Hannah Simons
In today’s competitive market, sales teams are the backbone of any growing business, directly influencing revenue and growth. However, retaining top talent and consistently driving peak performance remain significant challenges for many organisations. This is where comprehensive training and development programmes, also known as sales academies, can equip sales professionals with the skills, knowledge and confidence to excel in their role.
In this blog, we will explore how sales academies can bridge the gap between goal setting and achievement, benefitting both individuals and businesses.
The challenges of retention and performance in sales teams
Retention and performance are consistent challenges in sales teams, where high turnover and inconsistent results can severely impact a company's bottom line. The demanding nature of sales roles, coupled with the pressure to meet targets, often leads to burnout and dissatisfaction, driving many talented salespeople to seek opportunities elsewhere.
This not only incurs significant recruitment and training costs but also disrupts team dynamics and overall morale. The variability in sales performance across team members can also make it difficult to achieve consistent results, hindering long-term business growth and stability. Addressing these challenges is crucial for building a resilient and high-performing sales team.
What is a Sales Academy?
A sales academy is a structured training and development programme designed to equip sales professionals with the skills, knowledge, and tools they need to succeed in their roles. It typically includes a comprehensive curriculum that covers various aspects of sales, such as prospecting, negotiation, closing techniques, customer relationship management, product knowledge, and industry trends.
The primary goal of a sales academy is to create a consistent and high-performing sales team by standardising training across the organisation. It often involves a combination of classroom instruction, hands-on exercises, role-playing scenarios, and ongoing coaching. Sales academies can be tailored to different levels of experience, from new hires to more experienced sales professionals, ensuring that all team members have the opportunity to develop and refine their skills.
In addition to improving individual performance, a sales academy supports broader organisational goals by enhancing overall sales effectiveness, reducing turnover, accelerating onboarding, and driving business growth.
Advantages of implementing a Sales Academy
Success in sales is derived from the structures, processes and systems established by a business. These systems facilitate incremental progress for salespeople each week, moving them towards their desired outcomes. Sales academies prove advantageous to salespeople by providing the essential structure they need. These academies can also equip sales professionals with the necessary tools to build confidence and enhance their skills.
Benefits for Businesses
- Setting a benchmark for best practices: Whether your team consists of 10 or 100 members, it is essential to business success that everyone is moving in the same direction. A sales academy establishes a benchmark for best practices, ensuring consistency throughout the organisation.
- Boosted sales performance: Bespoke sales training provided by a sales academy can equip salespeople with the tools and techniques to book more meetings and close more deals effectively, as a result, businesses can expect higher conversion rates, improved win rations and increased sales productivity.
- Designed for engagement: Sales academies incentivise continuous learning, guaranteeing a return on investment. They are tailored to foster engagement among salespeople, driving them towards improvement and growth.
- Adaptability to change: Sales academies possess the agility required to respond to changing roles and market demands. Salespeople can be upskilled based on the demands of their roles, while the academy's content can be easily updated to align with current buyer needs and wider company objectives.
- Enhance employee retention: One of the key advantages of implementing a sales academy is the support it offers in career development, which in turn directly impacts retention. Strong frameworks enable sales teams and managers to identify areas for improvement and areas where support is required. When a salesperson aspires to a promotion, managers can outline clear KPIs they need to achieve to qualify for the role.
Implementing a Sales Academy
To implement a sales academy, a business must first assess its current sales processes and identify areas for improvement, defining clear training objectives and designing a programme tailored to address skill gaps and align these gaps with business goals. The company should select appropriate training methods and tools to deliver the content effectively to ensure the programme is making a direct impact on sales performance. Implementing a sales academy can be particularly burdensome for business leaders and sales directors who are already juggling their own responsibilities and targets.
How Furza can help
At Furza, we understand that training is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach, which is why we created the Furza Academy. We work with you to create a bespoke training programme aligned to your business, solution and products. Our consultative approach to training allows for the training to be directly applicable to your employees and in-line with your wider business objectives.
All our training is designed and delivered in-house, face to face by our team of experts, meaning you do not have to dedicate internal resources toward the curation and dissemination of training. To ensure your new training is implemented effectively, we provide sales enablement materials that are suited to your needs, employees and industry. Alongside the bespoke training programmes delivered, we support your employees with proven frameworks for best practices, personalised interactive playbooks for your business sales functions, and CRM support. Our team of sales experts take the time to understand what it takes to be successful in your industry and tailor the training and materials specifically to your business, providing your team with a solid framework for success.
Developed by leading industry experts, recognised as ‘Top Sales Training Provider 2024’ and endorsed by the Institute of Sales Professionals, we ensure candidates have the opportunity for immediate success. Candidates leave the course with a core understanding of their role and the fundamental frameworks they need to drive results in your business. Read how the Furza Academy helped Glide enhance retention and performance through bespoke training.
Furza Academy Outcomes
- High-performing salespeople trained for success
- Established committed, cohesive and resilient sales teams
- Reduces employee turnover and business disruption
- Increased sales productivity from day one
- Decreases your wage bill: we pay graduates whilst they train
Contact our team today to find out more.
