It is not incorrect to state that all business operations must work together in any organization to run well. They must strike a balance among themselves, but it is also fair to state that sales are one of the most crucial of all. It is the revenue stream, and if cut short the firm may come to a standstill. A successful sales function not only helps a firm flourish but also stands up for the company in times of trouble. But what drives a successful sales team? It’s effective training.

Consistent improvement is the need of the hour in the sales department to remain in the competition. There is a good chance that by the time you figure out how to deal with a problem, your rivals will have risen to the occasion and gained an advantage. The only way forward is to stay ahead of the curve with your expectations and to plan for the worst-case scenario far ahead of time with the aid of unique and customized sales training for your sales team. You might wonder if sales training is different for different ways of sales or if it is the same for all of them. Let us start by understanding the differences between two key types of sales in respect to training, and then go on to the next step.

There are two types of sales according to the business type:

  1. a)      B2B (Business to Business) sales
  2. b)      B2C (Business to Consumer) sales.

While the former entails selling to another firm, the latter entails selling to a specific consumer. In truth, there are huge differences between the two and their sales training that must be clear before moving on.

What is B2B sales training?

In a B2B setup, the customer is a company. There are various decision-makers in this type of sales. B2B selling involves a large number of parties. The sales process is complex and time-consuming. In B2B sales, the product’s value is high. A wholesaler selling to a retailer, both of which are businesses, is an example of B2B sales. Similarly, a business that manufactures screens for laptops and sells them to laptop manufacturers is an example of a business that deals with another business rather than a customer, and hence falls within the B2B sales category. The salesperson in B2B sales needs to convince experienced, high profile personalities like executives, VPs, heads of the company with clear cut reports, facts, and data focussing on ROI.

What is B2C sales training?

In a B2C setup, the customer is an individual who purchases a product for personal consumption. The sole decision-maker and stakeholder engagement is the person. The sales procedure is straightforward. The worth of a product is often low, and the time and effort necessary to purchase the goods from an individual standpoint are also minimal. A food restaurant business selling to an individual is a frequent example. Individuals buy for their personal use rather than resale.

The salesperson in B2C sales needs to convince the direct consumer with a positive emotional connection. B2C utilizes brand voice and product image to the general masses.

The need for differentiated sales training

Whether in B2B or B2C or combined B2B and B2C, even after the high focus on product quality, pricing, and marketing, what makes the most difference to the customer is Customer Experience. CX in today’s world is a stronger motivator than the product itself. If the experience is bad, a big number of customers feel justified in switching brands. And the burden of the customer experience remains on the salesperson in both the cases B2B sales and B2C sales. But there is a huge difference in their training method depending upon the target audience, touchpoints, focus, segmentation, and communication style.

The salesperson who is trained to convince the prime consumer of the product may not be able to convince the high authority people of the company to make big business decisions. And the salesperson who can deliver product demonstrations in personal meetings to leaders of the company will not be able to form a more emotional connection with the consumer audience with less formal communication. Therefore every corporation needs to realize the differences between the training methods. They should design training programs according to the job profile of sales employees and the nature of their business.

How eLearning can help

Gone are the days of personalized mentor training and long-haul training sessions. In this digital age, corporations have trust in eLearning. That is delivering the 24X7 training program through electronic devices and the internet.

Learning management systems (LMS) are the backbone of the eLearning industry. They help in developing, delivering, managing, and analyzing the designed training programs to every department of the organization from HR, sales, marketing to the IT department.

When it comes to sales, for a positive customer experience, companies train salespeople that please every customer via intensive training. With the help of LMS, Leading firms can give consistent, differentiated ongoing learning to salespeople anytime, anywhere, on any device, thanks to strategic, centrally managed training programs. Let us understand what LMS features are prerequisites for effective B2C and B2B business sales training programs.

Modern age ELearning features for B2C and B2C business sales training

  • Centrally managed training content:

A business will always require some amount of authorized information about the product, services, policies, brand value, and company history that is to be present in the same format and available to everyone, everywhere 24X7. While B2C business salespeople require generic business content, B2B sales employees may require data, statistics, and company and product performance profiles. LMS can help in deploying online training content as per individual needs.

  • Reporting and gamification:

Sales is a competitive branch. So, to boost the motivation and engagement of sales employees in online training programs, LMS gamification features, such as leaderboards and quiz scoreboards, can turn out to be beneficial. B2B sales employees may require a built-in reporting tool that makes it easy to regularly track progress on learning paths. On the other hand, for B2C sales employees, competitive leadership boards displayed upon sales target achievements may help.

  • Integration with CRM (Customer relationship manager tool)

LMS-CRM integration like salesforce LMS integration assists sales employees to learn on the job.

Salesforce LMS Integration can provide a perspective view of the entire customer relationship. It can help in leveraging various metrics for the business needs of respective customers and tailor the eLearning experience of salespeople according to the B2B and B2C customer requirements.

  • Social media integrations

Social media sites may also be used in eLearning, particularly providing collaborative eLearning chances in eLearning courses.

B2B sales employees can utilize powerful marketing campaigns and analytical data provided by social media platforms that can help in visualizing patterns and statistics in business. And B2C sales employees can utilize surveys, polls, learning groups, hashtags to reach the netizens effectively.

Conclusion:

The task isn’t done after the sales objectives have been met. Customer service excellence follows next in both B2B and B2C, and it is the key to long-term organizational success. Salespeople have a difficult job, but with well-designed, differentiated sales training programs and effective eLearning implementation, they may easily overcome their challenges and become champions of their craft ultimately benefiting the business!