There comes a point in almost every sales leader’s career where they will likely have to pitch to their leadership about an investment in sales training. 

It’s obvious to you. You’re in the trenches everyday; hearing about the struggles your team is facing and how regardless of what they try, hitting those quarterly or yearly goals seems to be getting harder and harder. 

It might not be so obvious to your leadership team. Trying to balance a budget and get every department the resources they need is a tall order, and sometimes an investment in the sales team takes a back seat to the other teams in an organization. 

So how can you make your case? You need a compelling way to emphasize the reasons why an investment in sales training can generate one of the best ROIs of any other organizational spend. 

Well, here is your answer. In this article we are going to dive into why investing in sales training can not only make your company more money, but attract and retain better talent.

The Benefits & ROI of Sales Training and Coaching

Sales training is crucial for salespeople (and more importantly, organizations) who want to improve their performance and increase their earnings.

Increase Revenue

Here is the obvious one. We all want to be closing more deals and generating more revenue for ourselves and organizations.

The right sales training program can help salespeople develop the skills and strategies to closing more, faster.

This all comes down to approach. A good sales training program will cover various aspects of the sales cycle, such as prospecting, qualifying leads, delivering persuasive pitches, handling objections, and most importantly - solving the customer’s problem. 

By learning and implementing these techniques, salespeople can navigate the sales process more smoothly, address customer concerns effectively, and ultimately increase their success rate. 

Go Beyond Product Knowledge

There’s no substitute for sales reps who thoroughly understand the products they’re selling and are fully aware of the benefits that the entire solution can bring. 

However knowing all there is to know about a product is only a small piece of the pie. Customers are more self-reliant than ever, and the last thing a well educated prospect wants to hear is a bunch of product specifications that they either already know or can Google themselves.

When your sales team goes beyond product and into what the problem your product can solve, you take your prospect’s individual situation and paint a better picture of what the future holds for them after they buy. 

Be More Efficient

Perhaps the most important selling point of investing in a sales training program is the increased efficiency of your sales process.

The right sales program will help your team shorten your sales cycle, reduce the number of follow-ups needed, and enable them to focus on what they are being paid to do - SELL.

Less than a third of the average salesperson’s time is actually spent selling (Salesforce). The rest is dedicated to non income-producing activities like quoting, paperwork, and account management.

Sales training can help your team learn essential communication skills like active listening, relationship building, objection handling, closing principles, and better time management. These translate into bigger deals, shorter cycles, and more time available for more calls and prospecting.

Organizations with the right sales process and training in place attract better talent too.

High level professionals want to work in organizations that operate efficiently. They understand that time is money, and that they will make more when better processes and procedures are in place so they can focus on what's important to their roles.

Stay Ahead of the Game

Sales training can help organizations stay competitive in a crowded market. A team with strong sales skills and knowledge can outperform competitors and stay up to date on how buyers are buying and where the best place to reach them is.

The sales game isn’t the same as it was even 5 years ago. Sticking to the same outdated processes and tactics that have worked in the past will ensure you get left behind.

Standardize Your Approach

Buyers only buy from brands (and people) they trust. Establishing a consistent brand voice and approach ensures everyone is on the same page and delivering your brand’s message the way you want it conveyed.

Training on a consistent sales process helps ensure that reps communicate the same core messaging in their sales conversations. 

Trust is what is most important in today’s sales environment, and developing a sales process geared towards building that trust is essential.

Set Your Baseline & Get Started

Now while all this sounds well and good, at the end of the day these benefits aren’t going to matter without being able to prove the rewards your organization is reaping.

Measuring the impact of sales training is essential to determine its effectiveness and justify the investment.

You know which metrics are important to tracking your sales team’s performance. Whether its revenue growth, conversion rates, average deal size, customer satisfaction scores, or employee feedback, you need to establish a baseline.

By having these metrics in hand before investing in a sales training program, organizations can assess the tangible outcomes of the program and identify areas for further improvement.

This baseline will also make your program significantly more effective. By providing your trainers with this data your program can be customized to address the most important areas of improvement.

So while you might have to convince your leadership to invest money and time in implementing a sales training program, the overall importance of sales training is clear. Sales training best practices not only boost sales performance but also improve overall customer satisfaction and trust in the salesperson's expertise - which all directly translates into hitting your sales goals and improving your commissions.