According to a survey of B2B customers, two of the biggest mistakes a sales rep can make are failing to have adequate product knowledge, and contacting prospects too frequently. These mistakes can ruin the sales process.

A recent McKinsey study shows that these two simple errors account for 55% of the behavior customers described as “most destructive,” yet they’re so easy to fix.

How can you stop these simple mistakes from creeping in? The answer is in constantly improving your sales training, and making sure your reps get the basics right, every time.

New sales and customer management technologies, and steeper learning curves, call for better training techniques. It may be time to archive those old training notes, and update your sales curriculum with online training resources, video content, and updated ways of learning.

e-Learning and Blended Learning

Blended learning techniques, are a mixture of the standard classroom and e-learning. It’s not merely a matter of putting the course material up on a cloud archive. It means getting sales reps to actively take part in using software, making calls, and demonstrating learning outcomes.

The instructor demonstrates how to do something, explains why it needs to be done, and then the sales rep has to actively try it for themselves using a mobile device or laptop. It’s live, and it’s interactive.

This technique can speed up the process, and help team members acquire the necessary skills and mindsets quicker. Plus, it can help sales reps retain more information in the long run. Most importantly, once the training is over, sales reps know how to do what they need to.

Live Sales Call Training

Another way to diversify your training is to include some live action into the mix. Expert sales call trainers can coach your team on a one-on-one basis, pointing out the finer points of the art of closing deals.

Grant Cardone, an expert in closing sales calls, offers the following advice:

1. Know when to close.
2. Once you’re in the ‘close zone,’ stay there.
3. Be clear with the customer.
4. If your sales person is having trouble, step in and get it done.
5. Be realistically confident.

Make Learning Creative, Interesting and Challenging

Let’s face it, learning can be tedious – especially if it’s a compulsory corporate objective. Instead of forcing your sales team into the usual mental box of product learning and selling techniques, it’s more engaging to stimulate their creativity.

Here are some creative ways to pull it off:

• Training games – Role-playing and demonstrations in front of the group can spark a bit of fun, and drive home a lesson better than dry theory. Business Training Networks shares these five great examples.
• The 30 second Commercial – Get different staff members to pitch a short commercial explaining what your company offers, and express the company vision. It’s a way to align your team’s thinking, and to get the creative juices flowing.
• Create interesting group challenges. Get your team to create mind-maps, vision boards or other creative tasks together. Sharing ideas in a free, easy-going setting will often yield better training results than sitting and listening to a lecture.

Want to arm your sales team with the most effective tools? The right sales enablement solution will help you get there.