Just for a moment, pause and think about your staff — and consider who is most often out of the office, who has significant periods of downtime waiting for meetings or travel schedules, and who is most in need of ‘just in time’ learning and insight. If your answer is your salespeople, you are probably in good company.

Now consider who they’re now selling to. Chances are, the type of buyer they are trying to do business with has very different characteristics compared to say, 10 years ago. Today prospects are better informed than perhaps ever before, and many businesses are grappling with the growing challenges of equipping sales reps with the knowledge and resources they need to close deals. In previous posts, we’ve charted this rise of the ‘savvy prospect’, drawing on research from CEB that suggests that 57% of a typical purchase decision is made before a customer even talks to a supplier.

So, on the one hand you have the well-informed customer and on the other you have your sales reps, knowledgeable and passionate no doubt, but with limited office time to receive training on the latest developments so that they can stay one step ahead in their knowledge, awareness, and insight. What can be done to help those reps approach these prospects in the most effective way?

This is where mobile video for sales training can add real value. Why? Mobile video addresses both of the challenges outlined. It both allows sales reps to hone their knowledge and skills on the go, and it offers them the opportunity to reach out to their prospects in an engaging way, differentiating your organisation from competitors.

Mobile Video for Sales Training

While face-to-face training is still central to a learning and development program, it’s not attuned to the specific requirements of a sales team — which is often geographically dispersed and therefore unable to come together in a formal learning session with the same ease as other members of staff.

The type of training and information salespeople require is different. Driven by the unpredictable dynamics of the sales process, the insights they need are often both highly specific and incredibly time-sensitive. A deal can sometimes hinge on getting the inside track on a competitor’s weaknesses or learning about a product development feature that addresses a customer’s pain point.

Mobile learning, and more particularly, mobile video, allows reps to gain knowledge from other members of their team just when they need it. They can also see and hear how, for instance, a certain new product feature is pitched rather than just getting a dry list of bullet points sent through on email. Companies that are using video for sales training in this way are seeing dramatic results.

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Mobile Video to Enhance the Sales Process

If you are selling to the ‘savvy prospect’, it’s likely you’re not the only company they are speaking to. So how does video set your organisation apart in a competitive scenario? Well, some of our users are finding that personalised video presentations either before or after a meeting, coupled with ongoing nurturing via video updates allows their sales team to engage with prospects in a much more tailored way, thereby offering that critical point of differentiation.

Other organisations, such as City and Guilds in the UK, are using video to record subject-matter expert videos for their sales reps to use during meetings to add credibility to their pitches.This means their large and complex product offer can be introduced by any salesperson, even those who are relatively new to the organisation, and that those sales reps can rest secure in the knowledge that their pitch is backed up by the deep knowledge of internal gurus via video.

Video use in all organisations is on the rise, and Sales Directors that want to get ahead of the curve are already starting to recognise the impact mobile video can have on sales enablement, staff training and prospect engagement.

If you want to find out more about how video can help your sales reps, contact us to try Panopto for free.