We are very optimistic about the future of sales education and sales mastery.
Three weeks ago we started working with and coaching a tele-sales team of 9 people based in regional NSW.
Week one post the first session, sales had already started to improve and by week three, this sales team had their best sales week ever. The sales leader revealed this in the session we had this week and attributed it to the training we are doing.
Now that’s something to be optimistic about.
How did we do this?
Our focus was to help them sell better, faster using real time sales education.
We have never met them in person.
They wanted to improve their sales skills and processes. They were time poor, wanted to do it as cost effectively as possible, make it relevant to their situation and not have to go off site.
No problem.
What would have been tricky to deliver in the past by traditional means is not an issue in today’s connected world.
Instead of the traditional one day workshop we suggested the following:
- Sales Process: Review and map their sales process – the steps, activities, tasks and behaviours necessary to do a good job; make it visible to the team and easy to follow
- Communication: engage the whole sales team, letting them know that they will part of a Blended Learning program that uses a 70:20:10 learning approach:
- 70 – self-directed learning using online education, articles and self-reflections
- 20 – 1-on-1 and group coaching support on the job by managers
- 10 – classroom work – in this case, virtual classroom sessions
- Online Sales Education Curriculum: everyone has access to the relevant online sales curriculum that provides theory, knowledge, background, principles, tools and strategies to sell better; in this case, access to Sales Essentials Online Solution Selling Program – 26 topics over 8 weeks
- Group Training Sessions via Zoom – weekly, then fortnightly 1 hour group training sessions; these are not lectures, they are interactive, reflective and sharing best practices/ideas. The theory and knowledge is studied before turning up so participants are prepared to apply that learning.
Three weeks in, 3 x 1 hour Group Sales Coaching sessions (via Zoom) underpinned by our online Sales Essentials Solution Selling curriculum, this regional telesales team of 9 are kicking huge sales goals. They are a relatively young cohort and open to learning and applying what they learn and we can see success breeding success each week. Keen to help each other learn, keen to share their ideas and strategies, this is how we get sales teams to sell better faster using real time education.
It’s such a pleasure to work with them.
It’s something to be #optimistic about.
And they’re not alone.
We are working with many other sales teams, especially those in regional and rural Australia, with access to Real Time Sales Education to sell better, faster.
For instance, a large client in Western Australia, has signed up over 100 B2B and B2C salespeople in different divisions to do the same. In this case we also trained their sales leaders in how to coach their salespeople in the field/on the job – 1-on-1 and group – using the Sales Essentials Online Coaching Resources.
With this approach there’s been a very quick uptake and application of the content with amazing results as well.
The key here is access to relevant, quality Real Time Sales Education over time.
We’re also helping businesses save heaps of money by reducing the need for travel and accommodation to attend traditional training events, reducing the time off the road away from selling and also reducing our collective carbon footprint so our education approach can meet sustainability goals.
Everyone wins.
We’re changing the way people get access to sales education. Using technology, our online sales training and coaching curriculum, inquiry based learning, and running regular mini group coaching sessions where we encourage everyone to share best practice we’re creating communities of dynamic and active learners and we’re helping people and businesses sell better, faster.
Now that’s something to be optimistic about.
Author: Sue Barrett, www.salesessentials.com