Sales Leadership Insight

good inside sales rep training

, , ,

Inside Sales Training: What Does Good Training Look Like?

Whether you’re shopping around for external inside sales training vendors or working with your internal training department, knowing what good inside sales rep training looks like is the first step to ensuring your training is checking all the key boxes.

We’ve outlined a few of the most important considerations to keep in mind when choosing an inside sales training partner.

Decide What Good Inside Sales Training Looks Like

This shouldn’t be a surprise to any sales leaders out there — but what makes good inside sales training is results. You’ll be able to know whether or not sales training worked simply because it moved the needle.

These “results” look different depending on your company, team, and goals. It’s important to go into the sales training and decide on what those goals are to you — whether it’s sales units sold or market share gained.

READ: How to Measure Sales Training ROI

This is even more important when partnering with an external sales training vendor. The vendor should understand your goals as well as your sales process, product, customers, industry, and competitors. There is so much specialization in the market today, don’t let a vendor bring SDR training to your team of AEs.

In order for sales training to be considered “good”, it must achieve your goals. Outlining what these goals are, and what success looks like, beforehand is a surefire way to get what your team needs out of their training.

We recommend identifying metrics, behaviors, KPIs, and overall results that you expect to shift during and after the training. Metrics and behaviors should lift immediately showing you’re on the right track, and KPIs are early indicators that the results are on the way. Identifying metrics or results only can lead to a miss.

New call-to-action

5 Characteristics of Good Inside Sales Training

After the goals are set, here are a few more tips to ensure you’re maximizing your training investment:

1. The Sales Training is Customized

Really great sales training is customized to your industry and product/service.

This ensures your reps aren’t left trying to figure out how to take a broad theory and apply it to their job, customer, or service.

While it’s true that customized sales training is more expensive, the ROI is up to twenty-fold when you consider how much your reps are actually retaining, and how much they can apply immediately to their practices.

Use public seminars and events to help someone get a tip or two. Use custom live training to move the needle on results.

2. Get a Professional Sales Trainer

Aberdeen reported that 85% of the sales teams that are considered “best-in-class” utilize professional sales trainers or resources.

Don’t try and turn your managers or reps into trainers. Let’s face it, they’ve got enough on their plates. Plus, even really good managers and reps have no idea how to train — it’s just not their job! They might be excellent at sales, but they have no expertise in training.

Even worse, don’t let your HR department teach sales. They’re great at training and professional facilitation in many areas of your business, but their bailiwick is in company orientation and sexual harassment training — not sales and selling. They may be excellent at training but have no expertise in sales.

See where we’re going with this?

Make sure to bring in someone who is an expert at both training and sales. That’s the secret to good inside sales training, and it’s what the best in class are doing.

3. Make Sure the Training Has the Right Focus

If you’re training your inside sales reps, make sure they’re attending an inside sales training. It sounds simple, but oftentimes well-meaning sales team leaders are duped into thinking “sales training” is enough. Shoe-horning your company’s existing field training for your inside team may actually do more damage than good.

Most popular sales books and training curricula deal with a very narrow view of selling: The conversation between Person A and Person B. Anyone who has been working in inside sales for a while can agree that the true issue lies in getting that interaction in the first place.

If your reps are struggling with connecting with decision-makers, getting callbacks, finding the right people, figuring out who to call, and capturing attention at the top of the funnel, then conversation selling and overcoming objections will miss the mark.

Make sure that your inside sales reps are being coached on topics like:

  • Leaving compelling voicemails that will be returned
  • Capturing a prospect’s attention in the first 30 seconds
  • Leading with value
  • Creating engaging conversations vs. script reading
  • How to get a callback or bridge to the next call
  • Finding more decision-makers in the company
  • Dealing with gatekeepers

It’s important to make sure other aspects of the strategy are covered as well, so the reps can rely on their managers less for questions such as:

  • Who should I call first?
  • How often should I call?
  • Should I leave a voicemail message?
  • How often?
  • Now, what do I do?
virtual sales challenges
4. Sales Training NEEDS to Be Hands-On

Theory stinks.

During the training, make sure reps are getting on the phones. There’s no reason that training shouldn’t be stopped so that the reps can go try out the skills they’re learning, and role-plays don’t really tell the whole story, do they?

Live calls to live customers using the training guarantees that these training methods are going to be applied. Live calling in a safe space leads to more rep buy-in and builds confidence. When reps see the tactics work in real-time they adopt, apply, and try more often. Training fall-off (the forgetting curve) has the odds stacked against it now!

Make the training stick by actually making calls and building pipeline during training.

5. Make Sure Your Managers Get Involved in Sales Training

Put managers in the reps’ training, and when possible make sure they have their own version of the training class tailored for their needs. Managers need to learn how to recognize the new skills in action, when to coach, how to coach the new skill, when to celebrate it working, and how to keep the momentum alive when the trainers leave. Behavior change lives and dies with the management team, and their buy-in, involvement, and use of the new skills are critical to success.

Ask your vendor how the managers will be involved in retaining the new skills.

READ: Tips for Enablement Leaders to Increase Sales Coaching Focus

Good Training is Ongoing Training

You got it, training is a process, not an event. Reps reported a “Lack of Development” as a top 5 challenge every year for the past five years as reported by the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals. Aberdeen also reported missing development opportunities as the number one rep-reported reason for leaving companies.

Deciding to invest in rep development is a smart choice, but be sure you don’t assume that it is “one and done.” Your teams want ongoing opportunities to learn, grow, and advance their careers.

READ: Why Event-Based Sales Training Falls Short

Training Magazine reported an average number of development hours/year/employee at about 48 hours – or four hours/month. Is your internal training team ready to provide this? Most corporate training teams get quickly maxed by providing new hire orientation and onboarding. Manager coaching can fill some of the gaps, but if you’re talking with learning vendors, check their ongoing offerings as well.

Ongoing training will often nurture and advance skills taught onsite – helping check the box of retaining new skills and providing the ongoing development reps crave.

The easiest way to accomplish this is with vendor-provided online skills training or inside sales training courses after their session to brush up on their skills, hone in on their weak spots, and keep skills in practice.

When evaluating sales training software, look for interactive resources such as:

  • Recorded call libraries
  • Sample scripts/messaging starters
  • Interactive micro e-learning modules
  • Printable cheat sheets
  • Manager coaching
  • Team activities
  • Videos
  • Sales certifications

Reps want skills on-demand. Learning should be easy, fun, interactive, and flexible. The old days of long-form narrated slides and sales training videos are over. Anyone who has clicked their way through to the final test (or let it run in the background while doing email) can attest to the fact this isn’t engaging or effective.

Again, look for sales training software to engage your management team as well as the learners. New skills and a culture of development live and die on your front lines. Does the software provide manager resources?

How about fast-reference cheat sheets, coaching guides, or contest ideas? Is it nimble enough to allow quick reference before a big call or team meeting?

Get your sales managers involved in testing your top choices.

Are you looking for the best inside sales training programs?

Contact us today to learn about our customizable virtual sales training programs
available for reps and managers.


sales training and enablement budget

, , ,

Why You Need a Sales Training and Enablement Budget for 2024

Tons of amazing sales trainers and enablement folks fell victim to RIFs because of this year’s slow economy.

It’s unfortunate, but not surprising, right? We all know that when companies cut spending, training is one of the first things to go.

I’m here to talk to the progressive leaders who are seeing things turn around and planning for next year.

I beg you, please budget – or over budget – to bring your trainers and enablement people back so you can focus on reinvesting in your employees.

READ: How to Budget for Sales Training

Before the economy went south, we were fighting for talent (hello, Great Resignation). 

And what were these people looking for? Hint: Not just a paycheck.

  • They want career growth
  • They want learning opportunities 
  • They want a chance to do good
  • They want a boss they don’t hate
  • And, of course, they want more money 🙂

Then, we cut their learning.

Oh, and then we left them at home on an island with a swamped sales manager drowning in Slacks and emails and without the ability to listen to peers to learn how to do their jobs.

Folks, we have a crisis ahead of us.

DOWNLOAD: Sales Team Retention Survey

That’s why I’m here to offer you the chance to get ahead of the problems that are coming.

  • Plan ahead for 2024 training budgets
  • Bring back your trainers/enablement folks
  • Do more than buy video-based learning (it doesn’t work, trust me)
  • Buy reputable training content (check out The Sales Bar)
  • Train your managers (they’re the key to motivating reps)

Sellers are struggling. Our close rates are going down, our engagement rates are going down, and satisfaction rates are going down, this isn’t a coincidence. We quit training them and put them on an island with busy managers (who can also use some skills).

Do your future self a favor, and get back on track with enabling people to succeed. They need that investment so they can get these wins, be successful in sales faster, hit quota sooner, and stay longer.

Not sure what you should budget for sales training? Email me at LB@factor8.com and I’ll share some stats in the industry that will help you hit goal and be best-in-class. 

Are you looking for sales training?

Contact us today to request information on our customizable virtual sales training programs
available for reps (and managers).


sales training technique

, , ,

Associative Learning: Why It’s the Best Sales Training Technique

Last week, I soapboxed about how videos aren’t training sellers anything (read that post here).

So today, I’ll share a learning strategy that ACTUALLY works if you really want to use a new skill (or want your team to try it)…

“Associative Learning” – wait! Don’t go to sleep!

This theory is why everyone says, “Oh, you’re like Sandler” to me about my training company.

It’s also the reason your college lectures were SO BORING:

Adults learn by relating new knowledge to older knowledge and to experiences.

That’s it. The whole magic.

We’ve got to talk about it. We’ve got to know where to “file it” in our brains.

  • Early call rapport-building is like when you met your freshman roommate
  • Late call bridging to the next call is when you asked her out again before the first date was over
  • Getting a decision-maker on the phone is like getting to first base 😉

Your amazing new software with zero competitors – “OH, so it’s like Ambition had a baby with Gong.” Don’t be offended, at least they’ll remember what you do.

Here’s why it works (for my fellow training nerds):

The “Associative Learning Rule” is the theory behind the phrase “Synapses that fire together, wire together.” It explains that brain cells grow stronger by sending off impulses at the same time, therefore, connecting them and overall growing stronger. When connections grow stronger, learning has taken place.

It’s why your video-based “learning library” is a waste of money. I get it, they’re easy, cheap, repeatable, and scalable – but nearly worthless when it comes to helping your team retain knowledge – let alone use it on the job to pick up the phone and sell something.

Big takeaways:

  1. Don’t think that telling or showing a video will result in behavior change
  2. Create opportunities for your team to talk about what they’re learning and tell their stories
  3. Use your LinkedIn Learning budget to hire a trainer or a training company that can interact, workshop, and actually help sellers apply new skills on the job

(Now, if only I knew a great sales training company… Seriously, if you’re looking for sales training techniques that actually work, contact us here.)

Want to learn more sales training techniques?

Contact us today to request information on our customizable virtual sales training programs
available for reps (and managers).


BDR vs AE

,

BDR vs AE: What’s the Difference?

In the past five years, the acronyms BDR and SDR have jumped to the forefront of selling – particularly digital or virtual selling in the SaaS space. Feeling lost already? Don’t sweat it, this article will break it all down, and help you fully understand the difference between Business Development Reps (BDRs), Sales Development Reps (SDRs), Account Executives (AE), Customer Experiences & Success (CXS), Account Managers (AMs), and Inside Sales Reps (ISRs).

We’ll also cover the basic responsibilities of each role (to help you decide if it’s right for you or for your organization). Finally, we’ll differentiate some key skills for each so you can identify what training your existing or new teams may need.

Keep reading to learn the difference between BDR vs AE and the other different sales roles.

READ: How to Hire and Retain Top Sales Reps and Managers

What is the Difference Between a BDR vs. SDR?

The BDR and SDR roles are the tip of the sales spear or the top of the sales funnel. Their job is to get deals in the pipeline by hunting and/or qualifying leads. From there, the lead is deemed an opportunity and worked by an AE, ISR, Field Rep, AM, or another silly acronym. 🙂

Unsure what the difference is between a BDR and SDR? The key responsibilities for these roles are decided by each company. Few have both roles, and if they don’t, the terms are used interchangeably meaning the exact same role has a different name at different companies. I’ve seen the same function named “Biz Dev”, “Lead Gen”, “Appointment Setting”, “Lead Qualification”, “Junior Rep”, or even “Data Cleansing” (although that’s usually ever so slightly more administrative).

Larger sales organizations may have multiple “sales development functions” and use both acronyms. One could mean qualifying inbound leads and the other outbound leads. One may hand off to an account executive in the inside/digital organization and the other could be working with the field sales team. In summary, it’s never a dumb question to ask someone to clarify the job duties of their BDR/SDR sellers. Some smart questions to ask:

  1. Do they work with inbound leads, warm outbound leads, or cold outbound leads?
  2. Who do they hand off to?
  3. How are leads dispersed?
  4. What constitutes a qualified lead?
  5. What’s the primary goal (e.g. is it data cleanliness, sales qualification, or appointment setting?)
  6. How does this goal adjust based on the market, pipeline, and results?
  7. How is the role compensated?
What is an Account Executive?

The rise of the BDR (mind if I just type one of these from here on out?) came with two big recent trends: SaaS sales and role specialization. In the old days, sales meant you hunted it, killed it, ate it, and farmed it. The problem was when reps got a few big accounts that they could eat off of for a while, the hunting stopped. With the rise of the demo, companies shifted their focus. As the tech stack became a thing, we realized we needed sellers to be great at the demo (companies are still working on it) or the product showcase. Software organizations led the way in splitting sellers into three functions: Sales Development (BDR/SDR) called the leads and set appointments, Account Executives (reps who do the demo and close the deal), and Customer Success (CXS) who renew and upsell/cross-sell. Hunters, Closers, and Farmers. Sure it’s a mixed metaphor, but what AE wants to be called a Killer AE, am I right?!

About the same time as the rise of software came the rise of the millennial workforce. Different from their Gen X bosses, millennials want faster career mobility and more development. Hence the birth of the “micro promotion” and level in the BDR/SDR role with a clear path to AE. New sellers simply survive the pure hunting role for about 18 months and they’ll receive a few small promotions and the cushy AE role where minions pass them leads all day long.

virtual sales challenges
What is an Inside Sales Rep?

So what about the rest of the alphabet soup? Let’s get into the more traditional sales roles, or these days simply non-software/high-tech: the ISR (Inside Sales Representative). We may also call them Acquisition Reps, Full-Cycle Sellers, Account Executives (yup, same name), or any other fancy title that sounds less like a seller but means, “I own the deal from cradle to grave.” My teams in the early 2000s were all ISRs. Hunt, Kill, Farm.

ISRs may be teamed with field sellers. These “outside reps” typically meet face-to-face with clients and therefore work the more complex and longer sales cycle deals. Organizations may use them in the “NFL cities” where it is geographically beneficial to add staff and use them inside for the rest, or they may split by deal size/complexity (anything under $100K is handled inside). Finally, you may split your sales teams by product type. Product X may be 10 years old, toward the top of the product lifecycle curve, and need a low-cost fast-response sales engine. These are goods that consumers feel comfortable ordering over the phone or online. The same company may have new products sold to different customer sets who will require more hand-holding, consensus building, and education – the field teams get these.

What is an Account Manager?

Alternatively, we have the Account Manager. These folks work large books of customers with diverse product sets. Their goal is to farm new business, penetrate the account further, and find opportunities to cross and upsell. Think of them as the Customer Success Reps of the non-software world. Their customers don’t require a renewal contract, but they do require some service and value-add to keep buying from you.

Can traditional sales engines also specialize? You bet. I’ve seen hunters/farmers in this world quite often. Then you might have an ISR/AE or “Sales Executive” upfront and an Account Manager or AM owning the account after the first sale or first period.

How to Build a Winning Sales Team

What a mouthful, right? So how do we know what’s right for you and your organization?

I say start with your sales goals, go-to-market strategy, and product complexity. Then compare all your decisions past your buyers’ preferences and build your strawman.

A few general rules before you decide which sales roles to hire for your sales team…

If you’re in a race for market share or have aggressive growth goals, keep your sales force inside and hire heavily. Then go invest heavily in marketing for brand recognition and lead generation. Split the organization so you have teams with a sole focus on hunting new opportunities and quickly converting those brought in by marketing.

Key sales skills here are the ability to quickly qualify new business, uncover the intent and value of the sale, and close for commitments on every call to speed the sales cycle.  You’ll probably also want some virtual selling skills, objection handling, listening skills, and product demo or proposal training. These are often lacking in these quick-growth organizations, and your job is to find the gold, mine it, and bank it before your competition knows you’ve set up a general store.

Looking at a job in this arena means (psst, leaders, check your hiring profiles for) the ability to multitask, impatience for results, quick to connect with others, competitive, OK taking rejection, and a lover of high activity. Your super go-getters will be making high dials, winning fast, and losing fast. You’ll hear no more than yes, but if the right culture is built, the yes will be intoxicating.

Sellers who don’t love the thrill of the hunt or are nervous about rejection avoid the top-of-funnel sales roles. That means you need to stay out of high-tech and software and target a more traditional industry like manufacturing, distribution, medical, and services that have more full-cycle sales roles that require only a bit of hunting to be successful. These “closers” or AE, Sales Executive, or ISR type roles (using these interchangeably as full-cycle sellers) need great organizational skills, some cold calling as well as some great service skills, amazing online meeting and demo skills, and an ability to find and present unique value to each customer. Like full-time Account Managers with books of business or territories of hundreds of accounts, teach them business acumen, how to have the wallet share conversation, and how to ask for referrals. This prevents our farmers from simply depositing their harvest or inbound orders from their top 20 accounts.

Now, the field seller. This role typically earns more and is held by the more tenured seller. We’re looking for professionalism, maturity, business acumen, excellent rapport, and presentation skills. They go and close the million-dollar deals, wine and dine the big clients, and represent companies as the literal face of the business. Key skills for these folks are typically about doing better discovery and value building (so we don’t sell on price), but in the days of the pandemic looked a lot like the BDR and AE skills gaps of calling people, keeping them on the phone, and doing online demos.

A final word. The gate to most of the cushy AE, AM, and field jobs are the high-pressure hunting jobs. Don’t back away from sales just because of this! Most companies have made this nearly fool-proof by adding lead lists, helpful software tools, script starters, and training. If you’re smart, a great listener, care about the customer, and can show up on time for a consecutive 30 days, you will likely be promoted in your first year. Hang in and fall in love with sales. It’s worth it!

Hiring a team of sales reps?

Watch our session on “How To Build Your Training & Development Plan” to learn everything you need to know about incorporating training into your onboarding and employee development plan.


sales rep onboarding

, , , ,

8 Sales Rep Onboarding Best Practices

By now you’ve heard that the sales rep onboarding experience is a major factor in how they ramp to quota and ultimately affects how they feel about your company.  

There are about 3 million moving parts in an onboarding program since it happens across so many departments, mostly outside of sales. Because of this, it’s easy to lose our way during onboarding. One of the most important hindrances is the lack of investment — both in effort and money — in onboarding.

Insidesales.com did a study that found organizations spend an average of 3x more on rep tools than on rep development, with the average rep having between 5-10 tools. Similarly, Training Magazine found that organizations spend on average 25x more on recruiting than development. 

Moreover, Training Magazine tells us that a good onboarding program can cut ramp time and attrition by 50%. If we focus more time on crafting an onboarding program that will help retain the reps we recruit, we save time, money, and energy down the line.

So let’s do this! Here are 8 best practices you can dive into fixing right now.

Integrate These 8 Best Practices Into Your Sales Rep Onboarding

  1. “Just-in-time” training
  2. Leverage sales (not HR) professionals
  3. Balance software and traditional training methods
  4. Continue onboarding long after the rep is “ready”
  5. Adopt the six critical components of a training program 
  6. Use ample multimedia resources
  7. Create a formal, but flexible, rep training program 
  8. Set realistic, data-based expectations 

Let’s dive a little deeper into why and how to integrate these tips into your onboarding.

1. “Just-in-time” Training

When building an onboarding program, it’s tempting to start by listing all the things “Johnny” may ever need to know and start from the top. Instead, try slicing off only what Johnny needs to know in month one.

It can be tempting to dive deep into company waters with things like histories, organizational charts, and other detailed and specific areas. It’s more effective to shift this information to the backburner for the time being and focus only on what the new rep needs in the first month to be successful. After all, how often does a customer quiz your rep on key events in the company’s founding?

Onboarding training should mirror what a rep’s day-to-day activities will look like once training is finished during the first month on the job (and only that first month).  This ensures reps don’t feel like a fish out of water when the time comes to execute the tactics taught in training.

Why stop at month one? Because we want our reps to come out of onboarding feeling confident! We want them ready to pound the phones and execute what they learned! If we start introducing them to all the sales process complexities, advanced products, and deep conversations, then we run the risk of scaring or overwhelming them.  

This is a time when “you don’t know what you don’t know” is a good thing. If your reps will likely spend that first month talking to existing happy customers or cold calling and leaving a lot of voicemails, stop training there. Bring them back later for the rest. 

2. Leverage Sales (Not HR) Professionals 

Aberdeen reported that 85% of the sales teams considered “best-in-class” use professional sales trainers or curriculum. But the majority of us outsource our onboarding to HR.

This absolutely does not mean that your sales managers should be the trainers. It means that as a sales leader, you have sales managers and a sales training manager reporting to you (or at least attending your meetings). It could also mean that you have a sales manager who acts as a liaison to training.  

But what it definitely means is that you and your sales team all know what is being taught, agree with the how, and are thrilled with what reps can do when they graduate from the onboarding training.

Some companies shy away from investing in an expert for new hires due to the high turnover rate. But, by investing in good sales training and following best practices, companies can reduce new hire turnover rate and save money in the long run.

3.  Balance Online and Classroom Training 

What we use to teach reps is another balancing act between digital learning and resources and traditional training methods. 

Best practice? Use technology for about 30% of your overall curriculum. Much more and we’re missing the opportunity to engage new reps and ensure their first month is lonely and, let’s face it: boring. 

Online learning is easiest to leverage for one of the following areas:

  1. Rote knowledge that isn’t likely to change. This includes policies, laws, company history, and unchanging products.
  2. Already-created, third-party curriculum. Commonly this is from technology vendors like Salesforce or basic Microsoft how-to assets
  3. Trusted adviser curriculum. If you’re working with social, sales, or marketing experts already and have adopted their methodologies, ask about online resources to onboard new reps. 

Leverage your training department’s learning management system with whatever you’re doing. You’ll want to track what reps have and haven’t done and add a layer of accountability with reporting and testing.

4. Don’t Let It End! Continue Training Even After Onboarding

Rep development should be ongoing. Don’t ever fall into the trap of “They’re trained! My job here is done.” That’s akin to the NFL putting players in preseason camp and then stopping practice when the regular season begins.  

Development is an ongoing sport.  

At Factor 8, we’re huge champions of sending new reps to the phones early and often. But that is with the assumption that they’ll come back to the classroom to address the gaps they find while out on the harsh streets of your sales floor. It’s also assuming that managers are closely keeping track of rep progress and development needs.

How do you facilitate this?

Try to organize the curriculum into three levels:

  1. Level 1 maps to onboarding – the foundational/month 1 skills.  
  2. Level 2 is “just in time” after reps master level 1 and get 6-12 months under their belt. They’re ramped to quota, and it’s time for ongoing development to keep growing and do the whole job well.  
  3. Level 3 maps to the mastery of the job in years 2 to 3 — more advanced skills to help them be superstars.   

Between each level we add exercises, activities, assignments, and refreshers to keep the skills top of mind, show new ways to try certain tactics, and help managers engage reps in 1:1 and team skill development. The Sales Bar helps us make all of this accessible on-demand so teams can learn what they want to when they want to while still keeping track. We also drip new content monthly and use leaderboards to keep things fresh and different so users want to log back in.  

Use this as an example of the microlearning and ongoing development young reps crave. Millennials expect a certain percentage of learning to be in the classroom and online, and they expect opportunities to develop themselves long after onboarding.  

Offering blended learning, leveled learning, and ongoing learning checks all those boxes.

5. Adopt the 6 Critical Components of a Sales Training Program

If you’re just starting to build your program or you’re going in to assess yours, start by evaluating what’s being trained. It’s easy to go deep into systems and products, but those are just two of the six components of well-rounded onboarding training:

  1. Systems and tools — Your CRM, intranet, engagement tool, dialer, etc. 
  2. Product and service — What you’re selling. Tip: Focus on “how to sell it” versus a full rundown of product history, speeds, and feeds. This harkens back to best practice #1 and maintaining training relevancy. If your product people are teaching this, chances are your reps don’t need half of it and are using this time to snooze.
  3. Sales — Even if you hire for experience, reps need to be taught how to sell your services to your customers in your industry over the phone.  Haven’t met a new hire yet who doesn’t.
  4. Process — Think of how your leads and orders get processed internally and who a rep goes to for the top customer questions. In other words, how do you get stuff done at your company?
  5. Acumen — Sorry folks, they’re not coming out of school with business acumen and certainly not industry and customer acumen. This is a big gap, and filling it will drastically shorten ramp time.  
  6. Manager integration — this is where tip #5 really comes to life, both during and after onboarding. Reps need to see their leaders often, and training needs input and oversight.

6. Utilize Ample Multimedia Resources

No two reps are identical when it comes to learning style. Make sure you’re meeting every new hire where they’re at by using a mix of helpful resources. 

This includes but is not limited to:

Mixing up these methods not only appeals to reps with different learning styles but also helps keep training exciting and fresh. Who wants to sit and listen to someone else make calls all day and slap a “training” label on it? 

7. Create a Formal, but Flexible Rep Training Program

If you’re not putting all new hires through the same rep onboarding process, how can you ever tell if what you’re doing is working?

As we said: Different reps have different learning styles, so it is important to remain flexible to an extent. Just make sure you have some core pillars of onboarding training in place so all new hires are experiencing the same process.

This helps you measure KPIs and tweak your processes if weak spots surface.

8. Set Realistic, Data-Based Expectations for Your New Reps

How many times have your managers set sky-high call quotas for new reps? How many times have they failed to reach it? But, most importantly, how many times has this been documented?

The only thing more frustrating (for both rep and manager) than someone consistently underperforming on quotas, is for there to be nothing in place to fix it moving forward.

Make sure when you’re setting expectations and KPIs for new hire reps that they are based on data. Once you have a fleshed-out onboarding process, it will be easier than ever to keep track of this information.

Find a Tool That Works for Your Onboarding Needs

What if we told you there’s a tool that complements in-person sales training, allows managers to monitor new hire learning during onboarding, and offers a wide variety of inside sales resources?

It’s not magic — it’s The Sales Bar. Fill out the form below to learn more.

Want more information on our sales rep onboarding programs?

Contact us today to request information on our customizable virtual sales training programs
available for reps (and managers).


Why You Need Special Recession Payment Terms

, ,

Why You Need Special Recession Payment Terms

As leaders, one thing we’re all aware of is how tight budgets are – both yours and your clients. 

Listen, I love getting paid for deals upfront. Cash flow and payroll are real my friends. But I also like closing deals. When times are uncertain, it needs to feel much less risky for prospects to buy now. Have you talked with your finance team about what risk you can shoulder so your prospective clients don’t have to? For example:

  • Cancellation clauses. If it’s not working, they don’t have to pay for it.
  • Better terms. How much less can we get up front? Can we extend 90-day vs. 30-day terms?
  • Pause clause. If times get tougher, how long can we let clients pause their contracts with no extra fees? Can we tack on services to the end of the contract or do they lose some value during the pause? 

Talk to your sales reps about the exact objections they’re getting out there. 

What solution would help? 

Important note: if they can’t tell you, they need some help. 

READ: Changing Sales Incentives During A Recession

Here’s where to focus your coaching:

  • Price objections are the beginning of a conversation. The most important thing top reps do next is ask open questions to uncover the root of the objection. A price objection could mean:
    • My budget is frozen
    • I’ve already spent my budget
    • I don’t get more budget until next month
    • You’re too expensive
    • I can’t validate this spend to my boss
    • There are 27 more, but you get my point

Work all four steps in overcoming an objection to get the best intel, and make it easy for reps to share. For example, you get an email for every price objection with a link to the call recording and the rep’s feedback on the root cause (trust, but verify, right?)

  • Reps need help getting to the economic buyer to get these answers! If they’re stuck with a mid-level leader, they may not get the root cause. Coach reps on asking detailed questions about all the purchasing steps and people involved. These skills can absolutely be taught, but they aren’t 101 (hell, even 201) level conversations. It takes guts to ask for help going around a prospect and they’ll need some lines to steal, some room to practice, and some great role models who do it well. Bonus: you’ll get more accurate forecasts and fewer stuck deals as a result as well.

READ: Leading Sales Teams Through A Recession

Subscribe to our email list to receive new content, webinar invites, and training offers.


Leading Sales Teams Through A Recessions

, , , ,

Leading Sales Teams Through a Recession

Nobody wants to use the “R” word, but whatever you call it, selling is tough right now. I’ve had the good fortune of speaking with dozens of leaders and managers about what they’re doing right now with their teams to protect their bases and keep building pipeline in case a recession does officially happen.

READ: Top Pipeline-Building and Recession Selling Tips

Here’s an idea I love that I hope you will steal when leading sales teams through a recession: 

Turn down lead qualification criteria immediately. 

As deals slow down, you’ll need more in the funnel to close the gap. If you’re using a standard BANT or MEDICC qualification criteria, work with the team to decide what is worth taking anyway. If your sales team isn’t busy creating proposals and demonstrating your solution, the simple answer is to get more leads. They could literally be sitting in the “reject” pile of your BDR/SDR or marketing team right now!

What should you accept? I’d start with budget. 

Many buyers aren’t spending as freely right now, so if your lead qualification criteria require a ready budget, you’re rejecting most buyers. 

I get it, you need leads ready and able to buy to close more deals, but if they’re not as available right now, are you willing to build future pipeline for when times change? 

Can you and your team work harder to convince buyers you’re worth assigning a budget? 

READ: Changing Sales Incentives During A Recession

Along these same lines, are you willing to build future pipeline for opportunities with longer timelines? 

If we’ve moved on the B (budget) and T (timeline), what about Authority and Need? Truth is, now more than ever you need to show this is something prospects need over want. So check the value props being touted by your lead generation team. Can you switch something that feels like a “nice to have” to something that seems more like a “Can’t live without it, especially in today’s economy?”

For example, I sell training. People often come to us because they’re growing (nope, many in RIF mode now). Others find us because they know they need better onboarding and upskilling to attract and retain talent (nice to have, less important if not hiring). 

READ: Why You Need Special Recession Payment Terms

How about this one?

During today’s economic times, the sellers are separated from the order takers. You can’t afford NOT to make sure your team have the very sharpest skills to close more deals. Protect your revenue by teaching your team how to push deals through when there’s economic uncertainty. (BTW, click here to email us and learn more about our training! 😉)

Finally, let’s talk about Authority or Champion. I think you’ve got to have it. Every deal in tough economies will be approved by your economic decision maker (e.g. CFO), and nothing is getting there without a champion explaining the urgent need for it right now.

Boom! BANT just became NC (Need and Champion).

Next step: go sit with the teams to help draft the right questions and gates for this. Just because you know what a good “need” looks like, doesn’t mean the person training your BDR team or writing the marketing copy can translate what you’re looking for into criteria and sales questions/marketing form fills.

Good luck out there!

READ: 5 Tips for Reps to Keep Selling During a Recession

Subscribe to our email list to receive new content, webinar invites, and training offers.


sales lay off

, , , ,

5 Things to Do Immediately After Being Laid off in Sales

Layoffs, Recessions, and RIFs (Ooooooh, my)

It’s a crap situation folks, no way around that. But if you’re in a revenue role and you smell it coming, or just got your notice, here are our top 5 tips to help you recover from a sales layoff:

  1. Attitude is everything. I don’t mean to not FEEL angry, sad, betrayed, and revenge-fueled! I just mean don’t show it. You’re in a fishbowl right now and everyone you rant to may actually be a prospective employer or referrer. And let’s face it, they’re all wondering if it was the company or it was you. We’ve heard that companies use uncertain economies to trim the fat, and telling the story of your betrayal may tip things in the direction of you being the problem. 
  2. Try a re-frame. Perhaps you were cut because you were the most expensive! It’s the most efficient way to cut costs, right? You may have not been as aligned with the new leadership or go-to-market strategy. It’s probably time to refresh your skills, sharpen the saw, and expand your horizons! What I’m talking about here is your internal self-talk AND your “packaging.” Are you a dejected, rejected, dime-a-dozen AE on the hunt? Or are you a senior-level, uber-expensive, in-demand revenue professional!? I thought so. 🙂 
  3. Get clear on what you want. For decades I’ve made a hobby of helping great people find great companies, and every time I get an email requesting help, I reply asking them to detail their dream job. I don’t mean title and income (you DID think that didn’t you!?). I mean what industry, working with what kinds of customers? What will you be learning? What kind of product or service would make you proud? How will your boss treat you, how do sell, and how will you be led and fed? Go nuts on the wish list and ask questions about past peeves like work hours, development opportunities, bosses and mentors, facilities, friends at work, tools, and more! When we know exactly what we want, we can describe that for people and INSTANTLY get better referrals than a generic, “anything in SaaS.”
    Try this: When I ask if you know someone who leads a new or growing sales team in the banking industry, runs an insurance house, or manages a team that sells into government, did your brain find someone? Could you feel it scanning deeper than, “Know anyone hiring?” When you help people picture someone they know, you’re more than halfway to a referral.

    I’m also a believer that putting it out there in the universe is necessary step #1 in bringing what we want to us!

  4. Brag a little. No, strike that. Brag a LOT. Your resume needs to be packed with results!
    Numbers Are The Love Language Of All Sales Leaders!

    Get yours in order! What percent did you increase market share? Was there a spike in metrics under your leadership? How many quarters did you exceed quota? How about your team? Did you win any records? Awards? Listen, if the very best thing you did was reach quota consistently realize that is a WIN! If you’re still there, start running reports to shore up your data.

    What else did you do? Customer satisfaction? Product development? Process documentation? Testimonial acquisition? New customer types? Lead with numbers and close with some voice of the customer. They’ll be lining up to talk to you!

  5. Call in the favors (by offering to help!) If you fear it’s coming but haven’t left yet, NOW is the time to work your network. Funny how our colleagues, customers, and friends lose our numbers when we leave (and listen, some actually do only know your work email). But a call from an employed friend calling to catch up and see how I am and how they can help me gets 10x the callbacks than my newly laid off buddy who wants to give me the Telenovela version of their unfair termination. So do as many favors as you can before you’re gone, so it’s easy to call up for the payback when you need it. Start your re-frame marketing campaign about where you’re headed and your desire to leave to move up or move on! Then find out how you can help THEM and do it. Reciprocity is real (and everyone will like you better.)

In short, approach this well-deserved break like the freaking diamond you are. There’s an international shortage of professional sellers – especially virtual sellers. Find an industry and company that’s thriving and package yourself as a FIND! I’m confident that YOU are something you can sell.

Good luck out there! If we can help you brush up on your selling skills at Factor 8 with free virtual sales BDR, AE, or Account Management training, please email us at info@factor8.com and mention this blog.

If you’re a woman in revenue leadership, please apply to join the #GirlsClub Sales Leadership Certification Program as a Protégé (new or aspiring manager) or Mentor (5+ years of leadership experience). Our amazing sponsors will help foot the bill.

Subscribe to our email list to receive new content, webinar invites, and training offers.


« Older Entries Newer Entries »