eLearning has become a popular mode of sales training for companies. In fact, “eLearning is the fastest-growing modality for sales training,” stated Monarch Media.1 However, because sales training is crucially important to business success, the switch to online sales training has been slower than in other training areas. “Recent studies by Forrester Research and Aberdeen Research show that although more than 60 percent of all corporations have eLearning initiatives, 70 percent of those companies still list classroom sessions as their primary mode for sales training.”
The 70 percent of companies using a traditional, in-person approach to sales training are missing out on benefits such as cost saving, employee satisfaction, and increased revenue. Armed with the right information about online sales and service training, company leaders can make the best decision about which training mode(s) to implement - and how quickly they need to do so.
1. Forty-one percent of millennials said they would rather communicate electronically than face-to-face or over the telephone.2 -- Since Millennials are the largest generation in the US workforce, it’s advantageous to deliver sales training in a mode (i.e., digital) that they desire.3 Doing so will boost employee satisfaction and engagement with sales training.
One reason employee satisfaction is important because it drives business results. “Employees who are more satisfied...clearly drive better financial performance for companies,” wrote a contributor to Glassdoor.3
Also, 58 percent of your total employees (not just millennials) prefer self-paced learning.5 Online sales training allows staff to learn at their own pace, further increasing their overall satisfaction with training and optimizing financial performance.
As a bonus, online sales training is more likely to translate to real-world results. Why? Because cold calling is a dying field. Most sales transactions now begin online, via website forms, emails, and demo requests. By starting your sales team off with online communication, they’ll be better prepared to begin their sales conversations online as well.
2. Companies that move sales training online save 30 to 70 percent on travel costs and lost productivity.6 -- The main reason companies switch to an online sales training mode is to save money, and their expectations for cost saving are often met. Is It Time to Take Your Sales Training Online?7 stated,
“Online learning dramatically cuts costs, especially when it replaces conventional and legacy practices such as onsite workshops and paid off-site training that require mentoring/teaching fees, as well as travel, reservations and accommodation expenses.”
Besides cutting training costs, eLearning improves income. For example, 42 percent of companies mentioned in a report by Ambient Insight claimed online training increased business revenue.8
3. Continuous training results in 50 percent higher net sales per employee.9 -- Continuous learning is crucial for your sales team, but it is not always realistic. Sales employees typically have fast-paced jobs and don’t always have time for training, especially at work.
Online sales training is valuable because it can be engaged in at any time or place via mobile device, increasing the likelihood of employees regularly participating and learning new sales techniques. The result is often better sales and a healthier bottom line.
eLearning not only helps ensure that sales staff participate in training -- it also promotes a continuous learning culture, per Training Industry.10 And according to Josh Bersin, “The single biggest driver of business impact is the strength of an organization’s learning culture.”11
Online Sales Training Drives Business Results
Sales training has a profound impact on your company’s bottom line and switching to online sales training can provide even greater returns. Find out how to create an online sales training program using an online learning platform, or learning management system (LMS).
Resources:
1,7 Monarch Media. Learning to sell: more companies move their sales training programs online. https://www.monarchmedia.com/learning-sell-companies-move-sales-training-programs-online/.
2,8 Procurement Academy. Digital learning at the heart of business value. https://www.procurement-academy.com/digital-learning-business-value/.
3 Fact Tank. Millennials are the largest generation in the US labor force. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/11/millennials-largest-generation-us-labor-force/.
4 Glassdoor. 6 studies showing satisfied employees drive business results.https://www.glassdoor.com/research/satisfied-employees-drive-business-results/
5LinkedIn. 2018 workplace learning report. https://learning.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/learning/en-us/pdfs/linkedin-learning-workplace-learning-report-2018.pdf
6eLearning Industry. Is it time to take your sales training online? https://elearningindustry.com/take-your-sales-training-online-is-time
9 Brevet. 21 mind-blowing sales stats. https://blog.thebrevetgroup.com/21-mind-blowing-sales-stats.
10,11 Training Industry. Promoting a continuous learning mindset with online training. https://trainingindustry.com/articles/e-learning/promoting-a-continuous-learning-mindset-with-online-training/