Michael Onyekwere

In today’s digital age, technology is playing an increasingly important role in sales training. From virtual training programs to sales enablement tools, there are a variety of technologies that can help sales professionals improve their skills and close more deals. Advantages of adopting technology in sales training Possibility of reaching larger audience One of the biggest advantages of using technology in sales training is the ability to reach a larger audience. With traditional in-person training, there are limitations on the number of people who can attend due to physical space and other logistical constraints. With virtual training programs, sales professionals can participate from anywhere in the world, allowing organizations to reach a much wider audience. Virtual training programs can also be more cost-effective than in-person training. There are no travel costs or accommodations to consider, which can add up quickly for organizations with sales teams located in different parts of the world. Sales enablement In addition to virtual training programs, there are also a variety of sales enablement tools that can help sales professionals improve their skills and close more deals. These tools can help sales teams organize and access relevant content, track customer interactions, and analyze sales data to identify trends and areas for improvement. For example, a sales team might use a sales enablement platform to store and organize sales collateral such as brochures, case studies, and product sheets. This allows sales professionals to quickly access the information they need during sales calls and presentations, rather than having to search through multiple folders and emails. Sales enablement tools can also help sales teams track customer interactions and analyze sales data. For example, a sales tracking tool might allow sales professionals to log their interactions with customers and track the status of deals in the pipeline. This can help sales teams identify patterns and trends in their sales process and make data-driven decisions about how to improve their performance. Recommended article: Sales Process Automation: How to Get It Right Gamification of training Another area where technology is playing a role in modern sales training is in the use of gamification. Gamification involves using game-like elements in non-game contexts to engage and motivate learners. This can be an effective way to make sales training more interactive and enjoyable for participants. For example, a sales training program might use a gamification platform to create challenges and competitions for sales professionals to complete. This can help sales teams learn new skills and techniques in a fun and engaging way, rather than feeling like they are just going through the motions of a traditional training program. Recommended article: All You Need To Know About Sales Training Conclusion In conclusion, technology is playing a vital role in modern sales training. From virtual training programs to sales enablement tools, there are a variety of technologies that can help sales professionals improve their skills and close more deals. By leveraging these technologies, organizations can reach a wider audience and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their sales training programs.

A Sales Academy can be a powerful tool for developing a successful sales team. It provides a structured approach to training and development, which can lead to improved sales performance, increased revenue, and better customer satisfaction. However, building a sustainable Sales Academy requires a long-term strategy that goes beyond just training sessions. In this blog, we will discuss how to build a sustainable Sales Academy that will deliver lasting results for your business. Steps in building a sustainable sales academy Step 1: Define your Sales Academy’s Purpose The first step in building a sustainable Sales Academy is to define its purpose. What are your goals for your sales team, and how will the Sales Academy help you achieve them? This will help you to identify the specific skills and knowledge that your sales reps need to develop, as well as the outcomes you want to see from your training program. Step 2: Create a Sales Training Program Once you have defined your Sales Academy’s purpose, it’s time to create a sales training program that will help your sales reps develop the skills they need to succeed. Your training program should be comprehensive and cover all aspects of the sales process, from prospecting to closing deals. It should also be tailored to the specific needs of your sales reps, based on their experience and skill level. Recommended article: Sales Academy: How To Effectively Train Your Sales Team Step 3: Develop an Onboarding Process A successful Sales Academy should also have a comprehensive onboarding process. This process should help new sales reps get up to speed quickly, understand your company’s sales processes, and feel confident in their role. Your onboarding process should include training sessions, mentorship, and ongoing support to ensure that new sales reps feel supported and motivated. Step 4: Provide Ongoing Training and Development To build a sustainable Sales Academy, it’s important to provide ongoing training and development opportunities for your sales team. This will help them to stay up-to-date with the latest sales trends and techniques, as well as improve their skills and knowledge over time. You can provide ongoing training through workshops, online courses, coaching, and other resources. Recommended article: The role of technology in modern sales training Step 5: Measure and Evaluate Your Sales Academy’s Performance Finally, to ensure the sustainability of your Sales Academy, you should regularly measure and evaluate its performance. This will help you to identify areas for improvement and adjust your training program accordingly. You can measure the performance of your Sales Academy through metrics such as sales revenue, conversion rates, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction. In conclusion, building a sustainable Sales Academy requires a long-term strategy that goes beyond just training sessions. By defining your Sales Academy’s purpose, creating a comprehensive sales training program, developing an onboarding process, providing ongoing training and development, and measuring its performance, we can help you create a Sales Academy that delivers lasting results for your business. With a well-trained and motivated sales team, your business can achieve greater success, improve customer satisfaction, and grow revenue over time, to get started with our intervention speak with a sales consultant

Emotional intelligence (EI) plays a critical role in sales because it helps sales professionals understand their clients’ emotions, build rapport, and tailor their approach to meet their clients’ needs. Salespeople with high EI can read their clients’ emotional states, communicate effectively, and develop deeper relationships with their clients. How to develop Emotional Intelligence Here are some ways to develop emotional intelligence in sales: Develop self-awareness Salespeople who are self-aware are better equipped to manage their own emotions and recognize the impact their behavior has on their clients. To develop self-awareness, salespeople should: Reflect on their own emotional triggers and how they can affect their behavior in sales situations. For example, a salesperson may become frustrated or angry when a potential client is hesitant to make a decision. Identify their strengths and weaknesses, and work on improving areas that need development. For example, a salesperson may recognize that they have a tendency to talk too much and not listen enough, and work on active listening skills. Practice empathy Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. In sales, empathy is critical for building rapport and understanding the needs and concerns of potential clients. Salespeople can develop empathy by: Actively listening to clients and trying to understand their perspective. For example, a salesperson may ask open-ended questions to get more information about a potential client’s business needs, and show that they are genuinely interested in finding a solution that meets those needs. Using language that shows they understand the client’s situation. For example, a salesperson may say something like, “I can understand why you might be hesitant to invest in a new software system. It’s a big decision and you want to make sure you’re getting the right solution for your business.” Communicate effectively Effective communication is key to building trust and establishing a connection with potential clients. Salespeople can improve their communication skills by: Paying attention to their tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions. For example, a salesperson may smile and make eye contact to show they are engaged in the conversation, or use a calm tone of voice to diffuse a tense situation. Using language that is clear, concise, and easy to understand. For example, a salesperson may avoid using technical jargon that potential clients may not be familiar with, and instead use language that is tailored to their audience. Build relationships Building strong relationships with clients is critical for long-term success in sales. Salespeople can build relationships by: Being genuine and authentic in their interactions with clients. For example, a salesperson may share a personal story or anecdote to establish a connection with a potential client. Focusing on the client’s needs and concerns, rather than just trying to close a sale. For example, a salesperson may offer advice or guidance that is not directly related to their product or service, but still helps the client solve a business problem. Practice emotional regulation Emotional regulation is the ability to manage one’s own emotions in a way that is constructive and beneficial to the sales process. Salespeople can practice emotional regulation by: Recognizing their own emotional states and taking steps to manage them. For example, a salesperson who is feeling frustrated or stressed may take a break or practice deep breathing exercises to calm themselves down. Responding to potential clients in a way that is appropriate and professional, even when faced with difficult or challenging situations. For example, a salesperson may respond to a client who is angry or upset in a calm and understanding manner, rather than becoming defensive or argumentative. In summary, emotional intelligence is critical for success in sales. By developing self-awareness, empathy, effective communication skills, relationship-building skills, and emotional regulation, salespeople can establish a connection with potential clients, build trust, and ultimately close more deals. Are you ready to train your team to sell better? Reach out.

As a business leader intentional about making H1 of 2023 a success, you really need to start looking at steps you can take today (or at worst tomorrow) to close in on your 2023 revenue goals and push deals across the finish line without extending any deals to the next year. More than ever, you need to be more focused on employee productivity in this quarter than in any other quarter because if you don’t it will impact your company’s growth for next year. Let’s go straight to the point. For your revenue team to exceed the target for H1 of 2023 you need to be more focused on three things: 1. A playbook with a proven strategy: As simple as it is, it is the background of your organization’s success. Yes, I know, you have a strategy in place already but have you ensured that the strategy is fail-proof and effective to achieve the set expectations. It is important to have a strategy in place but more vital to have the right strategy that is proven to be effective to achieve your revenue expectations Oftentimes, when revenue teams underperform, the reason is that they do not know what exactly they need to do, and when they need to do it to deliver the performance senior management expects I can’t overemphasize the fact that for your team to achieve mind-blowing results, you need to have a playbook with a proven strategy serving as a gap between your organization and her goals. Recommended article: Strategies Every Salesperson Can Adopt To Finish The Year Strong 2. Laser focus on revenue-driving activity You see in as much strategy is vital, consistent execution with discipline is the vehicle that will take your organization to the desired destination. Revenue goals are achieved when you pay attention to figure out how the expected results are achieved, then measure the actions that produced those results. Descriptively, businesses can be thought of in some ways like a machine, and the execution-focused leader knows the parts, knows how the parts fit together, and are focused on monitoring and adjusting the performance of the parts that aren’t working as planned. No matter the goal – working consistently on the right strategy will help you and your team to close in on your financial targets and push almost all deals across the finish line. 3. Align incentives with performance To top this, it is important that you also focus on aligning incentives with employee performance. Now, this is different from the normal commission-based structure. The incentives you want to give here is focused on the most pressing needs and desires of each team member. Create a personalized incentive that gives them what they want. Then, tie it to their goals. There is a unique power that comes with special incentives. It pushes almost anyone to do more than usual. Give it a trial. P.S: Our revenue intervention training program is fast-filling for this quarter and you might be pained if you miss this incredible opportunity to have revenue leaders in your industry to help your team develop modern sales skills to your team achieve—and exceed—their goals. Get in touch: 09070047684

Sales cycle defined The sales cycle is the amount of contact and time salespeople spend on moving a lead (not having knowledge of what you offer) to a prospect (having knowledge of your product) and finally to an actual buyer of your product or services.  During this time, a potential buyer is made to understand the expected outcome or satisfaction they can expect when they pop in for any of your offerings. These calls are targeted at keeping your product and services in their minds. Since the advent of the internet, the need to always be in front of customers has become more paramount than ever before.  Irrespective of the position of a buyer in the journey to purchase, strategic marketers have learnt to develop content targeted to individuals. And modern-day marketing tools and technology have fostered this, though they have created a number of other challenges. The biggest challenge for sales and marketing people is to find a way to shorten the sales process. Why shorten your sales cycle? A short sales cycle means you and your salespeople will focus on qualified leads, individuals, and businesses ready to buy. Understanding how to accelerate your sales process saves them a ton of time engaging with leads who are not ready to make a purchase.  Shorter sales cycle improves the morale of sales professionals because the buy-in time is reduced, thereby saving costs for the business. How to shorten your sales cycle? Understand your product or service thoroughly Selling is fun, but the chances of getting frustrated are high if the prospect does not understand what has been sold to them. Today, the selling focus has shifted from the seller to the buyer. The value should be communicated at every point of contact with the prospect. An extensive understanding of your salespeople about the product will help them communicate effectively. So train your sales representative very well. Clearly understand your buyer (prospective client or customer). Time is the most valuable asset. Your potential buyers are very busy, so also be your business representative. In addition to a detailed understanding of the products you sell, a detailed understanding of the buyer is vital to selling effectively and effortlessly. Periodically and during onboarding, train your salespeople to understand your ideal customers or prospects. This eliminates the possibility of guessing and saves a lot of time selling to the wrong people repeatedly. Clearly understand your buyer’s behavioral patterns No two individuals are the same, even twice. But the behavioral buying patterns can be determined. It is essential to examine the behavior of your buyers to understand how to effectively engage them. Understanding how your buyers act will help you move conversations with clients forward and close deals. Recommended article: Reasons Why Your Sales Team Keep Underperforming Automate your sales process Gone are the days of manually sending emails to leads and prospects. Personalized emails and calls can easily be done today. Before now, sales development representatives spent an average of 21% of their time writing emails and 17% of their time prospecting and researching leads. Since the advent of sales automation tools, it has reduced the time sales reps spend on prospecting, engaging with prospects, emailing every prospect and following up. With sales automation tools, follow-up and calls can be made automatically to prospects, as these tools are usually integrated with your calendar and can schedule meetings between you and prospects based on your availability on your calendar. Make your message crystal clear Your message is the way your leads and prospects consume your content, and this determines if they will buy in or not. Humans have a short memory span in today’s marketing space, and they are bombarded with a lot of information. Getting the attention of your potential customer and keeping them engaged is a great challenge. Making your content clear and unique will make you stand out from the crowd, position yourself as a thought leader and build trust in your personality or brand. Irrespective of whether it’s social media content or your email marketing, make sure to be detailed about your offering and pricing on most occasions. Omnipresence marketing To do marketing right today, you need omnipresence marketing, which means being everywhere or being seen all the time. Your customers are busy on social media, one way or the other. With omnipresence marketing, they can consume your content while they have fun on social media platforms. It is important to make sure not to sound salesy on social media but rather appear as a human brand while you sell. Focus on your most profitable channel (while you grow the others). Omnipresence marketing helps to foster contact with a buyer throughout their buying journey. To ensure the goal of the marketing effort is not lost, caution must be applied. Rather than focusing on metrics that don’t bring money to your business, social media posts likes, followings, and connections. Focus on selling and pay more attention to social media platforms where you sell more. Selling is more important to you than sympathetic engagement. Prepare for every client meeting. As stated earlier, no two individuals are the same. Some clients might need more persuasive discussion before they make their decision. Plan before each meeting how best to engage a prospect, also leaving room for tacky change if need be (buying is not linear and so is selling). This is not the time to make a long speech about your brand, but rather focus on your client and their problem. Ask yourself questions to help you understand where your client is in their buyer journey and whether your offering might be of most help to them. What are the clients’ challenges? Why do they need to solve this problem? Why is the solution you offer the best? Prepare questions for your prospects to ask as well, to help them reason and picture the satisfaction that comes from the solution you offer. Persuasive questioning is the most effective strategy to engage buyers with. Identify and tackle objections

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about tremendous changes to all industries, there is a huge need for you and your organization to up your game. Bespoke training is one of the major interventions your company needs to plug and play to achieve your revenue target for the year. In this article, we will explain the meaning of bespoke training and what to expect, most importantly, if you are looking for a bespoke training company in Lagos, Nigeria. What Is Bespoke Training? Bespoke training is customized training designed to meet an organization or team’s skills and capability deficiencies. This training is a valuable resource for organizations and their employees because the training is designed to fit the organization’s structure, requirements, and overall objective.  Bespoke training and its modules are tailored to fit the gaps that organizations are willing to address. Its modules can cover mindset, culture, emotional and functional skills development and improvement (NB: This is how SalesRuby Bespoke training is structured). It could be conducted in-house or you can have external trainers, who specialize in training organizations and businesses like yours, develop and administer these modules after an extensive review and discussion with you and your team. Are you looking for a company to train your team within and outside Lagos? Speak with a SalesRuby Consultant. Advantages Of Bespoke Training The advantages of training to an organization and its employees’ performance are enormous and cannot be over-emphasized. SalesRuby bespoke training is structured with the following advantages: 1. Tailored To Your Needs Unlike courses, bespoke training is designed with a problem and an organization in mind. So the contents are put together to address the identified challenges and are very relevant to the industry. That is to say, bespoke training is not one size fits all. For instance: SalesRuby Bespoke training is designed to help companies improve their revenue. To achieve this, our training involves more than role-playing, but also participants receive first-hand feedback from experts. 2. Return On Investment Trainings yield high ROI for companies because the participant are now more energized and equipped to execute their task. Recommended article:Reasons Why Your Sales Team Keep Underperforming 3. Employees Retention Training and retraining staff increases the rate of employee retention. For 87% of HR managers, employee retention is a top priority. If you are in this category, it is crucial to retain and help employees upskill rather than recruiting new people who may not fit into your culture easily.  4. Cost Of Recruitment As stated before, customized training helps businesses retain talent. On the other hand, it helps in saving costs for organizations and reducing recruitment risk. 5. Skills And Capabilities Change is constant in life. As an individual or team, there is a great need to continually make changes. The bespoke training structure makes it almost impossible to have a zero outcome from the participants. 74% of workers are willing to be re-trained to improve their relevance in their workplace (Lorman). 6. External Support: Training is a great way to help out any part of your team that might be struggling. And having an external individual or company as the trainer may be an added advantage because these trainers (like faculty members of SalesRuby) are experts in their various fields and have vast experience in multiple industries. External trainers bring different perspectives, ideas, and approaches to overcoming your organization’s and individual challenges. Recommended article: How To Shorten Your Sales Cycle? Bespoke Training: Why SalesRuby Bespoke Training Having seen the advantages of bespoke training. It is right to state that choosing the right company to train your team or organization can be challenging. Finding and settling on a trainer who understands not only your business and its challenges but also the market and the type of customers you serve, can be difficult. SalesRuby is a training and management company, and the best Bespoke Training company in Lagos Nigeria. We have trained a number of organizations across various verticals: Retail and FMCG Sales Training SaaS and Tech Sales Training Insurance Sales Training Finance Services Sales Training Medical and Pharmaceutical Sales Training etc. Our training modules and content are prepared by our faculty members with over two decades of experience in selling across a wide range of industries and are personalized to your organizational needs. We evaluate the performance of each team member before and after the training sessions to make sure you get the most out of the training.  Reach out to one of our sales consultants today to get aligned on how we can help your organization and business achieve its revenue goals.