The global pandemic accelerated many sales trends and created various challenges for sales teams to overcome while selling virtually. Our recent report revealed that many sales organisations successfully navigated these obstacles, with 83% of sales professionals actually being as productive or more productive than they were pre-pandemic.
As you may already know, the research has shown us that sales have changed forever:
- 3 out of 4 buyers and sellers preferring virtual engagements over face-to-face interactions
- 20% of B2B buyers hope to return to in-person sales encounters. This, combined
- 70-80% of B2B decision-makers say they now prefer remote sales for their business
- 90% of businesses expect to continue leveraging remote selling strategies implemented during COVID-19
Such a shift means there will continue to be adjustments to strategies, sales methodologies and the marketplace. With that in mind, the question worth asking is: what other obstacles do sales teams need to continue coping with?
Post-pandemic challenges
With remote sales here to stay and a marketplace that's evolving faster than ever, there are a number of challenges the pandemic has presented that are yet to be overcome, such as:
- Digital-first customer preferences, resulting in limited interaction time with prospects. This means that sellers always need to be at the top of their game to ensure the best outcomes during each buyer interaction.
- The need to continuously adapt and adjust selling strategies to meet buyers where they’re on their evolving buying journey.
- The lack of impromptu learning moments that reps used to experience when they were selling from the office (where they could listen in on each other’s calls through a cubicle wall, or share solutions during a casual discussion during breaks)
- The continuous stream of updates due to market and product changes, as well as ongoing training and learning opportunities
All these moving parts mean that reps are constantly being expected to quickly adapt to new situations and scenarios.
Go beyond training for stronger performance
To keep your reps current, it is essential to go beyond continuously training your sales team; you need to provide your reps with consistent sales coaching. If you don’t routinely coach your reps, the training and knowledge you provide are all a waste of time. In fact, research shows that after one day, people forget more than 70% of what was taught in training, and in a week, the number jumps to 90%. That’s why spaced repetition is critical to reinforcing learnings and key takeaways.
Not only is this necessary for the consistent improvement of things like selling techniques and learning how to handle specific objections, but also for developing better demo skills and navigating customer calls. It also ensures reps are at their absolute best whenever they’re interacting with prospects and customers. Plus, with ongoing feedback, guidance and reinforcement, they’ll automatically develop their skills and fine-tune their selling techniques on a continual basis.
The results are in, and they speak volumes
Research has shown that consistent sales coaching creates measurable results in sales rep performance. See for yourself:
- Sales teams receiving regularly scheduled coaching closed about 13% more deals than those receiving random coaching (CSO Insights)
- Companies that provide real-time, deal-specific sales coaching increased revenue by 8.4% year-over-year and experienced a 95% improvement over companies that didn’t provide that level of coaching (Aberdeen Research)
- 50% more sales reps achieved quota at high-performing organisations where reps received regular coaching and for more time compared to low-performing sales teams (Sales Readiness Group)
In summary…
To keep up with the continually evolving marketplace, list of buyer preferences and general world of sales, you need to do more than just train and educate your reps. Consistent coaching reinforces training and provides feedback that enables your reps to improve their performance, which ultimately leads to better results.
Interested in providing consistent call coaching to your team? Book a demo with a member of our team to see how Jiminny can help you get at least 25% coaching time.
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