[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/01\/07\/how-to-train-a-remote-sales-team\/#Article","articleBody":"Why are some salespeople more successful than others? Is it luck? Drive? Territory?\u00a0Especially in today\u2019s virtual environment, what makes a remote sales team succeed?\nA seller\u2019s success depends on their ability to communicate the value of their product or service in the context of what the buyer cares most about. To do this, sellers must have the proper knowledge, skills, and awareness to lead the right sales conversations at the right time.\nBut how can you guarantee that your remote sales team acquires that knowledge, build those skills, and cultivate that awareness?\nTraditional, one-time classroom-style training isn\u2019t enough. If your virtual SKO is the only formal sales training you have planned for 2021, it\u2019s time to rethink your strategy.\nThe reality for remote sales teams \u00a0\nToday\u2019s sellers aren\u2019t just dealing with reduced budgets, increasingly risk-averse buyers, and growing buying teams. Selling in a virtual environment presents a raft of challenges, including:\nLess opportunity to interact and build relationships with prospects\nMore distracted buyers\nAnd last, but not least,\u201cZoom fatigue.\u201d\nThese challenges aren\u2019t going away with the new year. According to Forrester Research, moving forward, 80% of sales will be digital and remote. Meanwhile, a recent survey by Corporate Visions revealed that nearly 70% of sales professionals believe virtual selling is not as effective as in-person sales.\nThis belief doesn\u2019t come from sales reps\u2019 lack of confidence in their ability to obtain or memorize product information. It comes from a lack of confidence in their ability to effectively engage and build trust with remote customers.\nThe fundamentals of sales have changed, and sellers need a new suite of tools to help them develop the universal skills required to build relationships in a virtual selling environment.\nIt\u2019s important to recognize that many of your former road warriors are in uncharted territory. They\u2019re fish out of water in a virtual sales setting and it\u2019s impacting their abilities to meet sales quotas. But you can help them find their footing in this \u201cnext normal.\u201d\nTraining a remote sales team: The old way won\u2019t cut it\nTraditional sales training, often described as \u201cjust-in-case\u201d learning, consists of cramming as much market, company, and product information as possible into sellers\u2019 heads all at once. The intent is to prepare sellers as best as possible for any sales scenario and hope they can retain, recall, and repeat the appropriate information when the need arises.\nBut companies that rely on this approach often find their sellers (and revenue) fall short of expectations. The primary reason for this is that one-way, classroom-style lectures aren\u2019t conducive to information retention.\nIn fact, after just one day, the average person forgets more than 70% of what was taught in the training.\nRemote sales team training: Always on, always available\nA much more progressive and proven approach is sales readiness \u2013 a shift from \u201cjust-in-case\u201d to \u201cjust-in-time\u201d learning. Sales readiness gives sales reps the resources, tools, and continuous training to effectively engage buyers and successfully lead them down the path to purchase.\nRather than relying on sales reps to memorize information presented in their initial training, this method cultivates their understanding of the value they have to offer and equips them with the tools and coaching to communicate that value in a way that resonates with modern buyers.\nThis type of sales learning is made accessible via digital modules or video vignettes offered on-demand. Modern sales training solutions integrate with sales enablement technology platforms to offer deep analytics and insight into who has completed what courses. They also track how content consumption has impacted a seller\u2019s ability to close deals and meet quotas.\nSales training received during onboarding or on a quarterly basis often fails because the timing doesn\u2019t align with sales reps\u2019 challenges. But distributing on-demand training materials in a variety of formats opens the door to always-on learning, where sales reps can take control of their own education and performance.\nThis kind of ongoing, personalized training helps sellers develop the skills needed to succeed in a virtual environment, including active listening, building rapport, and developing a strong online presence.\nWith the right training, your remote sales team will be confident, motivated, and on the road to success.\nIt\u2019s not your father\u2019s CRM. Find out who\u2019s leading the CRM revolution HERE.","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/01\/07\/how-to-train-a-remote-sales-team\/#Article_Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/01\/07\/how-to-train-a-remote-sales-team\/#Article_Person_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Tony-Higher-Res2-150x150.jpg"},"name":"Tony Kavadas","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/tony-kavadas\/"},"dateModified":"2021-08-27T23:57:55+00:00","datePublished":"2021-01-07T07:46:06+00:00","description":"Remote sales teams need more than the usual annual sales training. Ongoing, on-demand training gives sellers the skills they need to succeed.","headline":"How to train a remote sales team for success in the next normal","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/01\/07\/how-to-train-a-remote-sales-team\/#Article_ImageObject","height":"630","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/FCEE096_SalesTraining_HB-1200x630.jpg","width":"1200"},"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/01\/07\/how-to-train-a-remote-sales-team\/","name":"How to train a remote sales team for success in the next normal","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/","additionalType":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1193236","description":"Relevant, timely information & analysis on commerce trends, both consumer-facing and B2B.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","height":"96","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","width":"500"},"name":"The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/a-call-for-a-better-experience\/id1479742201","https:\/\/twitter.com\/FutureOfCEC","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/4844282","https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/feed\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/"},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/01\/07\/how-to-train-a-remote-sales-team\/#Article"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"01","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/01\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"07","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/01\/\/07\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"How to train a remote sales team for success in the next normal","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/01\/07\/how-to-train-a-remote-sales-team\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]