One key to sales is building strong customer relationships and, while one would expect this to translate directly into an increased focus customer experiences (CX), studies have shown a major disconnect between sellers and the experience. Despite 73% of customers now saying CX is the No. 1 thing they consider when deciding whether or not to purchase from a company, many organizations are training their sellers to focus on just the transaction rather than the whole experience.
With more than 50% of customers saying they would switch to a competitor after one bad experience, the stakes are high for giving customers the best experience possible. That statistic is troubling when paired with the fact that just 34% of buyers believe their sales reps are genuinely helpful during the buying process, according to Mindtickle’s “2023 State of Sales Productivity Report.”
Many factors contribute to the challenge of providing an optimal CX, but the most notable may be the lack of personalized and effective training for sellers. During training, too many new sales representatives receive generic programs that fail to prepare them with the nuanced skills required to react to diverse customer situations successfully. This deficiency becomes apparent to the buyer in more highly competitive situations where the ability to pivot strategically is critical and, therefore, requires a more comprehensive training strategy that ensures the customer experience is top of mind.
Navigating Customer Interactions
Customer expectations are continually evolving with their day-to-day business needs, creating an environment where being prepared to pivot quickly is needed. Sales teams must be trained on how to shift seamlessly and be knowledgeable enough about customers and their potential needs to react in the moment during calls. This underscores the critical necessity for sales professionals and businesses to reevaluate their strategies, align with evolving buyer expectations and ultimately enhance the overall CX.
One training exercise that shouldn’t be overlooked when cultivating customer-focused habits is active listening. It was found that in the most successful sales calls, customers talk 57% of the time, according to the Mindtickle report. By gleaning insights from call intelligence tools, companies and their sales representatives can better analyze and interpret customer interactions, such as themes covered, deal risks and whether the customer spoke more during the call.
Critical sales enablement and training programs equip sales representatives with the necessary skills to secure deals and create long-lasting customer relationships. In a volatile market landscape where customers may be quick to leave, representatives must give them a reason to stay. Navigating through high-risk deal interactions with poise and maintaining the customer relationship is difficult for even the best reps. Recognizing the impact of preparedness on CX, businesses are prompting more internal audits where training is a system pillar instead of a “when you have time” task.
Personalized Sales Training Through Data
Another difficult part of tying sales training to CX is the overall approach of the courses, discussions and industries. With specific products, vastly different customer needs and varying skill sets, there is no correct way to train generally, which is where a distinctly tailored approach is needed. This is done through personalized training, which addresses the diverse challenges faced by sales professionals, cultivates a sense of empowerment and confidence and allows seller to contribute uniquely to the overall CX.
To scale that across large sales teams, you can leverage your company’s data on seller behaviors. Sales managers can leverage sales tools to analyze calls to better understand the best strategies for interacting with customers and areas of improvement for each team member. They can also share insights with their team to learn from each other’s experiences, creating a dynamic learning culture that continuously evolves and adapts.
Sales managers can also build programs on skills proven to win deals, such as learning which keywords to use, appropriate speech pace, how to limit filler words and more. Reps can then practice their skills with engaging, bite-sized exercises that showcase winning behaviors through real-life examples and gamify the learning experience with leaderboards, challenges and quizzes.
Personalization to improve sales training and CX is needed, and your customers will be helpful in your success. According to Redpoint, 66% of consumers will share personal data about themselves if they think it will elevate their CX. Active listening, adaptability and strategic preparedness are pivotal components of a successful sales approach in the quest for a perfect customer experience interaction.
Parth Mukherjee is the Global VP of Product Marketing and GTM Strategy at Mindtickle, a sales enablement and revenue productivity platform.