Top 5 Sales Training Trends to Watch in 2024

Keeping up with the ever-changing business landscape is a job and a half, especially in the tightly competitive sales space. Staying ahead and latching on to the latest trends can give you an edge over your competition. This article will talk about some of the most important trends for 2024.

Social selling

Social media is playing an increasingly bigger role in sales. According to Retail Touch Points, 65% of people said they were led to buy a product they weren’t previously interested in because of a link in a social media post. Curalate also says that 76% of buyers chose a product from a brand’s social media post.

Sales training companies can help your reps master the art of social selling, which can be a game changer for your company. Your reps can learn how to maximize social networks for insights and analytics to qualify leads. With better-qualified leads, you can boost closing rates.

Social media also links reps with other salespeople and support teams. When they work hand-in-hand, your teams can produce better results. Data collected by Team Stage shows online collaboration boosts productivity by 30%.

Cross-training related departments

Departmental silos between related teams like sales and marketing disrupt your workflow. This disruption can lead to communication breakdowns, redundancies, and poor productivity. Research by Planview shows the average team wastes more than 20 hours per month due to ineffective collaboration.

So, consider cross-training closely linked departments to break down walls. For example, information gathered by salespeople can help the marketing team craft more personalized marketing campaigns. Similarly, the marketing team can share insights on customer demographics and data analytics that help salespeople get high-quality leads. When the two departments work hand in hand, it strengthens your business’s ability to rake in more sales.

CRM technology training

Tech tools that speed up and improve business processes are growing in leaps and bounds. For example, Business Dit reports that more than 60% of companies now use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. According to IBM, the ROI of a CRM software system, when properly implemented, can exceed 245%.

However, many companies are yet to optimize their software. According to Dun & Bradstreet, 91% of data in company CRM software has crucial gaps, and 18% of it is duplicated. What’s more, close to two-thirds of the data becomes outdated by the end of each year.

Sales CRM training helps fresh hires and veteran reps navigate CRM software effectively.

Data-driven selling

According to Gartner, traditional selling methods will become less reliable with technological advancements. They predict 3 out of 5 businesses moving from experience and intuition-based selling to data-driven processes by 2025.

Leveraging data can help smoothen your processes and conserve resources. For example, efficient data analysis helps pinpoint where you’re winning or missing the mark. That information can help you plug the leaks and build on your successes.

To embrace this data-driven change, training for sales reps needs to go beyond the basics. So, create programs that include a comprehensive overview of data-driven selling. Place strong emphasis on how to interpret, analyze, and use data to inform selling strategies.

Team retention

High rep turnover hits your business hard. You’re often left tackling a loss of productivity, deep dips in employee morale, and more. You will also sink plenty of funds into hiring and onboarding new salespeople, which can be a tall order in a frail economy.

According to research by DePaul University, replacing a sales rep costs an average of $97,960. That’s bitter pill to swallow. So, it’s critical to improve employee retention.

According to Tiny Pulse, 79% of people quit their jobs because they don’t feel appreciated. Here are a few ways to hold on to your employees.

• Reward programs to recognize the best performers and make them feel more valued.
• Coaching and interactive training to hone your rep’s skills and keep them engaged. Clear Company says 68% of employees value training as the most important company policy.
• Provide continuous constructive feedback on performance.
  

  Empowering Education in the Digital Age

  LMS (Learning Management System) platforms have revolutionized the way education is delivered in the digital age. These comprehensive software solutions provide a centralized hub for organizing, managing, and delivering online courses, training programs, and educational content. In this digital era, LMS platforms like AcademyOcean have become indispensable tools for educational institutions, corporations, and individual instructors.

  They offer a range of features that enhance the learning experience. They provide a user-friendly interface for students to access course materials, participate in discussions, submit assignments, and track their progress. Instructors can create and customize courses, manage student enrollment, monitor performance, and provide timely feedback. Administrators benefit from robust reporting and analytics capabilities to assess learner engagement and make data-driven decisions.

  Furthermore, LMS platforms facilitate collaboration and interaction among learners through discussion forums, chat features, and virtual classrooms. They often support multimedia integration, enabling the inclusion of videos, interactive quizzes, and other engaging content. Additionally, LMS platforms can incorporate gamification elements to make learning more enjoyable and motivating.

  With their flexibility and scalability, LMS platforms have democratized education by breaking down geographical barriers and accommodating diverse learning styles. They have become vital tools for remote learning, corporate training, and lifelong learning initiatives.

Growing your company in 2024

These trends can fire up your business and help you close more sales in 2024. So, see which ones make sense for your business to adopt. Then invest in training your salesforce to capitalize on them.