Virtual Sales Training During COVID-19 Travel Restrictions

Is it time to look at virtual training options again?

I just flew back from Amsterdam after spending a week leading a very successful instructor-led training or “ILT” session for a global technology company.

I love facilitating in-person live training sessions. There's nothing really like being there in person, seeing the participants and immersing ourselves and learning for a couple of days. But you know, that's not always possible.

The good news is that technology and video platforms have evolved to make E-learning and virtual training viable options for sales training. Companies like Zoom, RingCentral, Adobe and Microsoft are getting a lot of attention these days and for very good reason.

Ideally, E-learning and virtual training is part of a larger training program and not looked at just as a standalone. But this may become an even more of a cornerstone for your training program in the near future.

We facilitated thousands of live virtual training and group cohort sessions over the past 10 years and here are some of the key takeaways we've learned.

#1 Keep the Content Engaging

First, make it engaging by including lots of polls, chats, and discussion questions in your virtual training.

#2 Make Participation the Standard

Call on people to participate and set the standard that they're going to be expected to be active participants and not passively watching a webinar.

#3 Require Pre-work & Homework

Use video whenever possible and require pre-work, homework and other activities in between sessions.

#4 Space Out the Learning & Give Time to Reflect

Space out the learning, keep the sessions relatively short and give time to reflect and apply the skills in between the sessions. And consider leveraging E-learning content, complemented with live virtual cohort sessions to reinforce and apply the concepts.

We found that a combination of the e-learning video content to cover the basics—complemented by these live weekly or bi-weekly virtual cohort sessions—is a great combination to address the skill development and the collaboration without taking sellers out of the field for days at a time.

Managers can still coach using video technology and listening in or observing web meetings with clients and the core concepts are still the same.

The application needs planning and practice to execute successfully. You know, get creative, leverage technology and virtual training experts in your program.

There are a lot of options here to continue a robust interactive training program while minimizing the travel requirements and the expense of on-site training.

If you'd like to learn more about incorporating live virtual or on-demand training into your sales training or sales management training programs, contact us for more information.