Train to Retain

Creating a Culture of Empowerment For Sales Teams Amid the Great Resignation

Creating a Culture of Empowerment For Sales Teams Amid the Great Resignation

It has been a full year since the Great Resignation first became every recruiter’s worst nightmare back in April 2021. Contrary to hopes among business leaders that a new year coupled with a receding pandemic would signal a shift in trajectory for the workforce exodus, U.S. employees are still resigning by the masses 365 days later.

What’s concerning, is that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that a record 4.53 million Americans quit their jobs in March, beating the previous high of 4.51 million last November. Then came this March CNBC report, which cited data suggesting that 44% of workers are either actively seeking new employment opportunities or plan to soon. So what should companies be focused on to prevent employee resignations?

For B2B sales organizations, the reality of the situation is clear. Knowing how to attract, develop, and retain high-level talent is invaluable amid the current market environment. Your pipeline is only as strong as the team that manages it, and you need a stable foundation of skilled and versatile sales reps who know how to navigate virtual selling landscapes – or as we talk about a lot at Bigtincan – create the buying experience of the future for your customers. Once you have your skilled sales team, it’s critical to onboard them, continuously train them, and then retain them.

This is where the role of sales enablement is critical to elevating your organization above industry competitors in the eyes of employees and potential new hires. Through the adoption of an AI-powered sales enablement platform, enterprises can take proactive steps to foster a culture of empowerment by providing personalized training, resources, and support that helps guide sellers to become the best version of themselves.

Position New Sellers for Sustained Success

Effective onboarding is the first critical step to transforming new hires into high-performing sellers, but the concept itself is much easier said than done. The problem is that traditional sales enablement onboarding programs are often designed through a one-size-fits-all framework containing static training materials and ad-hoc content that takes a lot of time to navigate. Let’s be real, none of that resonates with new hires amid the Great Resignation. In fact, it’s probably the reason they left their previous company to begin with.

That legacy approach to onboarding fails to offer the levels of personalization, flexibility, and scalability that sellers need to learn at their own pace and reach their full potential. By integrating automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning into the process with an integrated sales enablement platform, organizations can bridge those gaps with:

  • Tailored, just-in-time onboarding as new sellers prepare for their first buyer interactions
  • AI-driven adapted learning paths with real-time progress monitoring
  • Customizable course creation and self-guided microlearning
  • Engaging and immersive learning via gamification and AR/VR/MR technology

The result is an agile, digital-centric onboarding program that ensures new hires are equipped with the essential resources to effectively engage buyers, maximize those interactions, and ultimately lead them to smart purchasing decisions.

Make Personal Development a Priority

After establishing a solid foundation during onboarding, building on that progress with dynamic sales coaching and “everboarding” is the next important step to fostering a culture of empowerment and driving personal investment in development. Bigtincan’s Business Case and Playbook for Data-Driven Sales Coaching cited an Aragon Research study that determined sales coaching had the greatest impact on win rates and quota retainment over the past five years. And as we all know, the more quotas sellers hit, the more commission they earn, which serves as a top driver in employee retention.

In a hybrid working environment, it’s difficult for managers to provide daily, hands-on coaching to a team of remote sellers. However, with AI sales enablement tools like Conversation Intelligence, there are new opportunities to integrate hybrid peer-to-peer engagement with real-time, data-driven performance scoring and measuring to create the perfect coaching formula that unlocks the full potential of their sales reps. The presence of a reliable, coach-like manager who displays a commitment to their personal development will make sellers a lot less inclined to seek employment elsewhere.

While it appears the Great Resignation is likely here to stay for the immediate future, sales enablement platforms are a valuable tool that can be leveraged to help weather the storm. Creating an organizational culture of empowerment is the best way to attract new sellers and retain your existing ones. What goes around comes around – invest in the future of your employees, and they’ll invest in you back.

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