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In our free-market culture, where consumers have access to multiple options in every space, selling a product or service is not easy. Even a lifelong salesperson encounters hurdles when selling for a new business or target audience. They will want to understand the ins and outs of the product and target customer before they begin selling. The onboarding process for today’s sales reps must be comprehensive and engaging to ensure an accelerated ramp time and effective sales approach. Sales training and onboarding platforms instill product knowledge and best practices for new hires on a sales team, while testing and refining their most valuable selling skills.
For incoming sales representatives, the onboarding experience will prepare them with the appropriate knowledge for various scenarios, as well as set the tone for their experience at the company. A dry or ineffective training program can disillusion sales professionals about the product they sell, the organization as a whole, or the managers leading the way. The products in this category can assist with the creation of personalized, engaging, in-depth onboarding activities such as educational courses about the product, video roleplaying, and other assessments. The sales training process is increasingly complex, specifically when it involves intricate product knowledge and high-level selling skills. Digital training programs can simplify the process and adequately prepare sales reps to hit the sales floor. These advanced sales training tools play a central role in the onboarding process for many successful brands.
Key Benefits of Sales Training and Onboarding Software
The programs in this software category are built for onboarding new employees in a sales-based role. As opposed to more generalized training eLearning software, these programs focus on developing educational content, practice tools, and skills assessments for sales organizations and dedicated sales teams within larger organizations.
Managers and sales leaders — Using these robust platforms, managers and sales leaders construct highly effective learning plans to ensure the employee onboarding process is as seamless as possible. Managers can create employee onboarding plans that are easily repeatable for each new hire brought onto the team, streamlining the onboarding process and saving time and resources for the organization.
Managers and team leaders who work closest to the sales process will use these tools at the outset. These individuals determine the proper onboarding process for each role on their sales team, and build out courses, workflows, and assessments for new employees in these positions. Every sales team is different. Depending on the size and structure of an organization, it may have a number of distinct roles across the sales floor (e.g. account executives, business development representatives). While varying positions share general product and company knowledge, they might require unique training programs tailored to their responsibilities. Within these software platforms, managers can construct specialized regimens for the employee onboarding process across all roles, with content, workshops, and assessments designed to help ramp new hires in each unique position.
New sales employees — As sales employees are hired, they are granted access to their respective training programs on the platform. Whether training for online sales, in-person sales, or global sales, new employees on a sales team benefit from the added instruction from these tools. Following the onboarding process developed by their managers can help new hires master the sales process and product offerings at their company, along with the customer interactions they are likely to encounter.
The platforms featured in this category each offer a unique set of tools related to employee onboarding and training on the sales floor. Many products qualify for multiple software categories, offering features that assist with other aspects of sales acceleration or corporate training. The following are common features of products in this category that help organizations ramp up new sales hires and prepare them for success.
Lesson building — Several platforms in this category offer features similar to those of course authoring software, that allow managers and administrators to shape lessons that follow the natural progression of sales onboarding. These platforms might have course templates or other lesson design tools. Once managers determine the most important topics and instructional content for incoming sales reps, they can build out lessons that explain each topic and help reps develop the appropriate skills for selling a product or service. Once courses are created, users can access them in the order instructed by their managers. Administrators can track the individual progress and engagement with these courses as well. Lessons can touch on everything from product knowledge to account forecasting. Depending on the platform, there might be a variety of tools that construct these topical lessons and maximize engagement from the end user.
Training assessments — As sales hires work through their lesson plans, it’s crucial they’re continuously evaluated to ensure they’re retaining information and can handle potential sales scenarios. Products in this category often include assessment features, allowing managers to create tests that must be taken at various stages. When sales reps prove they mastered certain knowledge or skills, they can unlock the next lessons and proceed through their training. In some cases, administrators can create badges and certifications that are distributed when requirements are met on assessments.
Practice tools — A number of sales training programs offer interactive practice tools such as virtual roleplaying and email composition workshops. Administrators might integrate these interactive components into assessments. For example, managers might ask salespeople to record themselves explaining a product feature, and then assess their performance to see if they’re ready for the sales floor. Skills assessments might be an important part of an onboarding program, giving new recruits the opportunity to prove themselves before they are placed in real life sales situations.
Onboarding analytics — Analytics features on some platforms help management teams oversee the onboarding process by including specific metrics such as course completion times and rates of engagement. Analytics may include data about specific users and groups, helping managers identify knowledge gaps and opportunities for improvement. As with any management process, the onboarding process should be closely monitored and continually improved based on these observations. Onboarding analytics can help management teams refine lessons and assessments, as well as identify high and low performers based on engagement, comprehension, and results.
Other Features of Sales Training and Onboarding Software: Feedback, Gamification, Instructor-Led Training, Manager Portals, Video Simulations
Getting new sales hires up to speed quickly can be a make-or-break factor for small businesses. Without the luxury of dedicated enablement teams, these companies need onboarding solutions that are fast to implement, easy to manage, and effective from day one. According to feedback on G2, the tools below stand out for simplifying training while delivering results:
The best-rated onboarding software for sales teams blends learning content, coaching tools, and performance analytics to help reps ramp up quickly and consistently. Based on G2 reviews and sales team feedback, these platforms are recognized for their impact and usability: