7 Sales Training Topics (Plus Skills For Teaching Sales)

Training programs can effectively prepare candidates to perform a specific job, as they offer information and demonstrations of key techniques. One industry that can benefit from implementing training programs is sales. There are many ways to conduct sales training, so it’s helpful to learn about the topics you can cover to determine what you might include in your training sessions.

In this article, we explain what sales training is, discuss several skills that help teach sales and list seven topics you can lead to better prepare your sales team.

What is sales training?

Sales training is a session or program that companies can use to teach new hires how to engage in sales according to their standards and industry regulations. Many companies use sales training to share information about their preferred sales techniques and introduce new salespeople to the other members of their sales team. This is an important process because it allows newer employees to grow confident in their abilities, and it can help companies maintain a consistent standard of sales interactions. Skills for teaching sales

Many skills can be valuable when you’re teaching sales, such as:

• Demonstration skills: This refers to showing others how to complete a task effectively, such as conducting a cold call or interacting with a potentially challenging customer.

• Interpersonal skills: Instructors for sales training can also benefit from having excellent interpersonal skills so they can provide instruction in a kind and professional manner.

• Leadership skills: Being authoritative and confident when explaining sales concepts to new hires is important. This can involve motivating employees and helping them understand the subject matter.

• Feedback skills: Offering constructive feedback can help new salespeople identify their strengths and areas to improve to succeed in their roles.

• Organization: Another skill that can help conduct sales training is organization. This allows instructors to manage their time well to cover the key techniques salespeople need to learn.

• Patience: Patience can be helpful when teaching sales, as it allows instructors to be encouraging and willing to answer questions that people may have to ensure their understanding of different topics.

7 sales training topics

Here are some common topics that you can cover in your sales training program:

1. Communication

One of the most important topics that sales training can cover is the ability to communicate effectively. Sales jobs involve frequent communication with potential customers, returning customers and fellow salespeople. When teaching communication skills, instructors might cover techniques like showing professionalism and interacting with customers through verbal and written communication. Some sales training programs might also teach about speaking techniques, as these skills may help a salesperson communicate clearly and maintain a consistent tone with each customer to whom they speak.

2. Presentations

Working in sales involves giving presentations to potential clients or customers. Sales training programs often teach presentation skills, such as public speaking, so salespeople can learn helpful techniques. For example, a sales training session might involve candidates preparing presentations and sharing them with the class as an exercise. This can give them practical experience in presenting information to others. Training leaders might also provide instructions for giving demonstrations or product specifications, especially if a company has specific guidelines for conducting customer interactions.

3. Persuasion

Another crucial technique in sales is persuading people to take a specific action, usually to purchase a product or service. During sales training, it can be beneficial for a sales team to learn how to be professionally persuasive and remain respectful. For example, one technique that a training session might teach is the act of giving potential customers a free sample of a company’s product to gauge their interest and encourage them to purchase it.

4. Relationships

Relationships are a key part of sales, as salespeople can typically benefit from having strong relationships with their fellow team members and building positive relationships with customers. This may help a sales team increase the number of sales they secure by creating an environment of collaboration. It can also promote customer retention, which may result in repeat sales. Sales training that focuses on relationships can include lessons like listening actively during a conversation and establishing relationships with customers, such as by finding common interests to discuss or discovering ways to gain trust.

5. Storytelling

Many sales jobs require salespeople to be creative and appeal to customers’ emotions. To do this, it’s common to engage in storytelling to relate directly to customers and entertain them while you interact. Sales training programs often provide information about how salespeople can use storytelling to promote a product. For instance, salespeople may use examples from their own lives to show the positive effects of certain products, or they may create a narrative in which the product they’re selling is a solution to a customer’s problem.

6. Digital sales

Digital sales is another key topic to cover in sales training. Many companies use digital platforms like websites and social media to find customers and conduct sales interactions, so training salespeople on how to engage in digital sales can help simplify this process. When teaching about digital sales, a training session might focus on topics like using social media to find potential customers and advertising products on online platforms. These sessions can also teach about content creation, which can help salespeople create engaging posts to attract customers online.

7. Time management

Time management is also important for salespeople, as sales jobs can involve taking part in multiple customer interactions each day. Sales training programs often include a section on time management to help new salespeople learn how to coordinate their schedules and plan an adequate amount of time for each conversation. One way sales training can teach about time management is by offering advice on coordinating multiple appointments and establishing an effective daily routine. If your company uses project management software, you can also teach new hires how to use this program.

I hope you find this article helpful.