How Bespoke Training Solutions Can Elevate Your Sales Team

With businesses seeing an average of 20% boost in the performance of sales representatives who have received effective sales training, developing your teams has never been more important. In the vastly competitive industry that is sales, business leaders must ensure that there are structures in place for continuous learning and development to ensure they have high-performing and driven teams.  This is where bespoke training solutions can be highly effective and offer the type of employee learning and development strategy your company needs to stay ahead of the competition. 

This guide will ask ‘what is bespoke training?’, how it differs from ‘off-the-shelf’ training, examples of bespoke sales training programs, and the key benefits of providing bespoke training solutions. 

What is Bespoke Training? 

Bespoke training is specifically designed to meet an organisation's unique needs rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.  This customised approach strongly emphasises the specific requirements, challenges, and pain points a business or department faces. 

The initial stages of bespoke training involve a collaborative and consultative effort between the training providers and the business. This early stage is marked by in-depth discussions and a meticulous examination of the existing skill sets within the team. During this period, the training program is shaped to align seamlessly with the organisation's unique needs and goals. This level of personalisation ensures that the training not only addresses current challenges but also anticipates and prepares the team for evolving market dynamics and customer expectations.

Common topics covered in bespoke sales training include:

• Negotiation 

• Handling objectives 

• Closing techniques 

• Building rapport

• Pitching 

• Using a CRM system

• Presenting 

• Lead generation 

Bespoke sales training offers an opportunity for a deeper understanding of a company and a team's workings, ultimately enhancing performance and elevating customer satisfaction. Internal teams can provide training, but it can also be provided by experienced external training providers when there isn't the capacity to provide it in-house.

How is Bespoke Training Different from Off-The-Shelf Training? 

Off-the-shelf training involves using pre-developed content that is readily available for immediate use, usually obtained from a content library or training provider. It offers cost-effective and convenient solutions for on-demand training needs. It often addresses core sales skills consistent across multiple industries, making the learning content easy to standardise. 

However, while industry experts may have created the training content and covered similar topics, it may not be as effective for an organisation's specific needs as bespoke training. Off-the-shelf training is designed to be more general and may not deliver a fully tailored learning experience. 

Examples of Bespoke Sales Training Programs

Due to the nature of bespoke sales training, the program structure and content can vary from training provider to training provider and business to business. However, common and effective bespoke training solutions include: 

Leadership and Management training -  Designed to develop the knowledge, skills, and strategies to become an effective leader. The training can cover various topics, including team management, decision-making, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence. Leadership and management training is valuable for sales professionals at various experience levels, from aspiring leaders to seasoned executives. 

Professional Development Training - This training aims to support sales professionals in developing new skills, elevating existing ones, and keeping sales teams up-to-date on emerging trends and technologies. Examples of subjects covered under professional development training include - presentation skills, enhancing customer experience, and creative thinking. 

Sales Training Courses -  Aimed at teaching the sales teams the most successful and proven sales techniques to increase their ability and drive business performance. Examples of areas covered in sales training courses include - negotiation, pitching, social selling, live prospection and account development. 

What are the Benefits of Bespoke Training Solutions? 

Providing sales training is vital to any sales team, regardless of industry or market or how experienced the SDRs are. However, the benefits are significant when the sales training is tailored to their specific needs, challenges, and pain points. Here are the top advantages of providing bespoke sales training solutions to your business. 

Tailored to your Business’s Needs 

Bespoke training solutions are specifically aimed at your company, ensuring that your sales team has the tools and techniques to reach your sales goals and objectives. This personalised approach considers your unique sales processes, customer engagement methods, and the strengths and weaknesses of your sales team. The training program is carefully designed based on your specific learning objectives that align with your business goals, incorporating various formats such as workshops, e-learning modules, role-playing exercises, and more.

By adopting this customised training approach, your sales team not only hones the skills necessary to close more deals but also contributes to the overall enhancement of your business's bottom line. This tailored training ensures that each sales team member receives targeted development, fostering a more effective and efficient approach to achieving your company's sales objectives.

Increased Team Engagement 

The statistics around sales training are not kind. 26% of SDRs have stated that their sales training is ineffective, and 84% say that they have forgotten what they learned in the first three months following the training. This is why it is vital that the training provided is tailored to their specific needs and not just ‘off-the-shelf’, generalised content. 

As bespoke sales training is directly relevant to the sales team’s roles, responsibilities, and pain points, it tends to be more motivating and engaging. Sales professionals are much more likely to be invested in training when they see a direct connection between the learning content and their day-to-day activities. 

Adaptability 

With products and technology constantly evolving, bespoke sales training courses ensure that SDRs are equipped to address specific pain points and challenges impacting the business, enabling them to adapt to market changes and customer demands and stay ahead of the curve at all times, providing the business with a competitive edge in an ever-changing sales environment. 

Elevated Customer Experience 

Bespoke sales training enhances the customer experience by providing a deeper understanding of customer needs, addressing specific challenges, improving communication and relationship-building skills, and enabling adaptability to market changes. This customised approach ensures sales teams offer tailored solutions, increasing customer satisfaction, loyalty, and an overall improved customer experience.

Examples of customer-focused training areas include - effective communication, building and maintaining customer relationships, closing strategies, prospecting and outreach, and overcoming objections. 

Improved Staff Retention 

It is stated that retention rates rise by 30% to 50% for companies that adopt strong learning and development cultures. Professionals want to feel they are constantly improving and have the right tools and support to do this. 

This is certainly true in sales as SDRs are highly competitive and want to ensure they have the right skills and resources to support them to maximise their performance.  Investment in employee growth demonstrates a commitment to the professional development of the sales team. With the training being tailored to their needs, it is more beneficial, memorable, and engaging, leading to higher job satisfaction and retention rates. 

Improves Team Cohesion and Confidence 

Team cohesion is highly significant for the performance, morale, and development of the sales team and the business. As bespoke sales training is designed specifically for a particular team or business, it contributes to a sense of cohesion among team members. Shared training experiences not only encourage collaboration but also establish a mutual understanding of best practices, which can help develop a supportive environment among the team well after the training programme has been completed.  

Furthermore, a well-trained sales team is a confident sales team. By participating in bespoke sales training, team members can gain the skills and knowledge to increase their ability to negotiate deals, handle objections, and build customer relationships. 

Increased Productivity 

Integrating bespoke sales training and development programmes directly into your businesses can boost your teams' and businesses' productivity. Ultimately, if you gain all the benefits mentioned above by providing bespoke sales training, your ROI is highly likely to be positive. In fact, according to McKinsey, well-performing organisations are 57% more likely to tailor their training programs than 1.3 times more likely to outperform competitors in revenue growth. 

For example, in a scenario where an existing SDR requires additional skills in specific sales areas, whether it be relationship building, negotiation, or closing sales, after completing the relevant bespoke sales training, their productivity is bound to rise significantly, as they are now equipped with the techniques and skills needed to perform their daily tasks more effectively. 

Final Word on Benefits of Bespoke Training Solutions

The impact of bespoke training solutions on sales teams is evident, offering a strategic advantage in the fiercely competitive sales industry. With the imperative for continuous learning and development underscored by a remarkable 20% average boost in sales representatives' performance, bespoke training emerges as a driver for elevating teams to unprecedented levels of success.

Bespoke training, tailored to an organisation's unique needs, starkly contrasts off-the-shelf alternatives, ensuring direct alignment with specific challenges and objectives. This targeted approach enhances team engagement by addressing individual roles, responsibilities, and pain points, fostering adaptability in an ever-evolving market. The benefits extend further to elevated customer experiences, improved staff retention, and increased productivity as organisations witness a positive return on investment.

In essence, bespoke training solutions empower sales teams with the skills, knowledge, and adaptability needed to thrive in a rapidly changing sales environment, ultimately driving sustained success and growth.

Looking for an Expert Bespoke Sales Training Provider? 

Our guide has highlighted the importance of providing bespoke training solutions tailored to your business and teams' specific needs, challenges, and needs. It supports performance, retention, and ROI and is vital to building a successful and driven team. Our expert team is ready to provide tailored training programmes built around your business and industry. 

For over 25 years, we have helped businesses worldwide across various sectors unlock their potential. Contact the team today and discover how our bespoke training can help you drive unprecedented future success.