Training Industry Magazine - January/February 2021 - 40

when training ends and revert back to
their regular day-to-day behaviors.
Managers Aren't Effective Coaches.
Managers have their own reasons for
resisting more sales practice, training
and development. Perhaps they:
*	 Don't have time to coach.

The Risks of
Foregoing Practice
*	 Threatens customer
relationships.
*	 Damages the brand.

*	 Don't know how to coach.

*	 Risks money invested in
generating leads.

*	 Default to broad strokes rather
pinpointing
specific
areas
of
improvement.

*	 Voids time and budget
investment in cultivating
sales opportunities.

One-size-fits-all sales training is just not
effective. Yet, management repeats this
sales training pattern.

The Opportunity to " Level Up "
the Entire Team's Sales Skills
High-performing sales reps get the
vast majority of sales management's
attention. Harvard Business Review
reported that 17% of a leader's time
(nearly one day per week) is wholly
dedicated to poor performers.

*	 Ruins forecasted deals
management.
*	 Blows confidence of reps.
*	 Increases turnover rate
of reps.

would have a huge impact on the sales
organization overall.

With Sales Technology,
It's Absolutely Possible

A rigorous sales process can
only be put into place through
rigorous practice.

Most sales reps aren't categorized
as top or poor performers. Most fall
somewhere in the middle, where they
are easily overlooked. Without a sales
development platform in place, this
leaves a whole lot of folks to fend for
themselves without sales coaching
and development. Imagine if reps who
are just doing okay could focus and
dedicate practice time to their key
selling deficiencies?
If all the middle-performing sales reps
upped their skills even a small bit, it

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Technology allows a new and
modern approach to developing and
reinforcing sales behaviors. Putting
reps in virtual sales situations offers
an opportunity to experiment with
different approaches to customer
interactions without risking sales.
Engaging. Simulations are good for
habit building because they're engaging.
People have a desire to win. Competition
gets dopamine and serotonin flowing.
In research conducted by the National
Training Laboratory, retention rates
for lecture-style learning were at 5%
and reading rates were at 10% with
PowerPoints. In contrast, virtual, immersive
learning was measured at a retention rate
of 75%.
Personalized Learning Paths. Sales
training technology simplifies assessing
and prescribing specialized learning
tracks based on the individual needs of

each member of a sales organization.
Personalized learning paths prioritize
the sales training that matters most
for each rep. For instance, sales reps
accustomed to face-to-face selling can
cultivate remote selling skills.
Risk-free Practice Environment. Because
reps work within private simulations,
experimentation is encouraged without
fear of embarrassment. This technology
also encourages repetition through
gamified features, like points, leaderboard
positioning and virtual awards. Through
repetitive
practice,
training
and
development becomes a process of
continuous improvement. Practicing within
realistic sales training simulations gives
reps the opportunity to practice scenarios
over and over until they achieve the
desired level of confidence and mastery.
Deep Scoring. Metrics are another
benefit of sales training simulations.
A scan of faces sitting in a sales
training classroom may be the closest
you get to measuring engagement in
traditional sales training. Sales training
simulations offer sales management a
wealth of data.
Through deep scoring, all interactions
are measured as reps work through
sales simulations. These sales skills
and selling behavior data are available
to management at both the individual
and team level, making tough
management decisions regarding
sales readiness easier.

Sales Managers Have Nothing to
Lose, Except Risk
Learning to sell well takes practice, and
it's up to sales management to grant
sales reps the time, space and tools
to get their practice in. Sales training
simulations offer all of that and are simple
to deploy across a remote workforce.
The only thing sales management has
to lose is the risk of sending unpracticed
sales reps into live selling situations
without the experience to effectively
navigate them.
Nick Rini is the co-founder and chief
revenue officer at Sciolytix. Email Nick.
https://www.hbr.org/2020/05/how-to-manage-an-employee-whos-struggling-to-work-remotely
Training Industry Magazine - January/February 2021

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