What’s the Difference Between Sales Training and Sales Coaching?
Sales training and sales coaching are two common approaches to developing a sales team, but they are not the same. Both involve teaching sales skills and techniques, but there is an important distinction between the two. Sales training focuses on what to do, while sales coaching focuses on how to do it.
Sales training typically involves presenting information about products or services, role-playing exercises, and learning about effective closing techniques. It is typically focused on specific skills that can be measured and improved. Sales coaching, on the other hand, involves working with individual salespeople to help them improve their performance. This may include identifying areas of improvement, setting goals, providing feedback, and helping them overcome obstacles.
While both approaches have their merits, sales coaching is generally considered more effective in developing long-term success because it helps salespeople build confidence, learn how to apply new skills in real-world situations, and develop a growth mindset.
Sales training is focused on teaching specific skills and techniques, while sales coaching is more about developing the whole person.
Sales training equips sales personnel with technical knowledge and skills, while sales coaching provides an opportunity for individuals to gain insight into their own behavior and innate strengths. As experts in sales leadership and sales management, we believe that a comprehensive approach to professional growth involves not only teaching the skills associated with selling, but also inspiring self-reflection that leads to personal development.
Our goal is to provide valuable information and education to our clients that emphasizes both the technical elements of salesmanship as well as the deeper growth potential resulting from dedicated coaches.
Sales training can be done in a group setting, while sales coaching is usually one-on-one.
Sales training and sales coaching are two important pieces of the sales puzzle, but they have distinct differences. Group training is a great way for sales reps to gain an understanding of the fundamentals and build on their skillset. On the other hand, when it comes to reaching individual goals and nailing that perfect pitch, one-on-one coaching can be a huge help.
It’s important to recognize the crucial role that both play in successful sales, which is why we focus on helping our clients improve and implement strategies around coaching and training so they can reach their full potential as a sales team.
The goal of sales training is to improve performance in the short-term, while the goal of sales coaching is to improve performance in the long-term.
Sales training and sales coaching offer two distinct paths to business growth and improved performance in the sales arena. Sales training provides tactical, high-frequency opportunities to focus on honing existing skill sets, while sales coaching is an ongoing process that builds long-term capacity by addressing underlying issues. With these two strategies together allows individuals to achieve success in the short-term by gaining invaluable insight into the art of sales through practical approaches, while building on the fundamental understanding in the longer-term for a comprehensive approach to developing effective sales teams.
As we’ve discovered, sales training and sales coaching have different objectives and approaches. Sales training focuses on teaching hard skills, while sales coaching develops soft skills. Sales training typically happens in a group setting, while sales coaching is usually done one-on-one. If you’re looking to improve your sales performance in the long term, you’ll want to incorporate both traditional sales training methods as well as meaningful one-on-one sales coaching sessions.
Want to find out how to create a well-rounded sales development program? Reach out today and schedule a quick chat with us.
