Today’s buyers interact with B2B sales reps in a completely different way than they did a few years ago. More stakeholders are involved in every buying decision and they all look for more than just a great product or service. Instead, they require an expert partner who can deliver a personalized experience during every stage of the buying process.
If this isn’t challenging enough, more organizations are tightening budgets in the current macroeconomic environment. There’s added pressure to ensure that every purchase will deliver business value so leaders take added time and consideration to reach a final decision. As a result, the average B2B buying cycle has become even longer and more complex than it was in 2020.
To meet these growing expectations and needs, B2B sellers have to wear more hats. From researchers and consultants to digital strategists and marketers, sellers have to juggle various responsibilities in order to facilitate the sales cycle, foster relationships, and close deals.
So what can businesses do to help reps navigate these challenges and thrive in their roles? In this post, we’ll explore why organizations need to double down on their sales training programs and how to get started.
Why it’s time to prioritize B2B sales training
More stakeholders and longer sales cycles require sales reps to learn and keep track of a great deal of information. But without adequate B2B sales training, organizations fail to properly enable their sellers for these scenarios. Many organizations believe they deliver effective training but, unfortunately, most sales training programs haven’t kept pace with the quickly evolving B2B selling space.
Traditional training programs are disengaging, difficult to follow, and inefficient. They also don’t help sellers apply newly learned information or further improve their skills over time. This is problematic because reps need to be confident and knowledgeable sellers who are prepared for any sales challenge they may encounter. In fact, 85% of sales leaders believe that access to more training and coaching would help their reps better prepare for presentations and speak to buyers from a more informed standpoint.
Never stop growing.
How to evolve your B2B sales training program
If you’re ready to update your B2B training program to help sellers navigate challenges, you’re in the right place. Here are a few best practices you can use to improve training for today’s selling climate.
Incorporate top sales training topics
Traditional sales training often covers products and services, buyer personas, and sales processes. These are still useful topics for B2B sellers, but the way they interact with buyers in today’s market requires new skills. Now, organizations need to focus on B2B sales training topics that will help sellers develop greater emotional intelligence, clearly communicate value, and handle objections. Additionally, B2B reps need training that helps them grasp best practices for virtual selling on digital channels and how they can take a consultative approach when working with buyers.
Provide just-in-time enablement
The days of requiring sellers to sit through hours-long training sessions are long gone. After all, sellers forget more than 80% of training content within one month. Organizations also need to recognize that sellers will occasionally get caught off guard by a buyer’s question during an interaction. Instead of delivering key information during a one-time training session, it’s important to give sellers access to resources and immediate answers on demand. By delivering B2B sales training online, organizations can provide sellers with just-in-time enablement that will help them navigate challenging sales situations, provide accurate information, and interact with buyers as seamlessly as possible.
Reinforce personalized learning
Every B2B rep learns differently, and they deserve an individualized training plan based on their strengths and weaknesses. For example, if your company launches new go-to-market messaging on a new strategy, every seller needs training on the new unified messaging. However, one seller may struggle to deliver the new value props while another may find it difficult to handle common objections to the messaging. Once a seller completes the initial training, ask them to apply what they learned in a practice exercise. This will help you uncover where each seller excels and where there are additional opportunities to provide personalized feedback for growth.
Overcome B2B sales challenges with Seismic
A rep’s success relies on their skills and knowledge to build high-quality relationships with buyers in an ever-changing market. They need to be quick learners, effective communicators, and able to personalize every interaction and experience. But that takes time, effort, and the best B2B sales training courses. And that’s just the start. If you’re interested in discovering more ways to enable sellers check out our new ebook, Enabling Reps for Challenges of B2B Selling.
