As we emerge from an unprecedented era of pandemics and business pivots, the solutions that have kept companies afloat are also driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With digital transformation at its core, sales managers have had to quickly re-evaluate their existing structures, as well as adopt newer methodology. Now, more than ever, sales training for leaders and managers are in need of an urgent refresh to keep pace with waves of transformation in the fast-changing business world.
As the engine that fuels businesses, sales need better representation online - and it isn’t just about plugging into e-commerce. McKinsey reported that 70-80% of B2B decision-makers now prefer remote interactions or digital self-service over face-to-face engagement, highlighting the importance of digital channels for existing teams to maintain their stride.
With the new norms in place, it is reasonable to say that a significant portion of consumers and businesses have settled into new habits - and why not? Digital sales, at its best, can provide round-the-clock services with sales automation, direct leads to their desired engagements with algorithms, and assist sales teams in closing deals faster as businesses rediscover trust online.
Helping teams become cognisant of the buyer’s journey with updated and comprehensive sales training is a sales leader’s priority, but managers must also find themselves equipped with new knowledge to become successful. Here’s how a strategic sales training programme will benefit sales leaders and managers.
The benefits of a strategic sales training programme
Cultivate leadership
Whether you’re a founder establishing your first sales team, or a business veteran adapting to the new sales landscape, your leadership will determine the productivity and performance of your sales hire. Forbes revealed the importance of effective management, with almost three-quarters of leading companies placing coaching as the most important role frontline sales managers play, as a finding in their report, “The Power of Enablement: Bridging the Sales Productivity Gap”.
This exemplary leadership comes with many demands: a deep understanding of the evolving digital sales ecosystem; an eye for spotting disruptions and trends; an acumen for opportunities, and effective communication skills to inspire the team.
Attending sales leadership and management courses and gaining exposure to business literature can prime one to be more effective leaders and mentors, as well as produce solid sales training in Singapore. It’s vital for innovation to occur from the foundations, to revisit the existing sales blueprint and identify gaps against today’s systems and solutions. From there, one can start building sales strategies that not only align externally with consumer behaviours but also internally with marketing and IT teams - even finding the right talent to suit the new vision.
With these rudders in place, the ground is set for sales managers to steer a new course to more effectively drive sales growth and meet targets.
Motivate your teams
Hiring the right sales talent and retaining high-performing individuals are equally as important as market wisdom. Thus, a successful sales manager not only has to be productive but popular - but not in the schoolyard sense.
Zenger Folkman found that more than 60% of employees would more likely leave their job is their manager is a poor mentor, outlining the critical role of coaching that a sales leader must-have. Gaining top-down market knowledge from before needs to be communicated to the sales staff, and learning about effective recruitment, implementing a motivating sales culture and adopting the right sales compensation will be crucial to talent retention.
Most of all, designing a robust formal sales training programme for your teams will not only make them feel supported and confident but instil working strategies that turn up in the company’s financials. Harvard Business Review reports that no other productivity investment improves sales staff performance better than sales coaching.
Manage your sales structure
The task of remapping the blueprints of your sales pipeline is a daunting one, but necessary to produce a high-impact sales team who meets their targets - and helps produce reasonable KPIs as well.
Figures from research consultants Taskdrive reveal that only a third of a sales rep’s work is in engaging with prospects, with a huge portion of their time spent on other tasks such as writing emails (21%), team meetings (12%), and reading industry reports (11%). Creating solutions to reduce these various tasks frees your team up to better focus on engagement, and streamline the pipeline - from that of team protocols and platforms - will generate better velocity and a more finessed strategy. One must learn how to identify gaps, but also introduce tools to empower their staff.
This last element to effective sales leadership completes the must-have skills in the art and science of sales management. To master these skills and lead high-performing sales teams in the digital age, one can attend sales training programmes such as SMU Academy’s Certificate in Strategic Digital Sales Leadership for Singapore Businesses that will help you navigate the ever-evolving business landscape and accelerate deployment through comprehensive training . Be equipped with the right strategies and toolkits to play a pivotal role in rethinking and adapting sales enablement to build a high impact sales team with SMU Academy today.
