Do you feel like you or your sales team aren’t hitting your full potential? Enter the world of sales training programs. These specialized courses aren’t just nice to have. They’re game-changers that can help you reach and exceed your targets.
In this article, you’ll learn what a sales training program is and why they’re so beneficial. We’ll also dive into the best sales training programs for boosting sales performance and achieving sales goals.
What is a sales training program?
Sales training programs are technical courses that help develop and master essential sales skills and strategies. They might be a short online course, a series of sessions or an in-person workshop. The goal is to improve how salespeople and sales leaders approach the sales process by building on individual parts of their skill sets.
For example, a rep might take a broad sales course that builds on skills like prospecting, lead qualification, cold calling, negotiation and objection handling. By the end of the course, they’ll have a range of new tools and sales tactics to boost productivity and land more deals.
6 benefits of sales training
Sales training is crucial in developing a highly skilled, motivated and effective sales team. Here are the main benefits of sales training for both sales reps and entire companies:
Enhanced skills and increased confidence. Training courses improve key hard and soft skills like communication, active listening and empathy, which are all crucial for building client relationships. Strong skills boost confidence, helping close deals and drive sales success.
Increased adaptability. LinkedIn’s State of Sales report for 2022 found that top sales reps spend 17% of their time training and learning new skills. In an ever-changing marketplace, being able to adapt and grow is crucial. By consistently learning new skills and evolving the sales approach, sales reps can rise above the challenges and reach their targets.
Career growth opportunities. A honed skill set and increased confidence can help salespeople find more opportunities for employment, promotion and ongoing career growth.
Increased revenue. A more effective sales team can lead to higher sales and revenue. Managers who continually reinforce strong sales training increase their teams’ chances of meeting or exceeding sales targets.
Consistent sales practices. Training fosters a consistent approach to sales, ensuring that all team members follow best practices. Courses can align the sales team with the company’s values, mission and brand messaging.
Better customer relationships. Successful sales reps can better understand and meet customer needs, improving satisfaction and loyalty as a result. Salespeople can nurture long-term relationships with their clients by training in relationship-building techniques.
What are the different types of sales training programs?
Sales training programs range from short online beginner courses to multi-day management-level workshops and everything in between. Each broad type of program has a myriad of courses with different teaching structures, learning materials and audiences.
Below, we explain the three broad types of training programs. Each focuses on a different type of learner based on current experience levels and skill sets. Keep them in mind when scanning the recommended list of training programs to identify the most suitable option for you or your team.
1. Sales training for beginners
Beginner sales training programs focus on the basics. They’re designed to get brand-new salespeople ready for hire for entry-level positions and internships. These programs teach foundational topics like the sales process, how to use sales software and common sales strategies.
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2. Sales rep training programs
Sales rep training courses teach key sales skills to junior and senior-level sales representatives. The programs are categorized based on the skill, industry or methodology they aim to enhance. For example, a company might send a sales rep to a structured sales workshop to learn about the Challenger methodology or to complete a course in sales negotiation tactics.
3. Sales management training programs
Training sales managers is different from training sales reps. Rather than learning specific sales skills, team leaders must learn how to manage, mentor and track the sales reps who report to them. Sales management training courses often focus on leadership and team management, motivation techniques, conflict resolution and sales forecasting.
10 best sales training programs in 2024
The list below covers a range of top sales training opportunities, including online courses, in-person training workshops and free sales training programs. You’ll discover the core purposes of each option and which type of learner they’re best for.
1. Pipedrive Learn: best for customer relationship management
Provider: Pipedrive
Location: the Pipedrive website
Length: short
Topic: sales skills and CRM functionality
Audience: entry-level and junior salespeople
Price: free
Pipedrive’s educational platform, Pipedrive Learn, provides sales, marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) courses. With a structured and user-friendly learning environment, Pipedrive Learn applies powerful CRM functions to a specific business context.
Pipedrive features courses on general sales and marketing topics, plus CRM-specific courses to empower salespeople with the required skills to get the most out of their CRM. The material includes modules on advanced sales techniques, CRM optimization, pipeline management and lead generation.
The Pipedrive Learn platform also offers video tutorials, webinars and guidance from sales mentors and experts. Alongside an extensive educational blog and community forum, reps can find everything they need to streamline customer management on the Pipedrive website.
Key lessons
Pipedrive’s sales courses focus on:
Sales pipeline management
Advanced sales techniques
CRM fundamentals
Key sales methodologies
Sales management skills
Sales communication skills
Who Pipedrive Learn is best for
Pipedrive’s sales training material is ideal for sales professionals starting a new role and needing to learn how to use CRM tools efficiently. The strong focus on CRM-related content is also helpful for sales managers who want to ensure their team uses Pipedrive to its full potential.
Provider: Sandler
Location: various in-house training centers around the world
Length: short to ongoing
Topic: aspects of the sales process
Audience: all experience levels
Price: contact Sandler for a quote
Sandler Training is renowned for taking a comprehensive and methodological approach to sales training for over 30 years. Its sales training programs cater to different parts of the sales process and personal development.
Sandler’s flagship program, the Sales Foundations, introduces its proprietary seven-step sales process that beginners will find easy to understand. The training walks learners through rapport building, pain points, budgets, decision-making frameworks and post-sale activities.
Sandler also offers sales management and leadership training, sales process enhancement and industry-specific training sessions. Additionally, the website features online training programs, including courses for sales prospecting, social selling and sales management.
Key lessons
The Sales Foundations course’s main learning outcomes include:
Basic sales skills
Fundamental sales strategies
Enterprise selling
Sales leadership
Negotiation skills
Personal development
Who Sandler is best for
With a highly structured methodology and foundational principles, Sandler’s Sales Foundations course is best for entry-level and junior salespeople who want to build their skills and advance their careers. For less experienced reps, the clear course structure simplifies the selling process into manageable components.
Provider: ASLAN
Location: online or in person
Length: one day to three months
Topics: inside sales, field sales, call center sales and sales management
Audience: all experience levels
Price: contact ASLAN for a quote
ASLAN provides tailored training for a range of sales roles and different industries. Its methodologies take a customer-centric approach to sales. The programs seek to shift the salesperson’s mindset and build trust by focusing on customer needs and challenges.
ASLAN bases its training on a consultative sales style. This means the salesperson consults with the customer and asks questions to identify how their offerings can address the customer’s problems.
ASLAN’s sales training includes in-person workshops, online courses and customized training programs. Its core offerings are long courses in inside sales, field sales, sales leadership and customer service.
Key lessons:
Key lessons in ASLAN’s sales training include:
Consultative sales approach
Prospecting and sales lead generation
Upselling and cross-selling
Building and maintaining customer relationships
Communication and consultative selling skills
Negotiation and closing strategies
Sales management
Who ASLAN is best for
ASLAN’s training programs suit entry-level sales reps and seasoned managers alike. They mostly benefit companies that need to develop an empathetic and consultative selling style, particularly in industries where relationship-building is crucial to sales.
Provider: The Brooks Group
Location: hybrid online and in-person
Length: varies
Topics: a broad range of sales skills
Audience: all experience levels
Price: contact Brooks Group for a quote
The Brooks Group is a sales enablement and consulting firm that’s provided research-backed training since 1977. Its training material focuses on practical, real-world skills that B2B salespeople can immediately apply to their day-to-day sales activities.
The Brooks Group’s primary training module is the IMPACT Selling system. IMPACT is a comprehensive B2B sales program that spans the entire sales cycle, from prospecting to nurturing long-term relationships. It typically starts with quick e-learning courses and progresses into workshops that refine and test key skills.
The goal is to provide a simple selling framework with actionable sales skills that can be applied to any B2B organization’s sales environment. In addition, the Brooks Group offers specialized programs in sales management, account management, customer service and sales coaching.
Key lessons
Key lessons of IMPACT Selling include:
Prospecting and lead qualification
Sales presentation skills and templates
Consultative selling techniques
Closing strategies
Account management skills
Who IMPACT Selling is best for
IMPACT Selling is particularly well-suited to B2B sales teams requiring a simple approach to understanding customers in a complex sales environment with long sales cycles and multiple decision-makers.
Provider: Challenger Inc.
Location: in-person, online and hybrid learning
Length: varies
Topics: Challenger methodology
Audience: all experience levels
Price: contact Challenger for a quote
Challenger is a sales training program based on the best-selling book The Challenger Sale. Challenger’s sales methodology builds on research that identified high-performing sales reps who stand out by challenging their customers’ thinking and providing new insights and solutions.
The methodology expands beyond basic consultative selling by getting salespeople to teach customers to question their assumptions.
Challenger’s main offering is Challenger Activation, a combination of online sales training programs, support and expert advice. Rather than taking a one-off training course, the target is to continuously exercise and reinforce the learning.
Key lessons
Challenger Activation teaches how to:
Apply the Challenger sales model
Understand customers’ needs
Transition from sales pitches to a teaching approach
Offer unique insights and make it easy for the customer to act
Close and negotiate more effectively
Who Challenger sales training is best for
Challenger’s sales training is suitable for salespeople interested in moving beyond traditional relationship-building tactics and becoming more assertive in the sales conversation.
Take salespeople who deal with large contracts to sell complex products or services to multiple stakeholders within an organization (i.e., enterprise selling). These reps need to stand out through expertise and insights rather than just product features.
Provider: RAIN Group
Location: in-person or online
Length: varies
Topics: consultative selling, insight selling, sales skills, sales management
Audience: all experience levels
Price: contact RAIN Group for a quote
RAIN Group is an award-winning sales organization that teaches research-based methodologies to salespeople and organizations. It offers a diverse range of courses, from fundamental skills to high-level strategic account management.
Each training program has a modular design with a stack of content, tools and advice. For example, the Consultative Selling course has 85 components covering how to build rapport, overcoming sales objections and more. Meanwhile, the Insight Selling program teaches salespeople to leverage insights and add value to customer interactions.
With a strong focus on high-value sales, RAIN teaches strategies for long sales cycles and multiple decision-makers typical of a B2B environment.
Key lessons
The main focus of RAIN sales training is:
Consultative and insight-based selling techniques
Sales fundamentals
Advanced prospecting, negotiation and closing techniques
Strategic account management
Sales performance optimization
Who RAIN Group sales training is best for
Because of its emphasis on high-value sales, RAIN Group courses are particularly useful for enterprise B2B sales, where salespeople need a consultative, insight-based approach to close large deals effectively.
Provider: Richardson Sales Performance
Location: online, self-guided or instructor-led training
Length: varies
Topics: sales process and management
Audience: all experience levels
Price: contact Richardson for a quote
Richardson Sales Performance offers a complete sales curriculum spanning every skill needed to sell successfully and grow as a salesperson. The Connected Selling Curriculum comprises four programs: Create Pipeline, Win Opportunities, Grow Accounts and Sales Management.
Each program then features individual courses. For example, the Create Pipeline teaches prospecting, consultative inside sales, sales territory planning and other critical sales skills.
The modular design allows trainees to either focus on gaps in their learning or take the entire curriculum from start to finish. Either way, salespeople can find new skills to add to their sales playbook.
Key lessons
The main learning components of Richardson’s Connected Selling Curriculum are:
Consultative selling strategies
Prospecting techniques
Negotiation skills
How to make effective sales presentations
Account management
Objection management
Who Richardson is best for
Richardson Sales Performance’s training material is best for salespeople and managers who want to drill down into specific topics without taking a lengthy course. Its modular design efficiently targets key gaps in a team’s sales knowledge.
Provider: JB Barrows
Location: online
Length: 12 months
Topics: overcoming objections and closing strategies
Audience: junior and senior salespeople
Price: $720 per year for individual training
Driving to Close is a specialized sales training program designed to help salespeople master the end stages of the sales process. The course focuses on closing deals effectively and efficiently, focusing on advanced negotiation, objection and closing strategies.
Training delivery is through a mix of online courses, case studies, role-playing simulations and interactive workshops. JB Barrows also holds monthly group coaching calls where salespeople can get feedback on their progress.
Along with teaching key skills, Driving to Close also aims to instill a proactive and customer-centric mindset. It emphasizes planning and training salespeople to prepare for every step of the sales process while focusing on their prospects’ needs.
Note: JB Barrows also offers Filling the Funnel, a sales course on how to optimize the early stages of the sales funnel.
Key lessons
The main learning takeaways from Driving to Close are:
Methodologies to manage the sales pipeline
Sales negotiation strategies
How to overcome sales objections
Customer-centric selling
Sales conversation and time management skills
Customer retention and follow-up strategies
Who Driving to Close is best for
With a focus on fundamental sales skills, Driving to Close is effective for less experienced sales reps who find leads but struggle to close. The training provides a practical and easily understandable framework to help new sales professionals build a solid foundation in sales.
Provider: content creators on Udemy
Location: online
Length: varies, mostly short
Topics: a wide range of sales skills and techniques
Audience: new salespeople
Price: varies
Udemy’s online learning platform offers a range of free and very affordable entry-level sales courses. Because all the courses are online, Udemy provides added flexibility for salespeople to learn new skills at their own pace.
Sales training on Udemy covers basic and advanced sales skills, sales management, negotiation and CRM. Delivery is via video lectures, quizzes, practical exercises, downloadable resources and assessments to reinforce learning.
While they may be less far-reaching than a tailored sales training program, Udemy’s sales-focused courses offer an opportunity to get immersed in the basics before landing an entry-level sales job.
Key lessons
Learning material and format will vary by course. Some of the popular sales training courses are:
Who Udemy sales training courses are best for
Udemy’s training material best serves people seeking to enter the sales field. New sales reps who want to sharpen specific sales skills or gain new expertise to land their first placement will mostly benefit from the courses available.
Provider: ValueSelling Associates
Location: instructor-led online and onsite, on-demand course material
Length: self-paced
Topics: value-based selling
Audience: all experience levels and types of learners
Price: contact ValueSelling Associates for a quote
The ValueSelling Framework is a methodology that helps salespeople focus on the value and outcomes of a product rather than its features. The core idea is to create a compelling value proposition that addresses a customer’s pains and goals, driving higher conversion rates.
Value-based selling aligns the sales process with the customer’s true needs, resulting in long-lasting connections. It teaches account executives to focus on relationship building, so they become trusted advisors rather than mere vendors.
ValueSelling Associates also offers a range of other programs and initiatives, from filling the funnel to selling to C-suite executives. Each program comes in manageable sections that learners can tackle one by one.
Key lessons
Key learning topics in the ValueSelling Framework are:
How to develop a compelling value proposition
Identifying customer needs and challenges
How to clearly articulate value and boost customer success
Who the ValueSelling Framework is best for
The ValueSelling methodology may be best for reps who need to explain how a product will specifically benefit the customer (i.e., value-based selling). It’s particularly valuable for account executives and sales managers looking to overcome objections, handle long sales cycles and build lasting customer relationships.
Final thoughts
Effective sales training is a powerful way to learn new selling skills and drive better results. For managers, equipping the sales force with the latest skills, methodologies and best practices can ensure constant revenue growth, customer satisfaction and a more motivated sales team.
Whether you’re looking for a detailed course in foundational sales skills or want to explore a new methodology, you can find a training opportunity that meets your specific requirements.
