In today’s competitive world, it is the businesses that are most innovative and provide a better customer experience that win. In order to be successful at this, marketing and sales teams need to upskill.
Upskilling your team means providing them with the skills they need in order to succeed as well as keeping them updated with the latest trends and developments in your industry.
There are many ways to upskill your team, but here are five of the most effective.
Identify The Skill Gap
The first step is to identify the skills your team lacks. This can be done through a variety of methods such as surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
Once you have identified the skills your team needs, you can start to look for ways to fill the gaps.
In order to get honest responses, it is important to make sure that your employees feel comfortable giving feedback. You can do this by ensuring that there are no repercussions for speaking up and by maintaining an open-door policy.
Additionally, you can start by admitting your own gaps in knowledge and showing your team how you’re going to work on them.
Use training courses and e-learning
Investing in your team’s development is one of the best ways to ensure their success. There are many training courses available that can help marketing and sales teams to develop the skills they need.
There are also many e-learning platforms that offer courses on a wide range of topics. These can be accessed at any time and provide a flexible way for team members to upskill.
The most important thing when it comes to employee training is to keep it ongoing. Employees need to be given the opportunity to learn new things on a regular basis in order to stay up-to-date with the latest trends.
As well as that, you should always schedule follow-up meetings after each training session to ensure that your team members have understood the concepts and are able to put them into practice.
Invest in marketing and sales automation tools
Marketing and sales automation tools can help teams to work more efficiently and effectively. They can also help to free up time so that team members can focus on other tasks.
There are many different types of automation tools available, so it’s important to choose the ones that will be most beneficial for your business.
Some of the most popular marketing and sales automation tools include:
- CRM software
- Lead generation software
- Marketing automation software
- Email marketing software
- Social media management software
The tools you choose will depend on the kind of business you’re in. For example, if you’re in the business-to-consumer (B2C) space, then lead generation software will be more beneficial than if you were in the business-to-business (B2B) space.
Encourage team members to attend industry events
Attending industry events is a great way for team members to network with others in their field and to stay up-to-date with the latest trends. It’s also a great opportunity for them to learn from some of the best in the business.
When choosing which events to attend, it’s important to consider the needs of your team. For example, if you have a marketing team, then you might want to consider attending events that focus on marketing strategy or digital marketing.
If you have a sales team, then you might want to consider attending events that focus on sales techniques or customer relationship management.
You can also host industry events at your own business. This is a great way to show your team members that you’re invested in their development and that you want to provide them with opportunities to learn.
Encourage team members to read industry publications
Staying up-to-date with the latest industry news is essential for any marketing or sales team. There are many industry publications that team members can read in order to stay informed.
Some of the most popular marketing and sales publications include:
- The Harvard Business Review
- Forbes
- Entrepreneur
- Inc.
- Mashable
Encourage your team members to read these publications on a regular basis so that they can stay up-to-date with the latest industry news.
Make use of mentorship programs
Mentorship programs can be a great way for team members to learn from more experienced professionals. These programs can be either internal or external.
Internal mentorship programs involve team members being paired with more experienced colleagues within their own company. External mentorship programs involve team members being paired with professionals from other companies.
For instance, if you allow your team to watch, partner with, or hire the best content marketing agency, you can be sure that they’ll learn everything there is to know about this branch of marketing. Aside from broadening their knowledge, this can potentially allow you to introduce new services in your own company.
Aside from allowing your employees to work with experts in the industry, mentorship programs can foster a culture of collaboration instead of competitiveness. This is the right way to keep people motivated to learn, as it fosters growth.
Develop a Rewards System
A rewards system can be a great way to encourage team members to continue learning and developing their skills. Under this, employees can earn points or badges for completing training courses or reading industry publications.
These points can then be redeemed for prizes such as gift cards, days off, or even cash.
The rewards you offer will depend on the budget you have and the needs of your team. However, it’s important to make sure that the rewards are something that your team members will actually want.
For example, offering a day off for completing a training course might be more beneficial than offering a $50 gift card.
Implement an e-learning platform
An e-learning platform can be another great way to provide team members with the opportunity to learn at their own pace. These platforms offer courses on a variety of topics, which can be helpful for employees who want to learn new skills or brush up on their existing knowledge.
E-learning platforms can be used to provide team members with the opportunity to:
- Learn new skills
- Brush up on existing knowledge
- Earn certifications
- Prepare for exams
The biggest benefit of using an e-learning platform is that it allows employees to learn at their own pace. This can be helpful for employees who have busy schedules or who want to learn at their own pace.
There are many different e-learning platforms available, so do your research to find the best one for your team.
Keep It Relevant
When you’re developing training programs or encouraging team members to learn new skills, it’s important to make sure that the information is relevant to their needs.
For example, if you have a sales team, then you might want to consider attending events that focus on sales techniques or customer relationship management.
If you have a marketing team, on the other hand, you might want to consider attending events and choosing learning materials that focus on social media marketing or content marketing.
A lot of business owners try teaching their team about everything, but this isn’t always the best approach. It’s important to focus on the needs of each team and make sure that the learning opportunities actually offer some value to their day-to-day work life.
Encourage employees to take initiative
It’s important to encourage your employees to take the initiative when it comes to their own development.
Employees should feel empowered to seek out new learning opportunities and to take charge of their own career growth.
One way to do this is to provide employees with a budget for professional development. This can be used for things like attending conferences, taking courses, or buying books.
Another way to encourage employees to take the initiative is to create an environment that supports lifelong learning. This means that you’re constantly encouraging employees to learn new things and to grow in their careers.
You can do this by setting up a library of resources, hosting lunch-and-learns, or offering mentorship programs.
When employees feel like they have the opportunity to grow and develop, they’ll be more likely to stay with your company for the long run.
Create Guidelines for After Training
When team members complete a training program or learn a new skill, it’s important to have guidelines in place for how they can apply what they’ve learned.
For example, if you send a team member to a customer service training course, you might want to create guidelines for how they should use the new skills they’ve learned.
These guidelines might include things like:
- Answering phone calls within three rings
- Using the customer’s name during the conversation
- Asking questions to understand the customer’s needs
- Offering solutions to the customer’s problems
- Following up with the customer after the conversation
Creating guidelines for after training will help ensure that team members are actually using the new skills they’ve learned.
Conclusion
Upskilling your marketing and sales teams can be a challenge, but it’s important to invest in their development.
By using e-learning platforms, keeping learning relevant, encouraging employees to take the initiative, and creating guidelines for after training, you can ensure that your team members are constantly learning and growing. This will help them be more successful in their roles, and it will also help reduce turnover.
