HOW TO TRAIN A WINNING SALES TEAM—ACTIONABLE STRATEGIES DAY 4 : TRAIN OR FAIL SERIES You don’t need a fancy budget to build a better sales team. You need structure, consistency, and relevance. Here’s a clear plan to apply sales training that actually works. 1. START WITH REALITY, NOT THEORY Don’t train people on ideal buyer journeys that never happen. Train them on your sales environment. What to do: • Record real sales calls. Review them in sessions. • Collect the top 10 objections your team hears—train for those weekly. • Build training around your products, your customers, and your challenges. Why: Theory is easy to forget. Context sticks. 2. MAKE TRAINING PART OF THE JOB, NOT A ONE-TIME EVENT If your team only trains when there’s a problem, you’re too late. What to do: • Set up 30-minute weekly training slots. Non-negotiable. • Focus on one topic per session—don’t overload. • Include practice. Role-play, objection drills, cold call reviews. Why: Repetition builds instinct. Sales is about reactions under pressure. 3. MIX FORMATS—DON’T JUST LECTURE Salespeople learn best by doing, not listening. What to do: • Pair juniors with strong seniors for live call shadowing. • Use audio recordings and text-based objection simulations. • Host mini challenges: e.g., “Best follow-up script wins \$10.” Why: Engagement is retention. The more they participate, the more they learn. 4. TRAIN THE MANAGERS, TOO Untrained managers kill progress. They confuse targets with coaching. What to do: • Give managers frameworks for giving feedback. • Teach them how to run performance reviews that aren’t just “sell more.” • Involve them in sessions. Don’t isolate training to outsiders. Why: Your managers set the tone. If they don’t coach, nobody improves. 5. TRACK RESULTS AND TIE THEM TO TRAINING If sales training doesn’t move metrics, it’s noise. What to do: • Pick 3 KPIs: e.g., average deal size, follow-up speed, close rate. • Track performance weekly and monthly. • Adjust training topics based on weaknesses. Why: Sales training must lead to sales performance. Otherwise, you’re wasting time. Final thought: Don’t confuse activity with progress Motivating your team is fine. But motivation fades. Structure doesn’t. Sales training, when done right, turns your team from order-takers to value sellers. Tomorrow join me for day 5, where we will be looking at : Common Sales Training Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. Don’t read through this series alone, invite your business owners, sales managers and salespeople. The time to grow your sells and to sell more is now. Regards, Sir. E. Nkala Global Business Titans +263 771 425 334 WhatsApp Channel Link : https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaXurQQF1YlNWCHGRD1g