Can Online Sales Training Increase Sales

By Bob Urichuck

The answer to the preceding question can go either way. It all depends on you and your ability to apply what you learn online in the real world, learning from your failures and having the persistence to continue learning and applying.

Online, or virtual sales training, is a great way to learn how to increase sales and how to obtain the appropriate, and necessary sales training skills for today’s new economy of buyers. However, not all online training programs are effective.

A lot of virtual training programs are videos of speakers speaking at large conferences. Video alone is a means of learning but it is not interactive, as when you are at a conference.

When selecting a virtual or online sales training program make sure it is one-on-one interactive using adult learning techniques supported by workbook exercises and testing.

Virtual sales training should also be conducted in short segments, allowing you to learn, apply it in the real world, and then come back and learn more.

Sales training, live or online, has to be an ongoing or continuous process not just a single-day or multiple-day event. You need to apply what you learn, come back and discuss it, get some coaching and stay at it until you succeed. Only when you master that skill is it time to learn the next module.

One of the key benefits of online sales training is that it allows you to go back and cover modules over and over again. This way what you learn is not lost or forgotten.

Statistics have shown that whether sales training is a public or in-house program, what an individual learns will be forgotten within 30 days. Therefore, make sure your sales training process is continuous, with constant reinforcement.

Online sales training is also accessible 24/7 and allows you to learn at your own speed, when time permits – when buyers are not available. The

learning can be carried out during slow times, equipping you for peak times.
As the sales training skills from online sales training are learned it is important to validate them in the real world. Once tried and tested, you become comfortable with the new sales training skills acquired, and move onto the next learning module. The more you learn and the more times you apply the learning in between learning modules, the better you get at attracting, engaging and empowering buyers to buy, which in turn leads to increased sales.

Increased sales make for a better bottom line and a more comfortable life for you. However, like anything else, it requires time and effort. The more time and effort you put into online sales training, the better your results will be.

Online sales training can be done as little as an hour to two a week for a few months, and for a year or more. You decide your pace and your increased sales results will follow accordingly as you master the sales training skills.

However, when considering online sales training ensure that it goes beyond how to sell. Online sales training should not be about tricks and techniques. Online sales training must provide an understanding of human behaviour; an understanding of universal buyers’ requirements; and ultimately, an understanding of how buyers buy and how honesty and trust afford lasting relationships and a secondary sales force.

Online sales training also needs to address more than just sales. You need to work on a building a strong foundation of belief. Topics like attitude, behaviour, discipline, and personal productivity and how to attract, engage and empower buyers to buy are very important.

Also important are sales training skills on how to build trust and how to set ground rules to eliminate surprises and not waste the buyer’s time. Asking effective questions is a sales training skill, as is listening. Both skills are required in order to qualify the buyer in terms of specific requirements, budget, and the decision-making hierarchy. Finally, another sales training skill is how to summarize all the facts prior to providing the prospect with a prescription or presentation. These are the type of sales training skills, once mastered, that will increase sales.

Do you want to increase your sales?

Bob Urichuck is an internationally sought after speaker, trainer—founder of the ““Buyer Focused” Velocity Selling System—and best-selling author in six languages. His latest books, Velocity Selling: How to Attract, Engage and Empower Buyers to Buy, and How to Motivate Your Team in 30 Days are new in 2014.
Sales Velocity. Your Bottom Line. Our Passion

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