Finding the Best Format for Observable Practice and Demonstrated Proficiency
A sales training field test reveals what kind of skills training results in better performance outcomes.
RENO, Nev., August 2019 – The traditional live classroom model for B2B sales training may not be the most effective approach after all. A new field test, conducted by a Fortune 250 software company reveals that online recorded skills training can be just as effective, and in some cases, even result in better performance outcomes.
This highly controlled field trial was conducted using sales teams in the same market segment over the same time period. Sales reps were randomly selected to be part of one of three groups:
- No Training
- Live Classroom Training, or
- Online-Only Training
The field test compared sales teams, in the same market segment, over the same period of time, and exposed them to identical training content, delivered either in a live classroom or in a recorded online environment.
Data scientists then tracked each groups’ sales performance results in terms of building pipeline and annual contract value of the deals. Results showed that sales teams who completed the online recorded training delivered 23.2 percent more pipeline than teams who received live classroom training. Online sales training participants showed a slightly lower annual contract value than classroom-trained reps. But still a significantly higher improvement over those who received no training at all.
Sales reps who completed online training also reported feeling twice as confident when engaging executive decision-makers, compared with those who attended live classroom training.
“As a company that delivers training across all modalities, including in-person and online, Corporate Visions doesn’t have any particular axe to grind,” says Nicci Nesmith Hammerel, Executive Vice President of Customer Success. “What we do have is an interest in determining the most efficient and effective training format for driving behavior change.”
These results finally make it clear that you can get material improvement from your sales teams using online recorded training.
About Corporate Visions, Inc.
Corporate Visions is a leading marketing and sales messaging, content, and skills training company. Global B2B companies come to us when they want to:
- Create Value® – Break the status quo and differentiate your solutions from competitors
- Elevate Value® – Build a more effective business case to justify executive decisions
- Capture Value® – Maximize the profitability of each deal
- Expand Value® – Renew and expand existing customer revenue
To view the research in full and get an in-depth analysis of the findings, check out Corporate Visions’ e-book, Can Virtual Training Be Better Than the Classroom?