Want to know which sales techniques every manager should know? If you’re a manager and you want to know how to get the best from your sales team, then read on to discover our hints and tips for doing so.

Active learning

There’s nothing like active learning to cement knowledge. Being talked at or simply run through a power point presentation, won’t provide your colleagues with any training of value. Utilise training techniques that actively engage your sales team, necessitating that they research, evaluate and apply the theory will work best. Role playing can fit the bill for active learning if done well.

Frequently and repeatedly

Make time for training frequently and in short bursts, to have the most effect. It’s repeated training that will consolidate your team’s knowledge and help them to apply it in real life situations. Think of a ballet dancer learning the steps for a three-act ballet, they don’t simply learn a sequence once and hope to perform it at the opportune moment, but return to it repeatedly over time. Don’t simply subject your team to a lengthy sales conference once in a blue moon, where they doze off after being subject to a plethora of PowerPoint displays. Keep training, short, engaging and frequent for the most effective business sales training.

Employ e-learning

E-learning is a boon for organisations that have personnel spread over a large geographic area. It allows you to provide your team with key information in a consistent manner.  It’s not a method you can rely on entirely, but it’s a useful platform for consolidating your team’s knowledge and assessing their progress.  It’s a great way too, for your existing team to refresh and update their training at regular intervals.

Share best practice

Share best practice with your team. Moreover, don’t be general in your explanations of key values or skills, but pepper them with concrete examples. From handling a difficult customer to closing a sale, your team will benefit from being armed with specific examples of how to handle real life situations. Moreover, give them an opportunity to share their experiences of dealing with challenging situations, as repeating and applying the theory will help your team to take new information on board. This is when coming together as a team really pays dividends so that you can learn from each other.

Field training

There’s nothing like training in the field to put theory into practice and learn to deal with real-life situations. It may be that training in the field will form part of your new recruit’s probationary period and give you a chance to assess their ability early on. Assign experienced colleagues as mentors and field trainers to your new recruits, allowing the former to train, assess and provide valuable feedback to your team.

Reward achievements

Many people are motivated by reward and recognition for their achievements, sales teams more than most, as they’re used to working to targets. So reward your colleague’s achievements in order to motivate them. Also, be clear about how their successes are being measured and assessed, so they know what the goal posts are. Remember, the rewards don’t necessarily need to be of the financial kind – you could utilise certificates or badges to mark achievements. When both setting goals and giving rewards, be specific in citing examples of their success from the percentage rise in sales to bringing a disgruntled customer back to the fold.

So there you have a few examples of sales training techniques you can employ when training your team, helping them to consolidate their learning, apply it in real-life situations and motivate them to do even better.