Understandably one of the biggest worries of Sales managers is losing their best reps. And honestly, we cannot blame them. Historically sales organizations have always had a very high employee turnover rates, with 34% on average according to a recent survey by the Bridge Group. But what’s of even bigger concern is that for one in ten companies, this figure is even higher - at 50%. 

Our purpose here is not to analyze in detail the reasons for the high churn rates amongst the sales force that many organizations face. We want to focus on one key area - employee training. While it is possible to develop the kind of learning culture that ultimately contributes to a certain extent to retaining employees, it is also important to acknowledge that in some cases churn will be high regardless of what we do, it’s just the nature of business. So we need to build and implement the type of eLearning systems and methods that help us meet this challenge and reduce its impact on the bottom line the best we can and here are the top 3 things we need to know about how to do it. 

#1 Improve the onboarding and training process through eLearning

Top performing companies generally spend more for onboarding, with an Allied Workforce Mobility Survey showing that the average was $178,868 per year in the US.  This results in better retention, with employees more likely to remain in the company for over a year, and also in improved performance. 

The first few days and weeks after a new hire joins a company are crucial to building a strong basis for future success. A well planned and executed onboarding experience will go a long way to ensure that sales reps are well informed about the resources and knowledge at their disposal in their new role. Learning fast about the sales processes, systems and equipment, about the product range and promotions is the best way for new employees to feel like part of the organization quickly and to start building confidence and ultimately delivering results.

#2 Save on costs

We all know that if we don’t keep employee turnover in check our company can lose not only time but also significant amounts of money due to poor performance, cost of hiring and rehiring, etc. Studies show that recruiting for a position can cost anywhere between 15% to 250% of the annual salary depending on the industry and role. Not an insignificant number and it all adds up.

Training can help save not only hiring costs by improving retention. eLearning has proven advantages for being a fast, more cost-effective route for introducing all the products, sales processes, promotions and other important information to your new hires. Compared to the traditional classroom methods it will ensure that your new employees don’t waste time from day one and feel more involved the moment they start work.

#3 Deliver and test knowledge in small increments

Nowadays we are all busier and under a significant pressure to deliver results all the time, and this applies to new hires too. eLearning allows you to deliver the knowledge in small bursts and also to do it in a way that easily coordinates with the day-to-day activities of the sales person so they see it as part of the job rather than as an additional burden. 

This also applies to test or quizzes as part of the learning process which can be used as a way to assess progress and tied up to the sales reps’ bonuses and remuneration packages if applicable. A modern LMS lets you monitor results of online learning and track them against sales performance by product or by current promotions or any other criteria that might be suitable for your organization. Thus, you can validate if and how the improvements in knowledge and skills have direct impact on sales results and reward people as appropriate, which ultimately results in more satisfied sales force and less churn.

Creating a well-thought, scalable and easy to monitor training process can save time for the company in the long run and cut down churn. Implementing and managing an LMS is an effective way to achieve this. Contact us for more information or if you want to discuss your particular requirements about how Melon LMS can help you effectively implement online learning in order to reduce the turnover in your sales organization.