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How to Use Video to Enhance Sales Training and Improve Performance

January 17, 2024
  • 1,185
  • 12 min

Video has rapidly become a go-to medium for sales training. 

Traditional ways of sales training like handouts and in-person talks are useful. But video can offer special benefits to help salespeople learn and elevate their skills.

This is primarily because videos are more engaging and easier to understand than printed materials or lectures. 

Watching a video keeps salespeople interested in the lessons. And the combination of visuals and sound improves the information stick. 

Videos also allow salespeople to practice skills by role-playing real scenarios. This helps them get better at things like pitches faster.

In short, video is a very useful tool to build strong sales skills. 

In this article, we will explore how you can leverage video to enhance your sales training program and drive better performance across your sales team.

Understanding the benefits of video in sales training

Using different types of videos for sales training offers some big advantages over traditional training methods. It’s a powerful visual medium that leads to better learning outcomes. 

For starters, seeing and hearing lessons on video can improve understanding and retention for your salespeople. The combined visual and auditory experience engages more of the brain than just reading text or listening to a speaker.

This, in turn, makes sales reps more likely to stay focused on sales training videos and absorb the material.

Secondly, videos also make sales concepts and narratives come alive. Demonstrations, examples, and animations in a video turn abstract ideas into concrete learning moments. Visuals help simplify complex information for easier comprehension.

Additionally, video allows for self-paced and repeated viewing. Salespeople can watch lessons multiple times to fully grasp them.

In a nutshell, the visual nature and versatility of video training is a game changer for sales enablement. It leads to higher engagement, better understanding, and improved skill development.

How can videos boost your sales training?

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1. Engaging and informative content

When it comes to creating training videos, you need to focus on making engaging and informative content. 

The good news is, there are plenty of different ways to do this. For example, you can always use storytelling to bring knowledge to life. 

All you have to do is weave your narratives that show how your product or services can solve real customer needs. As a matter of fact, stories actually have proven to make content more relatable and memorable. 

Alternatively, you could also incorporate actual sales scenarios that your team often encounters. You can do this by showing examples of discovery questions, common objections, sales presentations, and closings. 

Furthermore, when making sales training videos, make sure that your videos are short and focused. Ideally, you should break down your topics into quick 5 to 10-minute lessons that maintain attention. 

Most importantly, make sure to highlight the benefits salespeople get from applying what they learn. Tie concepts directly to selling outcomes, so the value is clear.

Following these best practices will help you create fun, focused videos that educate and inspire your salespeople. 

2. Interactive video learning tools

Interactive elements within Training Video boost engagement and comprehension. So, we highly recommend you find ways to make your sales videos more participatory.

To do this, you can build in short knowledge checks or quizzes periodically that let your salespeople tap or select answers onscreen to test understanding. You can also prompt your sales team to respond to questions asked in the video.

Furthermore, you can also encourage note-taking by providing prompts and space to capture key takeaways, and provide downloadable worksheets or activities tied to video content.

Incorporating coaching management software into your training strategy ensures that your sales team remains actively involved throughout the video sessions, leading to better comprehension and application of the lessons. This immediate reinforcement of knowledge contributes to a more impactful and lasting learning experience.

3. Personalized training and coaching

Video lets you give salespeople personalized coaching and training. Here are some ways to use video to tailor learning:

  1. Send short-form videos to sales reps about specific areas they can improve. Use clips to explain how to get better at those things.
  2. Record feedback videos for each person, focused on their strengths and needs.
  3. Make a library of short videos teaching different selling skills, like asking good questions. Let salespeople pick videos to work on weak areas.
  4. Film roleplays of sales reps and review the videos together to find improvement points.
  5. Capture videos of your top sellers using good sales techniques. Share these examples, so others can learn from them.
  6. Schedule online video coaching to practice pitches or go over call recordings. Virtual sessions make coaching easy to access.

With video, you can give targeted feedback and training to each rep in a personalized way. And you can also do it at scale. 

4. Accessibility and on-demand learning

To make the most out of your sales training, you must make your videos accessible from anywhere, so your sales team can learn on the go. 

Ideally, you should upload videos to an intranet or video hosting platforms like Vimeo or YouTube so that it’s accessible across different devices — desktops, smartphones, and tablets. This allows your sales reps to view content whether they’re in the office, at home, or traveling.

With on-demand video training at their fingertips, your sales team can learn whenever it’s convenient and keep their skills sharp. And the easy access to well-organized video content will drive continuous development despite hectic schedules. 

5. Role-playing and simulation videos

If you really want to bring your sales training to work its magic, consider adding video role-plays and simulations into the mix. Seeing those all-important sales skills in action can help drive home key lessons so they stick.

So, gather your sales team to film some mock sales calls and scenarios. Role-play common situations and conversations, like cold calls, objections, and closing. Then, review the footage together and provide friendly feedback on areas your team could improve. 

These video role-plays give your salespeople a no-pressure space to practice their skills and get constructive critiques.

Alternatively, you can also simulate real-world sales interactions that happen day-to-day. Just set up common scenarios your team faces, film multiple versions, and use the videos for ongoing training. 

Your salespeople can watch the videos and discuss how they would handle those situations when they arise. This allows for practical application of techniques and skill development through screen-based practice.

6. Successful sales scenarios and case studies

Seeing success stories in action is a great way to reinforce effective sales strategies. 

To get started, you can use video to highlight real-world examples of sales decks or scenarios that led to wins for your team. Specifically, you need to capture footage of your top performers in action, whether in live sales calls, a training role-play, or a simulated scenario. 

Once that part is done, review the videos together and discuss what made the sales approach so successful. Identify positive behaviors to emulate.

Another option is to film video case studies analyzing wins and losses to illustrate important lessons. Walk through what worked well in a successful campaign and where there were missteps in an unsuccessful one. Discuss as a team how you could improve results next time based on the case study examples. 

The point is that seeing success stories and case studies come to life provides invaluable, tangible lessons your team can apply on the job. 

7. Collaboration and knowledge sharing

Video can work wonders for collaboration and knowledge sharing across your sales teams. 

For instance, you can set up video chats or online forums for your salespeople to swap ideas and insights. This can encourage sharing questions, struggles, wins, tips, techniques, competitive intel — anything valuable. 

You can also collaborate through video role-play. To do this, have your sales team simulate sales scenarios, record practice sessions, exchange feedback, or assign small groups to create video presentations analyzing real sales strategies together.

The goal is to get your sales squad connecting through video. This will spark new thinking, deeper learning, and better approaches, and leverage your entire sales team’s wisdom. 

Tips for creating sales training videos

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  • Keep ongoing training and updates

Sales training shouldn’t just be a one-time thing. In fact, you should consider keeping your team’s skills sharp with ongoing video training and updates.

For example, you can record a video that refreshes important competencies for your salespeople to review regularly. These bite-sized tutorials allow them to brush up on crucial skills anytime. 

Additionally, you can also record quick video updates on new products, market shifts, evolving customer needs, or changes to your sales strategies. Such short videos can help to communicate key info efficiently to your team when things change.

Remember, the key is to fully integrate video into your ongoing sales training plan. This allows you to leverage video for continuous education that boosts the overall performance of your sales team over the long term.

  • Measure effectiveness and performance

To optimize your video sales training, be sure to measure its impact with key metrics and performance tracking.

Start by looking at video view counts, average viewing duration, completion rates, and quiz scores if you have knowledge checks built in. These metrics allow you to see how well your team is retaining information from the videos.

More importantly, analyze skills application and sales outcomes. Look for improvements in reps’ ability to demonstrate competencies like effective questioning, presentations, rapport building, and closing. 

Most importantly, track sales performance indicators before and after video training like call quality, conversions, deal size, and customer retention.

Such analytics can help you continuously refine your video sales training approach to boost results. 

So, double down on video content that drives performance and ensure your video learning translates into real sales improvements.

Don’t just assume your video training works — actually measure its effectiveness!

  • Overcome common challenges

When implementing video-based sales training, you may face some challenges. Be prepared to address any technology barriers on your team that make adopting video difficult. 

Wherever necessary, provide sufficient support and resources to help reps access and use video tools smoothly.

You may also encounter engagement issues if reps are resistant to learning through video. To overcome this challenge, make your video content more interactive, bite-sized, and relevant to generate interest among your sales team. 

You can even consider showing how video can make training more engaging while strengthening their skills.

If the adoption rate is still low, highlight reps who have successfully used video training and improved performance. Build a culture that embraces video through positive peer encouragement. You can even incorporate incentives related to video training completion or knowledge checks.

Remember, the key is addressing challenges head-on and having a plan to drive video adoption. With the right technology support, culture, and incentives, you can most certainly overcome resistance to using video in your sales training.

  • Integrate video into overall sales training strategy

When adding videos to your sales training, align them with your broader training objectives. Ensure video content helps achieve core competency goals for your sales team.

There are plenty of ways to do this. For one, you can identify how video can address knowledge gaps or skills that need reinforcement. Then, build a video training plan that complements in-person workshops, e-learning modules, coaching, and other learning formats you offer.

You can also structure videos to cover key topics, scenarios, and strategies identified in your training requires assessments. After doing so, track performance metrics before and after video implementation to prove its impact and optimize content.

The goal here is to seamlessly integrate video into your overall sales training curriculum. It should work cohesively with other learning approaches for unified development. 

Conclusion

If you made it this far, you now know video offers immense potential to engage your sales team while driving skills and performance. 

The strategies covered, from aligning video with broader goals to tracking analytics, will set you up for seamless implementation. 

While adopting video may take some change management, the payoff can be game-changing. 

So, leverage your team’s insights and coaching through collaborative videos. 

Now is the time to step up your sales training with targeted, well-executed video content. Motivate your team, fill knowledge gaps, and continually improve with the power of video.

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