This week we are continuing our conversation about sale reps and the value of sales training. Today we discuss the importance of having sales reps on your team that are subject matter experts. We define what a subject matter expert is, how they benefit your team and how your sales people can become subject matter experts themselves.
In case you missed our last post, we discuss why your current sales training program is failing here.
What is A Subject Matter Expert?
A subject matter expert (SME) can best be described as an individual that has authority in a particular field achieved through a combination of education, experience, and marketing insight (Source: Torres, J., 2014). SME’s play an important role in every sales team as they provide industry, company, product, and service insights.
Importance of Transitioning Reps into Subject Matter Experts
Sales reps are the ideal candidate for SME stature (Source: Torres, j., 2014). Sales professionals have the education, industry knowledge, and continual frontline experience needed to maintain this status. The sales professionals that have worked in a particular field for some time should possess the experience and skills to qualify as a SME (Source: Torres, J., 2014).
You may have sales reps who qualify as SMEs but find that they are not using their knowledge and skill to their fullest potential. The fact is that most SME salespeople don’t do a good job at positioning themselves as an SME in the eyes of the buyer (Source: Torres, 2014). Sales reps who are SME’s are responsible for providing a single point of sales expertise, and act as human knowledge portals that can be tapped into as needed (Source: CPSA, 2009).
Sales training can be a difficult task in today’s sales environment. Learn more about what’s stopping you from sales success in our post, “The 2 Reasons that Sales Training Fails to Improve the Sales Process”.
Sales & Marketing Alignment
Sales reps don’t just become experts on their own. They rely on content and information from marketing so before you can even consider turning your sales reps into SMEs, you must ensure that you have total sales and marketing alignment. Today's marketing executives understand that adding value to the buyer through digital, social, and mobile channels depends on SMEs and a strong point of view (Source: Forbes Media, 2015). Further, sales team realize that original research and compelling insights collected by marketing teams make it easier to start quality conversations with customers (Source: Forbes Media, 2015).
Don’t think sales and marketing alignment will be beneficial to you? Think again! Check out our post, “Why use Sales and Marketing Alignment and 5 Best Practices”.
How Subject Matter Experts Can Win Over the Empowered Buyer
There is nothing worse for a sales rep than walking into a room where a prospect knows more about the product than they do, or asks a question that they cannot answer (Source: KnowledgeTree, 2015). This is a scenario that is occurring more frequently, as buyers are becoming more empowered and are actually expecting sales reps to be SMEs (Source: CallidusCloud, 2015).
[RELATED CONTENT] Did you know that empowered buyers are just one of several new trends impacting sales and marketing? The first chapter of our "Sales Enablement Success" series details the stats behind these trends, and offers some best practices with proven ROI for any industry. Download the free eBook to learn more.
Empowered buyers are known for doing extensive research before entering a sales presentation with sales reps. When they do finally reach out to sales reps, they need specific information to finish the decision making process (Source: CallidusCloud, 2015). Sales reps positioned as SMEs have a much stronger ability to answer any question thrown at them, build credibility with buyers, and ultimately sell more effectively.
Simply put, the more a sales rep knows about a product, the greater the chance that they have of closing a deal (Source: KnwoledgeTree, 2015). Keep in mind, buyers don’t just want to hear about your products. They want sales reps to tell them how your product can solve their unique problems. In fact, 80% of buyers will spend more money with sellers who actually understand their business (Source: NASP, 2015).
Industry and competitor insights play a role in influencing the final purchase decision (Source: KnowledgeTree, 2015). According to a LinkedIn survey, B2B buyers are 5 times more likely to engage with a sales professional who is able to provide new insights about their business and the industry (Source: KnowledgeTree, 2015).
Do you find the subject of empowered buyers to be of interest? May I suggest checking out our post, “How an Empowered Buyer Impacts the Sales Process”.
Benefits of Having Subject Matter Experts on Your Sales Team
Four ways that SME’s impact your sales team include:
- Product Knowledge: SMEs are up to date on product knowledge including product specifications, reference guides, training, and marketing positioning (Source: CPSA, 2009). They also combine their understanding of the product with other applications in the buyer’s business. The key for a SME is helping the buyer paint a picture of the total solution, not just the individual product being sold.
- Competitive Advantage: SMEs are up to date on your competitor’s products, tactics, and pricing strategies (Source: CPSA, 2009). Sales rep can guide the buyer in seeing a bigger competitive outcome from this sale, rather than just the industry-specific benefits.
- Industry Knowledge: Keeping up with Industry trends not only helps give your sales team a competitive advantage, they also keep you updated on market and consumer trends. Industry knowledge turns a sales rep into a trusted concierge, or someone who the buyer will turn to for more insights on a topic. The best sales reps become a go-to resource for buyers even after the sale, and this creates opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.
- Sales Coaches: SMEs can pair their knowledge of the above categories to in the field experiences (Source: CPSA, 2009). This combination of knowledge and experience allows SMEs to become valuable coaches, especially for newer sales reps.
Are you having issues coaching your sales team? Our post, “How to Overcome Your Coaching Challenges and Optimize the Sales Process”, will be able to provide you with valuable insight.
How Sales Enablement can Help Sales Reps Become Subject Matter Experts
For many companies, training curriculum is stored in a number of learning management systems (Source: Sales For Life, 2015). This can be quite confusing for management and sales reps. According to reports, sales professionals reveal that they are turning to Google for information rather than training materials (Source: Sales For Life, 2015). Sale enablement can help to resolve this issue as it acts as a central content hub for both management and sales reps.
The best sales enablement solutions allow sales and marketing teams to access investment models, data visualization tools, and benchmarking assessments (Source: Forbes Media, 2015). Sales reps can actively monitor their own personal progress and figure out which areas need improvement. Sales enablement tools also allow reps to actually learn in real time through the software, instead of reading over information or listening to lectures. Sales reps can learn by doing instead of seeing.
Not sure if sales enablement software is for you? May I suggest reading our post, “How to Determine the Right Sales Enablement Software”.
Yours sales reps likely have the knowledge and skills to be SMEs right now and tapping into this resource is huge for your sales strategy going forward. SMEs can improve your sales process, help with sales rep training, and even build better relationships with customers and prospects. Building SMEs takes time and the right content. Sales enablement can break down these barriers.
[RELATED CONTENT] When it comes to sales enablement software, it can be tough to decide whether to built it in-house or buy a ready-made platform. Feel free to download the whitepaper below for an analysis of those options, and what it means to choose a built platform versus an in-house platform.
If you'd like to test drive real sales enablement software, please feel free to book a demo and let us show you just how easy it can be to turn your sales team into subject matter experts.
