A well-trained sales team is essential for business success.

At ASLAN, we've seen firsthand how the right sales training can transform an average team into a powerhouse of revenue generation. 

From boosting productivity to fostering authentic customer relationships, the impact of quality sales training ripples through every aspect of your business. 

We'll break down the key reasons why investing in your team's development is not just smart - it's essential for long-term success. And as we explore various training approaches, you'll see why choosing the right platform for delivery can make all the difference in achieving your sales goals.

So, whether you're looking to sharpen your team's skills, increase win rates, or cultivate a culture of continuous improvement, buckle up and read on.

Why Effective Sales Training Matters

Before we dive into platform specifics, let's cover why prioritizing top-notch training for your team members is so crucial:

• Boosting Productivity & Efficiency: Well-trained sales reps sell smarter and faster. With the right skills and mindset, they'll spend less time talking into the wind and more time closing deals.
• Strengthening Customer Relationships: Authentic connections are the heart of Other-Centered Selling®. The proper training equips your team to truly understand customer needs and build lasting loyalty.
• Increasing Win Rates & Deal Sizes: At the end of the day, the bottom line talks. Continuous coaching and development translate to bigger pipelines and commission checks.
• Fostering a Growth Mindset: An effective training program keeps your reps hungry to learn and level up. It cultivates a culture of continuous improvement across the entire sales organization.

With so much on the line, choosing the right training platform is mission-critical. Let's explore some of the most popular options.

Online Learning Platforms

One of the most popular and widely adopted sales training approaches is online learning platforms. While they offer several advantages for sales professionals, it's important to understand their potential drawbacks as well.

Pros:

• Scalability & Accessibility: Online platforms are a godsend for remote teams or sales reps constantly on the road. Training is available 24/7 from anywhere.
• Cost Savings: No travel, venues, or instructor fees to pay. Online learning is generally the most cost-effective option.
• Variety: These platforms offer a vast library of courses on everything from prospecting to negotiation tactics.
• Self-Paced Learning: Sales reps can train at their own speed based on their unique needs and schedules.

Cons:

• Lack of Personalized Sales Coaching: It's just videos and modules. There's no live instructor to provide tailored feedback or answer questions.
• Limited Hands-On Practice: Most online courses are purely theoretical with no role-playing or real-world application.
• Potential Disengagement: Let's be honest, it's easy to get distracted or zone out during self-paced online training with no accountability.
• Difficulty Measuring Impact: How do you quantify whether the training is actually improving sales performance? The metrics can be murky.

In-Person Workshops & Seminars

While online learning platforms offer convenience and flexibility, in-person workshops and seminars provide a more immersive and hands-on training experience. Here are the key pros and cons to consider.

Pros:

• Immersive Learning Environment: In-person training creates an engaging, interactive experience that's hard to replicate online.
• Hands-On Role-Playing: Nothing beats the value of practicing real-world scenarios and getting live sales coaching from experienced trainers.
• Networking Opportunities: In-person workshops allow your reps to learn from peers, share best practices, and expand their professional networks.
• Personalized Feedback: Instructors can provide customized guidance and insights tailored to each individual's needs.

Cons:

• High Costs: Travel, venues, instructor fees - in-person training adds up quickly, especially for larger teams.
• Logistical Headaches: Coordinating schedules and travel for a dispersed team is a massive undertaking.
• Scalability Challenges: In-person workshops have limited capacity, making them difficult to scale across a large sales org.
• Productivity Disruptions: Taking reps out of the field for multi-day training can seriously disrupt sales activities.

Blended Learning Approaches

While online learning platforms and in-person workshops each have their own advantages and drawbacks, a blended learning approach aims to combine the best of both worlds at strategic moments along your reps learning paths. Here are the key pros and cons to each learning platform to consider.

Pros:

• Best of Both Worlds: Blended learning combines the advantages of online and in-person training into one cohesive program.
• Flexibility for Different Learners: A blended approach accommodates diverse learning styles and preferences within your team.
• Reinforcement from Multiple Touchpoints: Concepts are driven home through various mediums like videos, workshops, coaching sessions, etc.
• Scalability & Cost-Efficiency: The online components make blended learning scalable and cost-effective, even for larger sales organizations.

Cons:

• Complex Planning & Coordination: Designing an effective blended program that seamlessly integrates all the components is no easy feat.
• Potential Inconsistencies: If not executed properly, there can be gaps or contradictions between the online and in-person training elements.
• Tracking & Measurement Challenges: With multiple touchpoints, it becomes more difficult to attribute progress and results to specific training elements.
• Potentially Higher Costs: While generally more cost-effective than pure in-person, a comprehensive blended approach can still require significant investment.

Key Considerations When Choosing a Platform

Clearly, there are pros and cons to each popular training approach. So how do you cut through the noise and select the right one for your entire team? Here are some critical factors to consider:

• Alignment with Your Sales Methodology: Whether it's consultative selling, solution selling, or ASLAN's Other-Centered Selling® approach, ensure the training content reinforces the methodologies and frameworks your team actually uses. Misalignment leads to confusion and ineffective skill application.
• Customization & Relevance: Generic, one-size-fits-all training won't move the needle. Look for platforms that offer customized content tailored to your specific industry, products, and sales challenges. The more relevant and contextualized the examples, the better your reps will internalize the lessons.
• Measurable Impact on KPIs: You're investing in training to improve performance, so the ability to accurately measure its impact is crucial. Prioritize platforms with robust reporting that tracks progress against key metrics like win rates, deal cycle times, average deal sizes, etc.
• Ongoing Coaching & Reinforcement: Effective sales training isn't a one-and-done event. It's an ongoing process of continuous coaching, skill reinforcement, and knowledge refreshing. Evaluate how each platform facilitates long-term development through tools like refresher courses, coaching plans, and performance tracking.
• Scalability & Future-Proofing: As your sales team expands and your business evolves, you need a training solution that can adapt and scale accordingly. Flexible platforms that support seamless updates, new content deployment, and onboarding additional reps will ensure you don't outgrow your training investment.

The Right Training For Your Sales Team is an Investment in Success

At the end of the day, there's no universal "best" sales training platform. The right choice comes down to finding an approach that aligns with your unique team's needs, sales methodology, budget, and goals.

By carefully weighing the pros and cons of popular options like online learning, in-person workshops, and blended approaches - while prioritizing key factors like customization, measurable impact, and scalability - you'll make a smart investment in continuous learning, that elevates your reps' skills and drives measurable revenue results.

An empowered, continuously developed sales force is a revenue engine that keeps delivering for your business. With the right training platform as its fuel, that engine will be unstoppable. And for sales teams and organizations looking to truly transform their team into unstoppable closers, ASLAN's Other-Centered Selling® program provides the ultimate training solution.

Other-Centered Selling® goes beyond just teaching techniques - it's a comprehensive methodology that equips your reps with sales skills and the mindset to build authentic customer relationships and provide unmatched value. Want to learn more? Contact our team today.