How to Build a Sales Training Program in 7 Steps

According to Accenture, organizations with effective sales training programs see a 353% ROI on their investment—yet most companies struggle to create programs that deliver lasting results.

Because building a high-performing sales team doesn’t happen by chance. It starts with the right training. But where do you begin?

In this guide, we’ll walk through the critical components of creating a successful sales training program, from outlining objectives and key requirements to launching and delivering a program that engages and motivates your team.

What you'll find in this blog:

Objectives of Your Sales Training Program

Before you start building a sales training program, define clear objectives. Without them, your program risks being unfocused and ineffective.

Well-defined goals ensure your program aligns with both your team’s skill gaps and broader business priorities, making training a strategic driver of revenue growth.

Your objectives should be tailored to your company’s specific needs, but here are key objectives your program should aim to achieve:

• Increase Win Rates: Train reps to improve objection handling and negotiation skills. Set targets for 10-12% improvement within 90 days.
• Shorten Sales Cycles: Equip reps with qualification frameworks and consultative selling techniques. Track cycle length pre-training and set reduction targets.
• Boost Deal Size: Develop negotiation and upselling strategies. Create benchmarks with quarterly improvement goals.
• Improve Customer Retention: Strengthen post-sale follow-up and account expansion strategies.
• Enhance Sales Productivity: Implement time management and CRM optimization to increase selling time.

By defining objectives from the outset, you create a focused, results-driven training program that directly impacts sales performance and business growth.

Build a Sales Training Program in 7 Steps

Building a sales training program should be an ongoing process that requires consistency and thoughtful planning and consistent execution. Harvard Business Review research shows companies with standardized sales processes see 28% higher revenue growth compared to those without.

Below are practical steps to build a training program that addresses your team’s needs and drives measurable results:

Step 1: Set Clear Training Objectives

Before designing your sales training program, you need to define what success looks like. Without clear, measurable objectives, training risks becoming unfocused and failing to deliver real impact.

Your objectives should directly align with business outcomes and sales performance improvements. Here are a few examples of well-defined training goals:

• Increase Win Rates by X%: Train reps to refine their negotiation skills and objection handling to close more deals. For example: A SaaS company increased win rates from 12-15%  after implementing structured objection handling training.

• Reduce Ramp-Up Time for New Hires: Standardize onboarding to help new reps reach full productivity within a certain duration, say 60 days instead of 90.

• Improve Sales Conversations: Enhance product knowledge and consultative selling techniques to boost engagement and customer trust. Use recorded call scoring with a 10-point rubric to measure improvement.

• Boost Pipeline Efficiency: Teach reps how to qualify leads more effectively, reducing wasted time on low-potential deals. 

• Enhance Tool Adoption: Ensure reps fully utilize sales enablement and CRM features to track buyer interactions, forecast sales, and improve follow-ups. 

Step 2: Assess Your Team's Needs

Once you’ve set clear objectives, the next step is to evaluate your team’s current skills and pinpoint gaps that need to be addressed. Training should focus on the areas that will have the greatest impact on performance and business outcomes.

Here’s how to conduct a meaningful assessment:

• Performance Data Review: Analyze key sales metrics such as win rates, average deal size, and quota attainment to identify areas where reps are struggling. 

• Skill Assessments & Role-Plays: Conduct structured evaluations, mock sales calls, or objection-handling exercises to gauge strengths and weaknesses. 

• Customer & Prospect Feedback: Gather insights from recorded calls, surveys, or CRM notes to identify recurring challenges in sales conversations. 

• Manager & Peer Input: Have sales managers and top-performing reps provide feedback on skill gaps they observe in daily interactions. 

• Self-Assessments: Allow reps to evaluate their own confidence levels in key skills (e.g., prospecting, closing, handling objections) to identify areas they feel they need improvement.

For example, if assessments show that reps struggle with closing deals, you might focus training on advanced negotiation techniques and overcoming last-minute objections. If pipeline management is weak, training could emphasize lead qualification and follow-up strategies.

Step 3: Choose the Right Training Methods

Selecting the right training methods is critical to ensuring your sales team absorbs and applies new skills effectively. Different methods serve different purposes, and choosing the wrong approach can lead to disengagement and wasted time.

Consider these methods based on the type of skill you’re developing:

• Role-Playing & Simulations: Best for improving objection handling, negotiation, and real-time sales conversations. Reps practice real-world scenarios and receive immediate feedback.

• On-the-Job Coaching: Helps reps refine techniques in live selling situations by having managers or senior reps provide direct feedback during or after sales interactions.

• Self-Paced Online Learning: Ideal for foundational knowledge, such as product training, industry trends, or compliance requirements. Works well for global teams with different schedules.

• In-Person or Virtual Workshops: Effective for collaborative learning, group discussions, and practicing new strategies in a structured environment.

• Peer-Led Training and Knowledge Sharing: Encourages high performers to share proven strategies and insights, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Step 4: Evaluate Whether Your Team Needs Supplementary Training Content

Before creating new materials from scratch, assess whether your existing resources can fill training gaps. Many sales organizations already have valuable content that can be repurposed into training.

Here’s how to evaluate and leverage existing resources:

• Product Sheets & Case Studies: Use real-world examples to teach reps how to position value and handle objections effectively.

• Recorded Sales Calls: Analyze top-performing calls to highlight winning strategies and common mistakes.

• Customer Testimonials & Feedback: Show reps how prospects respond to different sales approaches and what messaging resonates most.

• Internal Playbooks & Guides: Reinforce sales processes, email templates, and outreach strategies already in use.

If gaps remain, create targeted supplementary content, ensuring it directly supports skill-building rather than overwhelming reps with unnecessary materials.

Step 5: Make Training Engaging and Ensure Active Participation

The way training is delivered determines whether reps retain and apply what they learn. Passive learning—watching long presentations or reading PDFs—rarely sticks. Instead, training should be interactive and engaging.

Here’s how to make it more dynamic:

• Quizzes and Knowledge Checks: Reinforce key takeaways and ensure reps are absorbing information.

• Case Studies and Group Discussions: Allow reps to break down real deals, analyze approaches, and learn from each other.

• Gamification: Introduce friendly competition through leaderboards, achievement badges, or sales challenges.

• Simulations and Hands-On Exercises: Create role-play scenarios where reps must apply their learning in a controlled environment.

An engaged learner is a retained learner—interactive training leads to higher retention, stronger skill development, and better sales performance.

Step 6: Measure and Refine the Program

Training is not a one-time event—it’s an ongoing process that should evolve based on results. Without tracking effectiveness, it’s impossible to know what’s working and what needs improvement.

To measure impact and continuously refine your program:

• Monitor Sales Metrics: Track changes in conversion rates, deal sizes, and quota attainment before and after training.

• Assess Knowledge Application: Observe reps in sales calls or pipeline management to see if they’re implementing new techniques.

• Gather Rep Feedback: Conduct surveys or roundtable discussions to understand what’s resonating and where additional support is needed.

• Refine Based on Data: If reps are still struggling with certain skills, adjust training content or delivery methods accordingly.

By treating training as an evolving system, you ensure ongoing performance improvements and adaptability to new challenges.

Step 7: Reinforce Learning Through Consistent Follow-Up

The Brevet Group reports that sales reps forget 84% of training content within 90 days without proper reinforcement techniques.

To combat the "forgetting curve," implement a structured reinforcement plan:

• Spaced Repetition: Schedule brief review sessions at increasing intervals after initial training. Implementation: Create "micro-refreshers" delivered at 7, 21, and 45 days after core training.

• Manager-Led Coaching: Equip managers with coaching guides aligned with training content. Implementation: Provide managers with a weekly coaching focus tied to recent training topics.

• Peer Recognition: Celebrate examples of successful skill application. Implementation: Create a Slack channel or team meeting segment where reps share how they applied training to win deals.

• Just-in-Time Resources: Make reference materials easily accessible in your CRM. Implementation: Create point-of-need cheat sheets that reps can access directly within opportunity records.

Best Practices for Building an Effective Sales Training Program

A strong sales training program must be engaging, practical, and built for long-term success. These requirements ensure that your program is engaging, practical, and effective over the long haul.

When training lacks structure or fails to resonate with your team, reps quickly disengage, and knowledge retention suffers.

A well-designed program, on the other hand, ensures that your team not only absorbs key concepts but also applies them effectively in real-world sales interactions.

This means using proven techniques that cater to different learning styles and reinforce knowledge over time.

Use Training Techniques That Support Different Learning Styles

If your sales training isn’t sticking, it’s not your team—it’s the approach. Relying on a one-size-fits-all method leads to disengagement and poor retention.

Some reps thrive in interactive sessions, while others absorb information through real-world scenarios or structured lessons. To maximize impact, your training must align with how your team actually learns.

Incorporate a mix of learning techniques to improve retention and real-world application:

• Microlearning Modules: Break complex topics into short, bite-sized lessons that cater to reps who learn best through quick, focused content. Implementation: Use a tool like Loom to create 3-5 minute videos on specific skills that reps can watch between calls.

• Interactive Sessions: Use role-plays, quizzes, and group discussions to engage hands-on learners and reinforce key concepts. Implementation: Follow the 10-20-30 rule: no more than 10 minutes of instruction before a 20-30 minute interactive component.

• Visual and Auditory Learning Aids: Incorporate videos, infographics, and recorded sales calls for those who retain information best through visual or auditory means. Implementation: Create visual decision trees for complex sales processes and objection handling.

• Regular Reinforcement: Schedule follow-ups, coaching sessions, and knowledge checks to solidify learning over time. Implementation: Create a 30-60-90 day reinforcement calendar for each major training initiative.

• Real-World Application: Provide case studies and live deal coaching to help reps see how concepts apply to actual sales situations. Implementation: After each training module, require reps to apply the new skill to at least one active opportunity and report results.

Keep Sales Training Consistent Through Monitoring and Follow-Ups

The key to sustained engagement isn’t just incentives—it’s active leadership. If training is treated as a one-time event rather than an ongoing process, participation will drop, and knowledge will fade.

You must take an active role in ensuring reps stay engaged, apply what they’ve learned, and continuously improve.

Here’s how you can maintain momentum and drive continuous improvement:

• Regular Check-Ins: Hold short debriefs or one-on-one sessions to discuss how reps are applying training in real sales situations. Implementation: Create a "Training Application" segment in weekly one-on-ones focused on recent training topics.

• Live Coaching and Feedback: Join sales calls or role-plays to provide real-time feedback and guide reps in refining their techniques. Implementation: Implement "ride-along Tuesdays" where managers join at least two calls per rep each week.

• Progress Tracking: Use CRM data, call recordings, and sales performance metrics alongside learning platform analytics to measure completion rates, quiz scores, and engagement levels. Implementation: Create a skills adoption dashboard that tracks technique usage across the team.

• Team Discussions: Encourage reps to share success stories and challenges, reinforcing peer learning and collective growth. Implementation: Dedicate the first 15 minutes of team meetings to sharing training application successes.

Create a Training Program That Adapts and Scales with Your Team

A static training program quickly becomes outdated and ineffective. As your sales team grows and market conditions shift, your training must evolve to keep pace.

A scalable program ensures that new hires ramp up quickly, seasoned reps continue refining their skills, and content remains relevant without requiring a complete overhaul.

At the same time, a one-size-fits-all approach rarely works—customization ensures training is relevant to different roles, experience levels, and business needs. A well-structured training program balances scalability with customization by creating a strong foundation while allowing flexibility where it matters.

Build a Scalable Training Framework That Supports Growth

To ensure your training program remains effective as your team expands, it must be structured for easy updates, seamless onboarding, and long-term adaptability. These can help you maintain consistency while allowing room for growth:

• Standardized Training Curriculum: Establish essential training modules that apply to all reps (e.g., company sales process, product knowledge), ensuring consistency across teams while leaving room for specialized content.

• Modular Content Design:  Structure training in bite-sized, independent modules that can be easily updated or expanded without overhauling the entire program, keeping content relevant as strategies evolve.

• Technology-Driven Learning Management: Use an LMS for onboarding, track progress, and deploy new training materials at scale, ensuring efficiency as your team grows.

• Self-Sustaining Learning Culture: Foster peer mentorship and team-led knowledge-sharing to reinforce learning organically, reducing the burden on leadership to deliver every aspect of training.

Customize Training for Individual and Team Needs

While scalability ensures your program can grow, customization makes training relevant and impactful for each rep. These help tailor training to different roles, experience levels, and learning preferences:

• Role-Specific Learning Paths: Tailor content for different experience levels, ensuring new hires focus on fundamentals while seasoned reps sharpen advanced sales techniques.

• Flexible Training Formats: Offer a mix of self-paced courses, live coaching, and hands-on exercises to accommodate various learning styles and preferences.

• Performance-Driven Adaptation: Leverage analytics from sales performance data and LMS engagement metrics to refine content based on actual skill gaps, ensuring continuous improvement.

When you combine a scalable structure with targeted customization, your training program remains both adaptable and effective—empowering every sales rep to improve, no matter their role or experience level.

Align Your Training Program with Business Goals and Market Needs

To drive real impact, your sales training must be aligned with both your company’s growth strategy and the evolving demands of your market.

A training program that reflects these factors ensures your reps develop the right skills at the right time, keeping them prepared for new challenges and opportunities.

To maximize effectiveness, your training program should be continuously adjusted to reflect your company’s goals and market positioning. Here’s how to align training with business objectives:

• Track Performance to Identify Gaps: Regularly assess sales performance metrics and individual rep progress. Implementation: Create quarterly business reviews that specifically identify skill gaps affecting key business objectives.

• Adapt to Market Expansion: Ensure training covers industry-specific challenges when entering new markets. Implementation: Create market-specific training modules whenever expanding into new verticals or territories.

• Develop Role-Specific Growth Tracks: Equip different roles with distinct learning paths. Implementation: Design career progression training that prepares reps for their next role before promotion.

• Reinforce High-Impact Skills: Focus training efforts on areas that directly influence revenue. Implementation: Weight your training investment based on correlation to revenue impact, putting more resources behind proven high-impact skills.

Provide Easy Access to Training for Better Learning and Application

Even the best sales training program loses impact if reps can’t easily access and apply what they’ve learned. Removing barriers to training ensures that learning isn’t confined to scheduled sessions—it becomes part of your team’s daily workflow.

• Leverage Cloud-Based Platforms: Use an LMS that allows reps to access training materials anytime, anywhere. Implementation: Choose a mobile-friendly platform that syncs progress across devices.

• Ensure a User-Friendly Experience: Choose a platform with intuitive navigation. Implementation: Limit clicks to access content—training should be no more than 2-3 clicks away from your main CRM or sales tool.

• Encourage Immediate Application: Reinforce learning by prompting reps to apply new skills in live sales situations. Implementation: Create "action items" at the end of each module that reps must complete within 48 hours.

Showell LMS for Sales for Your Sales Training Program

By following the seven-step process and best practices outlined in this guide, you can build a training program that:

• Aligns with specific business goals and revenue targets

• Addresses actual skill gaps affecting performance

• Engages reps through diverse learning experiences

• Scales with your team's growth

• Continuously evolves based on performance data

Remember that the most successful training programs aren't static events but ongoing systems that reinforce and build skills over time. With proper planning, implementation, and refinement, your sales training program can transform from a necessary expense into a powerful driver of revenue growth.

To implement an effective sales training program, you'll need the right tools and systems. Consider platforms like Showell Learning Management System (LMS) that offer:

• Centralized content management for all training materials
• Flexible delivery options for different learning styles
• Progress tracking and performance analytics
• Easy integration with your existing sales tools
• Scalability to grow with your team

Whatever solution you choose, ensure it supports both the administrative needs of your training program and the learning preferences of your sales team.

Ready to take the next step in building your sales training program? Start by assessing your team's current skills and defining clear, measurable objectives that align with your business goals. Talk with our sales enablement experts to see how Showell LMS can help. Book a demo with us!

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