Store associates typically receive some type of training that is supposed to help them do their job better, but are your employees being trained on the type of course content they want and in a timely manner? Store personnel are the ones who engage with customers, so they know best what training they need to better help customers – why not ask them what kind of training they prefer and when they want it?
We recently surveyed U.S. retail sales associates about their training content preferences, and in this article, we'll break down what types of training content sales associates want most, how often they want new content, and the top ways they like to consume training content.
The types of content associates want.
Of over 800 store associates we surveyed on retail training content preferences, nearly 80% of them prefer training relating to current product lineups, followed closely by product comparisons at 71%. In third and fourth place, 60% of users want training on sales tips and tricks, and hands-on/demo videos. It’s clear that store associates see value in more training on the different products they sell in-store so they can make the appropriate recommendations to fulfill customer needs.
- Current in-store products: sales associates know that understanding a product's features, specifications and advantages or disadvantages it may have for a customer are key to making the right recommendations. Consumers expect store personnel to be well-informed, so it's important sales associates have access to some type of training on the products they sell in your stores.
- Product comparisons: in most cases customers have many different choices when it comes to a particular product on the shelf, so it’s fundamental for store personnel to be able to compare the differences, to be able to qualify their customer and make the best recommendation.
- Sales tips and tricks: knowing a product’s features and specs is one thing, but it’s also important for retail personnel to be efficient salespeople and to know the basics of how to make a sale.
- Hands-on/demo videos: for those who are visual learners, access to videos that showcase actual product are extremely beneficial. It’s easier for store associates to talk to a customer about a product when they know exactly what’s in the box and have seen how the product works.
How often associates want content.
A common misconception is that sales associates don’t want to see training content too often because they’ll get burnt out and stop engaging. We surveyed 1000 retail sales associates, and 75% want to see retail training content as frequently as daily, or multiple times a week - including micro-learning courses, virtual webinars, and sales reference tools. The more training a store associate can engage with, the more they are going to retain it and ultimately use that training when speaking with customers and closing sales.
How associates want to consume content.
It's not surprising that sales associates want such frequent training, since we also polled their most preferred method of consuming content - their mobile phone. The chart below shows over 55% of retail sales associates surveyed on SellPro prefer to receive online sales training on their mobile device compared to in-person or traditional PC eLearning.
Being able to hop on your phone to take a quick course is more convenient than attending an in-person training event or setting aside an hour to complete a PC based course. Recently, we’ve seen that the best way to reach, connect, and train retail personnel is through their mobile device and it will be the future for training programs.
Sales associate product knowledge is power.
So, store associates want product-related training as often as possible via their mobile devices. Are they benefiting from receiving content that often? YES! A whopping 92% of store associates on SellPro say that they have received better product and retail sales training knowledge by using SellPro and 52% have closed more sales. This is a beautiful cycle – store personnel want training as often as daily, benefit from more knowledge and close more sales. Rinse and repeat.
SellPro aims at creating the best mobile engagement and training solution where associates can fully expand their knowledge in a fun way. Over 78% of the SellPro user base says we’re better than other retail learning platforms they use.
To see how SellPro can help support your retail sales training program, click the button below.
