What is Sales Management Training? 6 Programs to Build Skill

What if I told you that you have everything you need to reach your revenue goals today?

All you have to do is tap into your sales team’s potential and equip them to transform their ambitions into actionable goals — all you need is the right training. Building a successful sales team takes time, strategy, trust, and the right sales management training.

What you’ll learn:

What is sales management training?

Sales management training involves specialized educational courses designed to enhance your sales team’s capabilities. Courses combine leadership-building techniques, sales strategies, industry best practices, and comprehensive sales enablement software. These elements help expand your sales reps’ skills and give them the confidence to succeed.

Sales management training also benefits those looking to climb the corporate ladder. Think of the training as coaching for coaches. Not only do you need to know the rules of the sport, but you also need to learn how to motivate your players. It’s great for any sales rep who wants to become a team leader or for any team leader who’s looking to boost their skills.

Courses come in several different formats. Some are fully online. Others are taught as in-person workshops. There’s even sales training software that can be purchased with a variety of training modules and integrates into your CRM. Programs can range from a few hours to semester-long classes. Sometimes, teaching videos are prerecorded so you can follow along at your own pace. Others are live with one-on-one instructor guidance.

We’ll highlight a few courses below. In the meantime, let’s examine how sales management training can benefit you and your team.

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Benefits of sales management training for sales teams

Everyone needs some level of sales management training. The beauty of a well-designed sales management training program is that it constantly evolves to keep pace with the latest benchmarks and best practices. It equips you with the acumen to remain at the top of your sales game with a newly sharpened competitive edge.

A sales management training program will help you and your reps:

Create the right sales culture

Creating a strong sales culture is critical for any organization. As they say, it starts at the top and works down through the organization. At the highest level, your sales managers will be using their skills to build a strong sales culture. When they put it into practice, members of the sales team will understand and appreciate the approach. If someone on the team has higher leadership aspirations, they can take their experiences and apply them to that next level.

Develop the soft skills of sales management

People say the soft skills are the hard skills. And when it comes to management, this is accurate. Often, sales managers are promoted for being good at the tasks and conversations around closing deals. They’re not promoted because they know how to manage human beings.

The ability to manage the human element comes in many shapes and sizes. The more someone knows how to do this, the more it opens career advancement opportunities. Some training programs cover essential management skills like coaching, sales performance management, motivation, conflict resolution, and strategic planning. They use techniques like role-playing, case studies, and real-world applications to build practical skills. Some even offer mentorship programs so you can get on-the-job training.

Create a team of super-closers

A strong sales management training program will teach leaders how to train and coach their sales reps around the rejections they may face day in and day out. Additionally, a strong sales management training program will teach the sales manager how to incorporate skills training for their sales reps as part of the sales rep’s onboarding or ongoing training. Topics could include a deep-dive discovery, advanced closing techniques, objection handling, negotiation skills, and buyer psychology.

Teach a scalable sales process

Sales management training programs provide a structured framework for every stage of the sales process. Training emphasizes data-driven decision-making and leveraging CRM insights to refine strategies. You’ll be coached to understand this process, how to use the right tools to manage it, and how to effectively communicate it to the sales team.

Attract top sellers

Top sellers want to work with winners. You can build a strong employer brand that is attractive to top sales talent. Learn how to build a positive sales culture that provides opportunities for professional development and showcases the team’s successes and achievements. Additionally, you’ll learn how to write better candidate profiles and job descriptions and improve your interviewing skills. You’ll also learn how to deploy effective recruitment strategies, including networking, online platforms, and employee referrals, all of which are used to reach potential candidates.

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How to choose the right sales enablement software

Sales management programs aim to help you equip your sales reps to become the MVPs of the team. However, training your team is more than just sharing strategies. Effective sales managers use programs that build hard and soft skills. Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their players and motivate them.”

There is a balance between sales management and sales leadership. Your program should offer sales management techniques that focus on the hard skills needed for day-to-day sales coaching as well as sales leadership development training that prioritizes soft skills managers can use to inspire their teams.

Let’s talk about how.

1. Define your needs

Think about what pain points your sales reps face. What are your team’s strengths and weaknesses? Perhaps they lack consistent messaging or spend too much time on administrative tasks. Maybe they need help with negotiation tactics or product knowledge. What do these challenges stand in the way of (like increasing close rates or shortening the sales cycle)?

2. Evaluate the software’s features

A content management system is a critical component. It acts as a centralized hub for all sales content. Equally important is a robust sales training and coaching functionality. These include tools for creating and delivering training programs, tracking rep progress, and providing personalized coaching.

Seamless communication and collaboration features are essential. They facilitate interaction between reps, managers, and other departments. Strong analytics and reporting capabilities are also vital. They’ll help you provide insights into rep performance, content effectiveness, and overall sales trends. Finally, the software’s ability to integrate with existing CRM and other sales tools is critical for a smooth and efficient workflow.

3. Prioritize soft skills development

An ideal course should enhance communication skills through exercises like role-playing, call recording analysis, and feedback tools. It should also offer resources and training on active listening techniques to improve reps’ understanding of customer needs.

The course should facilitate the development of problem-solving abilities through interactive learning modules and simulations of real-world sales scenarios.

4. Consider user experience and adoption

The course, especially if it is all online, should have an intuitive interface that is easy to use and navigate, encouraging rep adoption and minimizing the learning curve. Consider mobile accessibility that allows reps to access information and resources on the go.

5. Make an informed decision

Read customer reviews and testimonials to gain insights into other users’ experiences. Request demos and free trials to test the software firsthand and ensure it meets your specific needs. Compare pricing models and feature sets across different options to find the best fit for your budget and requirements. Most importantly, involve your sales team in the decision-making process to guarantee their comfort with the chosen course and its features, fostering buy-in and maximizing adoption.

By carefully considering these factors, you can select the right program to empower your sales team, improve their hard and soft skills, and drive revenue growth.

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6 sales management training programs to build skills

Let’s talk about some sales management training programs for you to consider.

1. The Harris Consulting Group

Who they are: The Harris Consulting Group offers both sales training and sales management training programs. They’re built for sales teams seeking customized training programs to elevate their sales results. They’ll help you take your sales management and leadership skills to the next level in the modern sales landscape with training that combines being a data-driven, results-oriented sales leader and maintaining the humanity you and your team crave.

Features: It’s designed to increase pipeline quality, revenue, and forecasting accuracy to improve win rates and sales confidence.

Focus: The focus is on the soft skills that sales managers and sales leaders need to understand to get the best out of their sales teams. Harris’s N.E.A.T. Selling™ Training and Reinforcement Program focuses on improving your leadership’s capabilities to navigate their many responsibilities in the revenue process from sales skills, data interpretation, decision making, and having those uncomfortable leadership conversations that are sometimes required. It’s particularly beneficial for organizations looking to implement a data-driven, results-oriented approach while fostering a supportive team environment.

Price: Contact for details.

Location: This program is a hybrid, with classes available online and in-person.

2. JB Sales

Who they are: JB Sales provides sales training and consulting services to some of the world’s leading companies.

Features: Choose from a variety of programs for sales managers and individual reps. Your options include boot camps, workshops, and online courses. They offer many coaching techniques, including role-playing, simulations, and real-world case studies.

Focus: This is a practical sales training course. You’ll learn modern sales techniques and strategies. JB Sales emphasizes building confidence, communication skills, and closing deals.

Price: Individual membership ranges from $249 to $7,499 per year. For teams, depending on the number of users, the cost ranges from $7,500 to $30,000 per year for remote access, $40,000 for onsite training in the United States, and $50,000 for onsite training internationally. Keep in mind that these fees do not include travel expenses for onsite training.

Location: The program is offered remotely or on-site.

3. Integrity Solutions

Who they are: Integrity Solutions is a team of sales training and performance improvement experts. They believe the path to developing a great sales coach is by uniting emotional selling with logical selling. Integrity Solutions equips sales managers to build trusted relationships with their sales reps with integrity at their core.

Features: Their programs cater to sales managers, sales reps, and customer service professionals and are customizable to fit specific organizational needs. They emphasize coaching and reinforcement to ensure lasting behavior change.

Focus: You’ll learn how to build an authentic connection and trust in your sales interactions. Integrity Solutions emphasizes ethical selling prices and aligns sales training with customer values. You’ll learn sales training, sales coaching, sales assessments, and customer service training.

More seasoned sales pros looking to move into management will also find Integrity Solutions’ sales coaching program beneficial. The program instructs you how to explore and teach the emotional side of selling to your team, sales rep development with goal setting and delegation, and creating a team of problem solvers.

Price: The Integrity Solutions program is $1,950 per person. Discounts are offered for groups of three or more from the same organization.

Location: This is a hybrid format with online, on-site, and blended training options.

4. Salesforce Sales Representative Certification

Who they are: Salesforce is a leading CRM platform provider. Their software, sales tools, and technology have propelled sales teams around the globe to success.

Features: The program is hosted on the proprietary platform Trailhead. It offers a self-guided online learning environment so you can learn at your own pace. At the end of the program, you’ll take a proctored exam. Once you pass, you’ll earn a certification. The exam can be taken on-site or online. For more information, you can view the exam guide for recommended training resources and additional format details.

Focus: You’ll learn how to use the Salesforce CRM platform — used by over 150,000 global companies. You’ll learn common sales methodologies (like customer-centric strategies and sales pipeline management in Sales Cloud).

Price: Trailhead is free. The Salesforce Sales Representative Certification exam costs $200 plus applicable taxes as required per local law.

Location: Participate via online learning, with options for proctored exams either at a test center or remotely.

5. RAIN Group

Who they are: RAIN Group is a global sales training company delivering results through in-person and virtual sales training, coaching, and reinforcement.

Features: They offer a suite of programs covering sales strategy to coaching, emphasizing sales enablement and providing tools and resources to support ongoing development. RAIN Group’s sales management training is based on their Top-Performing Sales Manager research. RAIN uses the data to create a program that focuses on developing performance management, pipeline and forecasting, how to lead sales meetings, and talent management. You’ll be able to build, motivate, and run a team of high-performing sales reps through their modules.

The training is delivered in various formats, including in-person workshops, online courses, and virtual instructor-led training. The RAIN Selling methodology is a core component of many of their programs.

Focus: You’ll develop high-performing sales teams through research-backed methodologies and practical skills training.

Price: Online courses are $199 per month.

Location: RAIN Group training has online and onsite options.

6. Hoffman LLC

Who they are: Hoffman LLC offers strategic sales training for closers by closers.

Features: Their programs are designed for sales managers at all levels. The goal is to develop leadership capabilities and communication skills and create a positive sales culture. Hoffman LLC uses assessments and feedback to help leaders identify areas for development and may include executive coaching as part of their programs.

Focus: Hoffman LLC develops sales leaders and management skills. Their focus is on strategic thinking, coaching, and building high-performing teams.

Price: Individual membership is $895 per year. A team membership starts at $995 per member to $1,995 per member.

Location: Most classes take place online. Live, in-person training is only available at the $1,995 enterprise membership for teams.

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Watch your sales soar

Choosing the right sales management training course is a crucial step in empowering your sales team and driving revenue growth. By focusing on user experience, comprehensive features, and a strong emphasis on soft skills development, you can create a sales management training program that transforms your team into top performers. With the right tools and training, your sales team can unlock its full potential, exceed targets, and drive lasting success for your organization.