The 4 Best Practices That Help Marketing Deliver a Sales Training That Wins Big With Everyone (Especially Sales)

When it comes to launching a new product, does it ever feel like marketing and sales are at odds with one another? Marketing often hears that their collateral sounds too canned or “only goes so far,” while Sales sometimes gets the feedback that they didn’t stick to the messaging.

The truth is, both sides have valid points. While navigating this tension isn’t usually anyone’s idea of a good time, an intentionally-designed sales training program can help you avoid this friction altogether.

Here’s how you can tap into the motivations shared by Marketing and Sales, then build a sales training program that supports a launch and wins with everyone.

But first, let’s talk about what Sales wants.

Sales can spend all the time in the world with product spec sheets and technical information, but the content they really want helps them paint a detailed picture of the customer, and how to talk to them. 

A “win” for Sales is training that:

• Helps them recognize which of their customers will be good prospects for the product and why 

• Uses examples that reflect real-world customer pain points and how the product can help that customer solve a problem that resonates with them.

• Flags statements and comments to listen for (to recognize a potential selling moment)

• Shows them how to steer the conversation back to the product (without sounding “salesy”)

• Gives them real examples of how to talk about the solution and compare it against the competition

• Gives them techniques to target decision makers and engage influencers

• Specifies the information that’s critical to retain vs. the information that can be looked up

• Shows them how to put Marketing Messages and Value Proposition Statements into their own words, enabling them to speak authentically about the customer’s problems and the solution they can bring

It’s not that Marketing doesn’t want these things, but sometimes the most well-intentioned materials and training programs lack the context or selling scenarios with knowledge that will actually be used. And it’s nobody’s fault – methods for bridging the gap between Sales and Marketing's wants and needs haven’t been well socialized and aren’t hard-wired in most organizations.

So, what does Marketing want?

Marketing does a great job developing selling tools for the product, nailing the small details and identifying key product benefits in concise language that covers most problems for most target customers. 

A “win” for Marketing is a training that:

• Shows that sales reps can talk about the product advantages based on the key messaging and talking points Marketing developed

• Results in sales reps actually using the customer-facing marketing materials they worked so hard to develop

• Enables Sales to find new customers and identify opportunities with existing customers

• Demonstrates that Sales loves the training program and will gladly participate in it (“Marketing really gets us!”)

Unfortunately, it’s often at this point where marketers feel like their messaging dies, or where Sales feels like they don’t have what they need to support real customer conversations. 

The good news? Both Marketing and Sales are aligned on a few things.

While the wants and needs of these two departments can sometimes feel at odds, the reality is that there are a few core desires that extend to each group, including:

• Early launch success (increased customer interest, early sales, etc.) 

• An overall increase in revenue

• The ability to take some personal or departmental credit for achieving all of the above

It can sometimes be helpful to remember that both Sales and Marketing share these goals when attempting to cross what can feel like a daunting divide.

Here are a few best practices to help you design a sales training that bridges the gap between Sales and Marketing, and supports outcomes for the launch and beyond:

• Every sales training must include exercises and learning experiences that have a real-world application. Make sure the role-play and simulation components are very reflective of a day in the life of sales. This part can’t be purely theoretical – exercises should emulate real world scenarios, real-life dialog and include objections that sales staff have actually encountered, all while providing counterpoints and messaging to help Sales respond.

• Help Sales spend their time in the field and include a variety of formats to support different learning styles. When it comes time for training, be smart about how you plan to engage. Rather than pulling a bunch of reps out of the field, could you instead offer virtual, e-learning or self-directed options? Sales WANTS to stay in the field. Respecting the time of your sales-learners by knowing which channels and formats work best for them will make the process a lot smoother. And different learning approaches will resonate with different learners – providing more options to learn is likely to increase participation.

• Sales needs a seat at the table to inform training design. Just like Marketing and L&D bring their unique perspectives and background, so too does Sales. They can share those tricky, real-world selling scenarios that they need help with and training to overcome. And who better to have as a partner than the very group you aim to support?

• Immerse yourself in the business context. Don’t just check the box on training – going the extra mile to understand the business goals, needs and constraints present in the environment of your product launch will demonstrate you’ve designed learning from a strategic context and will increase leadership alignment and buy-in.

By designing your sales training program with these inputs in mind Marketing can help reps build a repertoire of authentic language (while in a safe space) so that when they show up in front of the customer, the interaction feels real, valuable and most of all, it builds muscle memory. 

This approach also reduces the amount of time required for Sales to be effective. A more cohesive training that offers reps exactly the information they need to know will reduce instances of random training, or rogue learning paths that default to institutional knowledge rather than standardized content.

In addition, you’ll start to see more support from Marketing for Sales Training Programs, including higher Sales engagement and an eagerness to participate. 

This kind of unity leads to a more activated and motivated Sales team. It also results in a Sales Training Program that can make an impact beyond the launch by supporting goals across the company, solidifying its place as a critical part of the organization's growth strategy.