Investing in your sales team - How to improve productivity.

Investing in your employees is an important part of creating an engaged workforce and an effective way of reducing turnover of staff in your business.  Investing in your sales team will likely improve your revenue and profitability.

The cost of training can sometimes be hard to quantify but here are five reasons why investing in training for your staff adds value to your business and improves productivity.

1. It boosts staff confidence and gives a sense of job security.

Offering the opportunity for team members to take further training or to attend networking events shows them that you value them. Your willingness to invest in their future gives them a feeling of security about the longevity of their position. This kind of confidence is often rewarded with extra commitment from the team member to prove that your investment was worthwhile by showing that they received value from the event.

2. Training provides the opportunity to learn new skills.

With every industry the methods and approach are changing rapidly and sales is no exception. On-line information gathering along with buying on-line has changed the way a consumer researches a product and supplier.  Often we are dealing with a well-researcghedf, yet often misinformed, consumer. It is important that staff are kept up to date with changing trends and are able to adapt to new outlooks and approaches. Training is the perfect opportunity to bring to light these new methods and provides an opportunity to discuss different approaches with others in the field.

3. Training can also help refresh and revitalise old skills.

When we have been practicing something for a long time we can easily forget the reasons for our methods. It is also easy to lose track of our original objectives, re-learning a skill or method helps to provide clarity and gives us time to revisit what is important.  We can easily go from hero to zero by forgetting to complete one key step of the sales process.  Finding out whether competitors are involved, overcoming objections and asking for the order are common ommissions!

4. Build on communication and networking skills.

Opportunities to discuss with other participants from a different yet potentially similar industry or client group provides the perfect opportunity to discuss what others are doing and what is working for them. It can also be a great opportunity to make connections that in turn could lead to sales or leads. As sales relies on good communication, any opportunity to extend our teams communication skills is an on-going asset to the business.

5. Gives an opportunity to refresh and uplift

A day out from our regular day to day activities can be very refreshing. It’s an opportunity to break down old negative energy and build up new positive motivations towards the companies cause. Sales team members who have the opportunity to attend special events or trainings can bring back new enthusiasm and knowledge, not just for themselves but for the whole team.