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Organizations around the world have faced many changes as a result of the global pandemic. Supply chains were, and continue to be, disrupted as many companies transitioned to remote or hybrid workforces. And in some unfortunate cases, companies even had to lay off portions of their workforce to stay afloat.
While it’s true that some companies struggled through the transition, many others have thrived. In fact, most surveys taken post-COVID revealed that working from home led to quicker turnaround on projects, improved productivity and an increase in outbound calls for sales representatives. This success does not come easy, however. The transition to remote work wasn’t a simple task and onboarding sales reps remotely requires a bigger commitment than ever before. With this in mind, there’s never been a greater need for digital sales enablement.
The Truth About Remote Work and Sales Team Success
A study by Stanford of 16,000 workers found that working from home increased productivity by 13% , attributed to more calls per minute, a quieter work environment, and more hours worked per shift because of fewer distractions and sick days. And ConnectSolutions found that 77% of those who work remotely at least a few times a month show increased productivity, with 30% doing more work in less time.
So sales executives shouldn’t be worried, right? It’s clear that remote sales teams are more productive – the statistics prove it , yet not every company is thriving in the post-COVID, remote/hybrid world. It’s easy for sales managers and executives to blame their declining sales numbers on work-from-home changes and the possibility of decreased productivity. But what if the connection between a failing sales force and declining numbers isn’t related to remote work at all? What if, in fact, the issue is linked to poor digital sales enablement training?
How sales enablement bridges the gap to success
Sales enablement isn’t necessarily a new concept. In fact, it has experienced a 343% increase in adoption over the last five years , so it’s clear many companies are thinking about their sales enablement strategy . However, prehistoric approaches to sales training continue to hold some companies back. In some cases, 26% of sales reps say their current sales training is ineffective, while a staggering 42% of reps don’t feel they are equipped with the proper information before making customer calls.
Companies with a struggling sales team should be looking at remote selling as pure opportunity. The fact is, in our post-COVID world, the majority of organizations and sales teams see an increase in productivity and customer engagement through more calls. So if you’re a company that’s seeing a decline, maybe it’s time to reevaluate your digital sales enablement tool(s) and training strategy .
Give employees what they want
Today’s employee wants to consume their sales training like they do their news and social media materials – in real-time, relevant, bite sized nuggets of information. Organizations sending out links to hour-long training sessions on the latest changes to the CRM are doing nothing but disabling their sales teams. In fact, most individuals forget about 50% of the information presented to them within one hour, and 84% of sales training is forgotten in the first three months.
Enabling an effective salesforce to stand out above the competition, particularly in remote selling, requires sales enablement tools that go above and beyond to provide contextual training directly within the apps themselves. This approach ensures your digital sales enablement program mimics the modern technology employees use at home and demand from the workplace as well.
The global pandemic caused a rapid increase in digital adoption, with some experts saying we lept ahead the equivalent of five years over about 12 months. While this is quite amazing, it can also be scary for businesses to keep up with the constant changes and learning demands of their employees.
What’s required for successful digital sales enablement
As in-person learning in the corporate and organizational setting is on the decline, the need for an employee-centric approach to learning is more necessary than ever before. Whether a sales manager or executive is onboarding a new team member or implementing a new system, they need to be able to “meet” their employees where their employees are – remote or in the office.
Today, an effective digital sales enablement platform must implement a certain level of microlearning – short, focused learning that provides team members with quick, precise, easily accessible information where they use it most. According to eLearning Industry , people don’t remember 80% of what they learned within 30 days. It takes repetition for long-term memorization, and the sales enablement tools that marry microlearning with real-time access to resources will save companies the most time and money.
With 84% of sales reps saying they achieve their quotas once an effective sales enablement strategy is inplace, the road to retention is much clearer. Sales reps who achieve their quotas not only make the company more money, but tend to stick around for a while.
Conversely, a struggling sales team can also indicate a disconnect between the sales and marketing departments, which is a crucial component to any strong digital sales enablement process. To get the most “bang for their buck”, organizations should be engaging their marketing teams in virtually every facet of the company’s sales enablement strategy. Surveys have found that sales teams who work closely with marketing see 41% greater growth in reaching their quotas .
In many cases, sales teams simply lack the time and resources to do their jobs effectively. Great digital sales enablement content should include flawless access to training, playbooks, sales messaging, white papers, case studies, and other resources that enable SDRs to quickly access information and close deals faster.
How to get ahead
As prospects continue to self-educate more than ever, your sales teams need ongoing training and education to stay one step ahead to solve for buyers' pain points. Spekit is the always-on, digital adoption platform and learning companion that integrates flawlessly into your tools and programs and enhances your digital sales enablement efforts. We make it easier than ever for your employees to truly adopt the apps and platforms they use every day through digital enablement – the crossroad of digital adoption and sales enablement. If you’re ready to embrace the future of learning at work, let's chat today!
