pitch the products better. There is no better way to train sales reps on this vital aspect than use scenarios. Scenarios help learners understand the issues faced by customers and how their products help resolve these issues. One of our customers in the ICT domain uses a scenario-based online learning module for explaining how the unique features of its product help customers overcome their challenges.
Scenarios also enable your sales reps to handle customer objections in a very effective manner. You can develop a series of scenario-based microlearning modules. Each of these modules can be used to present a specific customer objection and train learners to tackle it deftly. There are a number of tools in the market such as Articulate Storyline that can be used to develop online learning scenarios rapidly, with minimal effort.
4. Infographics
Human memory is short, and learning has to be reinforced at regular intervals to ensure it is transferred effectively to the workplace. You can use infographics to reinforce the product knowledge delivered to salespeople. One of our clients in the retail electronics space uses infographics to reinforce knowledge about televisions. The client has created several infographics, each listing the features of a particular brand. Salespeople can access the infographics whenever needed, on their mobile devices, ensuring that the knowledge acquired is not lost over a period of time.
Thus, you can use the four online learning tools, discussed above, to impart good training to your sales reps. How do you use e-learning to train your sales force? We’d love to know.
