Are Sales Training Workshops Obsolete?

Sales training workshops have been a mainstay in the corporate sales world for decades. Whether conducted in-house by company trainers, or at a special conference by sales leaders, millions of sales professionals have benefitted from the knowledge shared and camaraderies developed.

But with online sales training, endless free YouTube videos on sales, and even mobile apps with selling tips – are sales training workshops still relevant?

The answer is YES! Mind you, I am 100% biased in this regard since I am a sales trainer, but I truly believe it. If not, I’d find another line of work. Let me explain why I feel sales training workshops are not in danger of becoming obsolete anytime soon.

Skills training for new people

New salespeople often need a lot of hand-holding. This takes up valuable time from both managers and other salespeople. This can be avoided by enrolling all new salespeople in sales training workshops, where they can get all their basics covered and have their newbie questions answered.

Tailored instruction

The best sales training workshops will tailor instruction to focus on company issues. While some online training can be tailored, face-to-face training can be changed on the fly as instructors engage with attendees.

Builds teamwork

An esprit de corps develops when an entire sales team attends sales training workshops together. The shared experience encourages attendees to improve not only themselves, but the team as well.

When sales managers and executives train together, the trickle-down effects throughout the organization can be powerful as well.

Opportunity to share wisdom

One of the highlights when I conduct a workshop is seeing the veteran salespeople share their wisdom with their fellow salespeople. Their experiences and insights help frame the curriculum into real word application.

Sharing war stories helps the team and also acts as a validation and recognition of the hard work the seasoned pros have put into building their book of business.

Role play

Most great sales training workshops stress role play as a means of retention and promoting application once the training is over. Very few online classes or apps are going to provide the oversight and guidance face-to-face workshops provide for this activity.

By practicing what to say and how to say it, salespeople can confidently handle objections and deliver closing questions with the smoothness necessary to close deals.

Technology updates

Sales technology, like the rest of the technological landscape, is constantly advancing. New devices, apps, and use cases crop up daily it seems, and this can leave salespeople confused as to what they should adopt and what to skip.

As sales training workshops deal with thousands of students annually, trainers have a good grip as to the tech that matters and is being used by leading-edge firms. Trainers can pass that information along to students, and share some best practices for new tools as they pop up.

As you can tell from this post, I believe sales training workshops are here to stay. Have you scheduled your team’s next session yet?

 

VIDEO LINK – http://video.asherstrategies.com/skills-reinforcement/15-sales-trends-2018