One of the biggest changes in sales in the past few years has been an increase in remote work. Businesses of all kinds have adopted either a completely virtual space or a hybrid remote/in-person office.
Along with this change is a rise in virtual training. Virtual sales training—either live instructor-led or self-paced on-demand—is an effective way for sales teams to deliver high-quality instruction without having everyone travel to the same venue.
By leveraging online technology such as video conferencing or eLearning platforms, learning-and-development and sales-enablement professionals can ensure sales teams receive consistent instruction regardless of physical location.
Is virtual learning a good fit for your organization? Here are some tips to help you find out.
Why You Should Consider a Virtual Sales Training Program
Virtual sales training sessions are designed to provide learners with the same level of quality instruction as traditional classroom-style learning but in a virtual environment.
Modern technology allows your team to learn from basically anywhere—on their phones, laptops, and computers. Using video conferencing, interactive content, webinars, and other digital tools creates an engaging experience for learners without them having to be physically present in a classroom. Here are several other reasons to consider virtual sales training for your team.
Scalability & Consistency
Making sure everyone’s learning the same material at the same time can be difficult with a distributed sales force. With teams spread out across cities, states, and countries, ensuring everyone is up to date on company initiatives, product knowledge, and account management techniques can be tough.
With virtual training, facilitators can train teams simultaneously across multiple locations and time zones, recording sessions for future use and reference. It’s simple to add participants or run additional sessions as needed. Standardizing delivery also ensures all participants hear consistent messaging.
Flexibility & Accessibility
Compared to in-person training, virtual training allows greater flexibility and customization. When virtual training is done well, it creates a dynamic and interactive experience that engages learners quickly and effectively.
Virtual classrooms can offer a different pace and level of detail from traditional training methods, making it easier to accommodate different schedules and time zones. Virtual programs are also easier for sales professionals with mobility limitations to attend.
Since learning content is delivered over the web, it can be tailored to fit specific needs and learning styles. Trainers can more easily include subject-matter experts for brief segments. Content can be customized and split into digestible micro-modules. This means facilitators can focus on what is most important to participants and their business.
Cost Effectiveness
Virtual sales training is often far more affordable and scalable, making it the ideal solution for businesses with limited budgets.
By providing online courses or webinars, sales teams can eliminate travel and accommodation expenses for both trainers and participants, reduce venue rental and catering costs, and save on printed materials and physical training supplies. This lower total cost per participant can enable more frequent training sessions.
Time Management & Productivity
Without travel, sellers don’t have to take as much time off from work to attend a virtual class. This has multiple benefits for sellers and their teams.
No travel time means fewer days away from actual selling activities. Shorter, more focused sessions can be spread across multiple days, and participants can immediately apply learning between sessions. Best of all, participants can maintain customer relationships and deals in progress while participating in training.
Ideal for Multi-Generational Teams
Millennials and Gen Z are very familiar with online learning, with baby boomers and Gen X not far behind. Most sellers today are comfortable navigating and digesting digital content. Virtual training programs are one of the most efficient ways for a multi-generational team to learn.
Virtual learning offers exciting incentives for all generations, and it provides an interactive learning environment—allowing sellers to collaborate and learn from experienced professionals. This can be especially beneficial for sales professionals who have little time to spare or who prefer learning at their own pace.
Virtual training can also help bridge any knowledge gap between generations—an important benefit in today’s digital-driven world.
Improving Sales Training Effectiveness
Virtual sales training is an efficient and effective way to ensure your team is up to date on the latest techniques and strategies for success. These programs provide a convenient method to deliver the knowledge and skills required for successful sales performance.
Virtual programs are especially beneficial for organizations with remote, hybrid, or mobile teams who have limited access to traditional in-person training opportunities.
Due to its interactive nature, virtual training can increase overall engagement and motivate participants more effectively than traditional methods. This type of course supports multiple learning styles with visual and audio components to help sellers retain and apply information.
Additionally, these programs often provide training reinforcement and resources that sellers can refer to outside of the classroom setting, helping them continue their development after training.
4 Factors to Look for in a Virtual Sales Training Course
There is an abundance of online sales team training courses, from self-paced videos on YouTube to facilitator-led structured programs. It can be challenging to know which is best for your remote training needs.
Here are four key factors to consider when evaluating programs.
1. Sales Training Provider’s Reputation
First, consider the training provider’s reputation. What do past participants have to say about the course? Do they think it was beneficial and well structured? What were the criticisms? Was the course worth the cost of investment?
Look for reviews from other users to make an informed decision. Check out any relevant social media accounts for the course provider, and any professional networks or industry groups they participate in.
2. Area of Expertise
Do the available courses specialize in a particular area, or do they offer a variety of topics? Are they flexible? Can you customize the course to suit your specific needs and objectives?
For example, if you are looking for virtual training on business-to-business (B2B) sales, make sure the course offers content and resources related specifically to that area. Finding a course that specializes in your particular need may be difficult, but it is important to ensure the topics covered are relevant and up to date.
3. Program Structure & Relevance
How the program is designed and structured is essential to its success. A comprehensive program should have a clear roadmap with well-defined objectives and milestones that are relevant to your unique selling scenario. The goal should be to create an ongoing learning experience to help you develop your team’s skills.
You can check a course’s relevance by looking at the curriculum, instructor qualifications, and reviews from previous students. Other areas you can check include the materials used in the course, any additional resources you can access, and whether the program offers post-course support.
4. Training Delivery
Finally, how is the course made available to you and your team? Is it strictly through video meetings? Is it a virtual classroom? Or is the course delivered via email and a series of webinars?
Training delivery can influence how engaging the program is. The more interactive the exercises and discussions are, the more sellers will engage with and retain the content.
Consider your training delivery requirements. Do you prefer to conduct the training in person or virtually? Does your team need a live instructor, or will pre-recorded materials suffice? Will everyone have access to the technology and equipment needed for virtual training?
Before you register your sellers for a virtual training program, make sure it’s suitable for your team.
Find the Best Virtual Sales Training Program for Your Organization
Virtual sales training has revolutionized how organizations train their employees. These programs offer cost-effective, time-efficient solutions to deliver quality training in an engaging way that can help boost employee morale, productivity, and overall performance.
By leveraging technologies such as virtual classrooms, machine learning, and gamification techniques to create immersive experiences for learners, these virtual programs provide a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes to develop their most valuable asset—their people.
Consider in-person or virtual IMPACT Selling® training from The Brooks Group for your next sales learning-and-development initiative.
