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Article 16 min read

The 15 best online sales training programs in 2024

Find the best, most effective sales training program for your sales team.

Da Donny Kelwig, Contributing Writer

Ultimo aggiornamento January 22, 2024

Many of us went to 12 years of primary and secondary school based on one fundamental premise: that when you don’t know something, the best way to learn is to be taught in a structured setting.

The same is true in sales. While some sales reps may come in with sharper instincts or more charisma than others, we know there are still dozens of techniques and tactics that can be taught to foster a more successful all-around sales rep—and the data backs it. Companies willing to invest in sales training are 57 percent more effective than rival companies that make no such investments.

It’s clear that providing your team with thorough sales training is well worth the effort. And these days, when business leaders can take advantage of so many phenomenal online training courses, it’s easier than ever to support your reps’ professional development right from their desks.

Companies willing to invest in sales training are 57% more effective than rival companies that make no such investments.

Get ready to practice your note-taking skills. In this article, we reveal the 15 best online sales training programs in 2022, sorted by training types.

Enterprise sales training

Enterprise sales training, handshake

Enterprise sales are the big fish that take quite a bit of finagling to hook. These sales are long and complicated; they’re almost never accomplished by placing one call to an individual person or company.

Enterprise sales tend to have an extended sales cycle, and they’ll involve many high-level people—on average, half a dozen stakeholders or company influencers will have a say. It’s often challenging to appeal to different company members with diverse priorities. However, it’s worth training your top sales reps to become great at enterprise sales because they tend to yield high profits.

B2B sales training

B2B sales training, two magnets

B2B sales training focuses on sales between businesses, rather than from business to customer (B2C). Successful B2B sales reps must have a wealth of product, market, and customer knowledge so that they can convince savvy company decision-makers that their product or service will solve their problems.

B2B sales tend to be less about forging emotional connections, and more about offering accurate and clear information in a helpful manner. With the right program, you can train your reps to flourish in profitable B2B selling, upselling, and cross-selling.

SaaS sales training

SaaS sales training, person looking at phone

SaaS stands for Software as a Service. It is online software that customers generally pay for on a month-by-month basis. SaaS sales training is often a subset of B2B sales training and is appropriate for businesses that sell their software on a subscription model.

Improve your sales process

A good sales process is the foundation of any successful sales organization. Learn how to improve your sales process and close more deals.

SPIN sales training

SaaS sales training, bowling ball and pins

SPIN selling is a consultative sales technique that encourages reps to lead with certain types of questions. SPIN stands for: situation, problem, implication, and need-payoff.

Situation questions allow sales reps to understand a client’s business goals. Problem questions allow sales reps to pinpoint a customer’s needs. Implication questions create urgency on why clients should buy and buy now. Need-payoff questions guide customers toward seeing the wonderful rewards of buying and help move them to the next stage in your sales pipeline.

If you’re interested in learning more about SPIN selling and what makes it so effective, check out our complete guide to SPIN selling.

Other worthwhile sales training courses

There are countless online training programs that offer excellent and varied insights into effective selling. Consider the needs of your business and what will most benefit your sales team as you select your ideal training course.

Sales training topics to create your own sales training

Sales training topics, writing on a notepad

If you’re looking to develop your own sales training topics, you’ll want to first identify your personal business goals. Below are some great starting topics to build a foundation for exceptional selling.

Product knowledge

How can your product sell if your team doesn’t have a thorough understanding of what it offers? Quite simply, it won’t. Having sales reps who know your product inside and out is absolutely essential to sales success.

Fundamentally, product knowledge training needs to lay out:

  • How your product works
  • The features that make it special
  • Competing products (and why your product is superior)
  • What problems your product solves for customers

You can also help sales reps find personal connections to the product. Customers respond well to those who can vouch for the product as a human being, as well as a salesperson. Great sales and great sales ethics don’t need to be in conflict with each other.

Handling objections or hesitancies

Sales reps have to be ready to navigate customer doubts and objections. Sales can slip away if your team gets thrown by a tough question that catches them off guard. The key to training sales professionals to handle these situations is preparedness.

Notice trends in sales that didn’t work out for you. What sorts of things are turning customers off or creating a hesitancy to buy? If, for instance, it’s your price point, consider equipping your team with the knowledge of comparable products and why your product is superior. You could also have statistics and data at the ready that indicate how much money this investment might save your customer over time.

Practicing these challenging scenarios with your sales team will ensure they’re less flustered and more equipped with tactics to move past a roadblock and toward a sale.

Intelligent listening skills

Teaching your sales reps to listen well is just as important as teaching them to speak well. Paying close attention to what your prospective customers say and feel during a sales conversation can uncover the secret to making that sale. And baseline? Customers want to feel heard. Come up with leading questions to learn more about customer goals and emphasize flexible tactics that can be adapted to every individual customer interaction.

You could run training exercises where team members pick out important information within a casual conversation transcript from a customer. Did they notice the prospect’s pain points? Do they have ideas on how to navigate them? You might also pair up team members and have them run scenarios with each other. The more practice your team gets, the more they’ll be capable and confident when handling the real thing.

Practiced pitches and closing sales

Your team should have their sales pitches and presentations down pat before interacting with customers. You want to train your team to be clear, engaging, and concise. They should also be confident when highlighting key benefits and emphasizing exactly what sets your product apart.

Ultimately, all sales training has an eye on closing sales consistently. When all the pieces are in place, you want to ensure your representatives can seal the deal. Great closing techniques not only drive revenue, but also plant the seeds for meaningful professional relationships. Customers who had a great experience with your business will return again and again, ensuring a successful (and profitable) future for your company.

Meanwhile, consider how a CRM like Zendesk Sell can help you gauge sales rep success and identify weak points that can be remedied through sales training. Request a demo of Sell today to experience how a powerful CRM can help you up-level your sales team and prepare it for success.

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