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Upskilling is a term referring to additional training for your customer service staff, which is used to transform their capabilities, improve their performance, and hone their existing skills. For sales staff, providing certain avenues such as one-on-one coaching and collaboration exercises are a few of the most effective ways to boost numbers and efficiency. Due to the technological innovations of today, it is becoming more and more difficult to source industry-ready talents. Often, there remains a perceivable gap between their current skillset versus what is required to keep up with the competition. Therefore, upskilling your workforce is a necessity for all organizations that need to adapt to market disruptions and constant shifts in the digital world.
According to an article on Medium, outsourcing sales staff can be 43 percent more efficient than generating leads in-house because they tend to have more specialized training. One of the ‘5 Misconceptions About Outsourcing Sales’ is that outsourcing is low quality, when the truth is that low quality is often due to a lack of skills. Even though many outsourcing companies provide training to staff, it’s still worth ensuring that all your staff possesses the skills needed for your company to succeed. Communicating the benefits to customers and then referring them to your in-house experts for a detailed call or demo can streamline the sales process. This is why in-house upskilling is a vital part of any sales company.
Ensuring that your team is properly trained doesn’t just mean success for them and better sales for the business, it’s also setting yourself up for success in the future. Maryville University’s discussion on organizational leadership emphasizes the growing demand for leaders knowledgeable in tech-driven employee training methods who are able to create structures to manage different types of workforces. This is because these methods will help successfully upskill any type of employee – whether they are outsourced or in-house – and are a great way to demonstrate your own managerial expertise. You’ll also have a more strategically-oriented team with clear goals, objectives, and priorities.
Before training your staff, it’s important to decide on the right approach for their development. Conduct an analysis of the business’s functions and then identify skill gaps and potential weaknesses that will help you decide on the type of training you need. For instance, factors such as duration, location, and medium are dependent on what skills they need to work on as well as your overall budget. Next, you should attempt to establish a training structure that aligns with your organization’s mission and objectives. After the first batch of sales staff concludes their training, assessing and evaluating the training program is crucial to making any improvements that may be required. Constantly updating this training program should be enough to sustain workforce development over the long-term.
Lastly, another area to focus on regarding the upskilling of your sales staff is to continually update them regarding advancements in the digital world. According to People Matters Global, “tech-powered sales enablement strategies are redefining the seller’s journey”, so “they require familiarity with the latest tools for remaining relevant.” Cutting-edge tools are being adopted by major players in the market, such as database systems powered by AI technology. This enables them to identify potential customers and lead to deeper market penetration. Furthermore, predictive modeling and data analytics are becoming key methods in targeting buyers. It is also important to note that automation isn’t taking away sales jobs, but rather optimizing and revolutionizing the sales process as a whole. As a result, ensuring that they are familiar with these digital tools and providing consistent coaching is vital to further your organization’s future growth.