Analysis from G2 discovered that in case your gross sales reps don’t really feel they’re studying and rising in your group, you’re in danger to lose upwards of 60% of your complete workforce inside 4 years. So, what makes impactful coaching that leaves your learners feeling empowered?

Shawnna Sumaoang: Hello and welcome to the Win Win Podcast. I’m your host, Shawnna Sumaoang. Be a part of us as we dive into altering tendencies within the office and find out how to navigate them efficiently. Right here to debate this subject is Debra Bonomi, world gross sales enablement supervisor at Rakuten Promoting. Thanks for becoming a member of, Debra! I’d love so that you can inform us about your self, your background, and your position.

Debra Bonomi: Hello Shawnna. Thanks a lot for having me right here at the moment. I actually am wanting ahead to this dialog. I positively have a really numerous background in coaching and growth. I began out in retail, then I joined a coaching and consulting agency, after which went into actual property, and now I’m presently in internet affiliate marketing.

Though I’ve very numerous industries, all of my positions in these previous jobs consisted of coaching and growth. Since constructing our Highspot coaching, I’ve moved into a brand new position even inside Rakuten Promoting from the gross sales enablement supervisor for world gross sales and consumer service groups, to now the educational and growth supervisor for all world groups.

SS: Debra, we’re excited to have you ever right here, particularly given your experience and your background. Now, you name your self knowledgeable learner and also you focus rather a lot on skilled growth, together with taking a few of our programs that my crew lately constructed out inside Highspot College. Thanks for taking these, we might love any suggestions, by the best way, after this podcast. How do you assume ongoing coaching advantages you personally?

DB: I do love these coaching programs. One among my high 5 strengths in StrengthFinder assessments is learner, and that actually does describe me. I’ve all the time had a quench for data, and this has helped me in so many facets of my life personally, and professionally, being a mother, pal, and peer, actually with everybody that I work together with.

I feel by approaching each interplay I’ve from a standpoint of being open and open to listening, I be taught. I’m grateful for all my interactions with individuals since I discovered totally different views or from their experiences that I’d by no means have discovered by myself. This has been one of many main explanation why I can bounce industries and excel so rapidly and it’s additionally enabled me to be a useful resource for groups that I assist.

SS: Now you touched on this a bit of bit in your introduction, however you even have a singular background the place you’ve some expertise in enterprise growth and venture administration. How do you assume that this impacts your strategy to gross sales enablement and coaching?

DB: I feel due to my experiences in each, I perceive that when you construct a strong basis, there’s no restrict to what could be achieved, and this paradoxically makes it extra agile. I put a whole lot of effort and time into constructing the muse of any of the enablement packages I’ve been concerned with and the trainings. Some individuals can do that as taking a step backward earlier than we transfer ahead, however I don’t. I do know it’s critical for profitable outcomes. My prep and discovery section takes probably the most time in the entire initiatives that I’m concerned with.

I eagerly search out talent gaps, course of wants, communication wants, and desired outcomes, and I’m continually asking why and so what to myself. I speak with the stakeholder from each stage of the funnel or course of concerned in what I’m constructing, in order that the coaching is complete. It is smart, and it can also embody these nuggets or suggestions that fill within the hole.

SS: I like that. Highspot proper now could be actually attempting to assist our different prospects perceive what attractiveness like, so I’d like to get your perspective and your opinion on what attractiveness like in relation to gross sales coaching.

DB: I wrestle with this as properly. I are likely to wish to preserve going till the coaching covers 110% or provides outcomes which can be 110%. I’m positively engaged on this myself, however at its core, I really feel like good coaching is when the gross sales groups know their targets, they’ve the instruments to realize these targets, they know find out how to use these instruments, after which give them a platform to share real-time suggestions. A gross sales rep’s position modifications with every consumer or prospect interplay, so enablement and L&D should be as agile to assist them and whether or not it’s content material wants or firm data, trade insights, or any information wanted to assist constructing that consumer rep relationship.
I feel a key change we’ve got made right here at Rakuten to our coaching since rolling out Highspot, which we discovered out of your platform is breaking down trainings into modules. As an alternative of getting hour-long periods, we’re now beginning to create quick focused trainings which can be activity or talent particular. This fashion we preserve the learner’s consideration in addition to when the reps return if they’re skilled on one thing, after which they don’t have to have that data for say, 4 months, whether or not it’s like filling out part of a contract. This fashion when the rep goes again, they don’t should scroll via hour-long movies like they used to attempt to discover that part. They will simply go proper to the focused video, which has been improbable.

SS: I like that, and that’s all the time improbable to listen to. Now, I do know that you’re passionate and love studying, however how do you share your love for studying together with your gross sales reps to essentially encourage them to enhance their data and abilities?

DB: I like this query. No pun supposed. First I set up relationships with them to really perceive them and their wants, after which to get their buy-in. I feel generally I do that as people and generally I do it on the crew stage, however I do the identical issues no matter both of these. I discover out what their background is, what their ache factors are, what would make their job simpler and extra pleasant, and what they should obtain their success, after which I ship. I feel that’s an important factor.

Each time I ship on something that I’ve interacted with them or inquired with them, I can see their shoulders stress-free. I see them smiling extra, after which I begin to see them becoming a member of an increasing number of of my future coaching periods as a result of I’ve constructed that belief with them. I like my job and I’m not simply saying that. I really love not solely studying about this new trade and studying about what I can do to assist individuals, so it’s simple for me to be genuine in my enthusiasm and my assist.

SS: Effectively, I like that, and no pun supposed to that as properly. Now you’ve 98% energetic participation in your coaching and training programs in Highspot, so clearly you’re doing one thing proper and your reps find it irresistible. Are you able to share greatest practices for a way you drive rep engagement in your studying packages in Highspot?

DB: Positive, I’d like to. Before everything, one of many key learnings out of your Spark Convention in 2022, which was my first ever attending, one of many key learnings that we walked away with was to get senior management buy-in, and that message was pushed dwelling repeatedly at your convention, and we obtained it. One among our main coaching releases lately was with our CRM, SalesForce, and the necessity was recognized by our CFO.
It was an ideal alternative to get our CFO and our CEO to assist these coaching modules being constructed inside Highspot on Salesforce. That in flip obtained different senior leaders to affix in to assist and in addition by way of holding individuals accountable. I feel this was a significant component in our participation price. We nonetheless wanted to make the coaching stick, not simply to have individuals take it as a result of they had been advised to as a result of senior management was holding them accountable. That is the place the invention basis work kicked in. Having a full 360-degree understanding of how this coaching will affect end-to-end makes it extra worthwhile, extra relatable, and drives engagement. When a rep is aware of that they’re requested what they want steerage on, after which they get that steerage, that builds belief with the enablement and coaching groups.

One other key greatest follow was using the Highspot platform to vary the supply to these quick focused movies with assessments. They love the problem of the assessments that Highspot provides us to do, in addition to the in-time demonstration of their studying after which additionally offering assist documentation, I feel is vital too on the backside of all trainings in order that they may reserve it as a useful resource. I feel this was very totally different from our earlier studying and growth platform talents that we’ve had up to now.

One other key integration for us was that Highspot truly syncs these focused coaching modules proper into Salesforce, and that has been super. Gone are the times of a rep taking a coaching, not utilizing it for six months or longer, after which attempting to recollect the place they will discover it inside a number of platforms. Now, whereas they’re on the display screen in Salesforce, they usually’re doing a activity, in the event that they don’t keep in mind find out how to do it, proper on the right-hand aspect Highspot has the power to have us have the coaching proper there so they may click on on it, it stays in the identical display screen and provides them steerage, which has been excellent. Thanks for that.

SS: Implausible. I like the very best practices that you just simply shared there. What outcomes have you ever began to see out of your reps who’ve engaged within the coaching?

DB: Sheer pleasure and I imply that wholeheartedly. There’s a pleasure in being extra environment friendly, assuaging their frustration, and understanding find out how to do their job. Now they’ve extra time to be inventive or simply to have conversations with their shoppers. We’ve positively seen a rise in our CRM errors, but additionally we’ve gotten extra full profiles, which might not have essentially come up as an error up to now. The reps didn’t know find out how to fill in all of the fields, so that they left them clean, and once more, that didn’t come up as an error, however we had been lacking, as an organization, worthwhile information from our shoppers to assist us make extra knowledgeable selections on forecasting and enterprise wants.

Now we have additionally recognized the subsequent stage of coaching wants based mostly on all of this. A lot of our duties are interconnected and as soon as we launch coaching in a single subject, another matters which can be woven into it are actually highlighted. Now we’ve got reps in these departments coming to us asking for coaching to be included and generally included in earlier modules. A fantastic instance of that’s the CRM coaching I talked about. We initially simply included steps inside the CRM, however now we’ve got our authorized division reaching out saying, hey, can I add a lesson inside that to provide them a greater understanding of what a contract is or find out how to fill out the contract, not simply find out how to add it into the CRM?

SS: Fantastic. Now, as we take into consideration possibly among the KPIs or the important thing efficiency indicators, what metrics do you monitor at the moment to know the affect of your coaching packages and particularly the affect on productiveness, and the way does Highspot assist you to monitor a few of these?

DB: Highspot has given us analytics to a stage that we really have by no means had earlier than. As an alternative of providing a coaching session and ready for suggestions from crew members in the event that they wanted extra coaching, which generally suggestions by no means got here, now we’ve got the power to proactively view the coaching course stats. When applicable we construct good pages related to a coaching subject, some small focused good pages, and a few extra intensive ones. We will additionally use the scorecards from these good pages to see if there’s a rise in content material engagement, utilization, the pitching on these matters, all of them from the coaching that had been launched.

We construct preliminary analytics studies inside Highspot by the crew in order that managers can pull these studies themselves and achieve insights wanted for his or her one-on-ones with reps. These one-on-one conversations are extra focused at each reps which can be succeeding and people which can be struggling. If I had a rep attain out to me with a query, I’d truly pull up that report for his or her data earlier than I responded to them in order that I knew what to anticipate, or what their actions have been or lack of earlier than I truly began talking with them, which I’ve by no means had that skill earlier than. Plus we additionally utilized the Highspot assist groups, they usually assessment with us on a month-to-month foundation our report card and provides us insights on our engagement, our utilization, our adoption, and extra. They positively give us a whole lot of steerage.

Then, lastly, a key name out about Highspot is the modifications and enhancements it’s making to our group that may’t be tracked or analyzed inside Highspot. I’m the most important advocate of this. After we began to construct our Highspot platform for our groups, we rapidly realized that the entire techniques and the processes and content material, steerage, and communications that weren’t in place wanted to be, and that’s not essentially one thing that I might pull a report in Highspot, however when you construct this platform accurately and also you really are thorough, you’ll get data that’s important to a corporation by way of correcting its course. I extremely suggest it. It’s a non-confrontational method of figuring out what must be constructed out to assist our enterprise construction and our groups and it’s an added bonus that Highspot supplied us that we weren’t anticipating. Thanks.

SS: I like to listen to that. I think about Debra, simply because once more, you are taking this be taught all of it mentality, how do you employ these metrics then to optimize your packages and enhance the affect that you just’re already driving together with your coaching packages?

DB: We used them to determine if the coaching was complete sufficient. Do we have to change it since errors are nonetheless occurring? Do we have to add extra matters like stage 2.0 to the subsequent step of this? What key learnings can we take away to incorporate within the subsequent coaching course creation? Even the good web page builders, just like the Highspot rep and I generally chortle like, do you do not forget that first good web page we constructed, we thought it was so nice, and now take a look at what they seem like. We will see what reps like by what they reply to and use, after which we will do extra of that and preserve constructing on that.

We will additionally use Highspot to find out what coaching is required based mostly on analyzing the rep’s behaviors. Coaching inside Highspot and inside their day by day roles. For instance, inside Highspot, if too many gross sales reps are downloading the pitch deck, as a substitute of creating a duplicate, enhancing, and pitching, then we all know that we’ve got to coach them on that. If it’s a small quantity, the supervisor would possibly have the ability to appropriate this, and inside their day by day roles, if the reps usually are not personalizing decks in any respect, or not utilizing the insights obtainable to them, we will appropriate that as properly. By seeing what’s and what’s not occurring, we will use this data to offer insights as to why initiatives are profitable or not, after which make selections on the subsequent step.

SS: Completely love that. Two final questions for you, Debra. I’d love to listen to about possibly a current win that you just’ve been in a position to obtain because of your coaching packages and the way did you leverage Highspot that will help you obtain that?

DB: Positively our CRM coaching. Highspot gave us coaching program capabilities that we by no means had earlier than. It additionally gave us some steerage by way of I don’t essentially know if we might’ve thought to start out breaking apart our coaching into these fast, quick, focused movies versus persevering with to do the hour-long periods.

We will measure studying in the intervening time both by questions, recorded responses of a gross sales pitch, consumer name, or laptop activity, and we love that they will be taught after which reveal proper in the intervening time. We will guarantee they took the course, not solely to get credit score for watching the whole course, etcetera, and we didn’t have the aptitude to do any of this stuff previous to Highspot, as I mentioned earlier than. The coaching platform is extremely simple to navigate, construct and monitor.

SS: Love that. Final query for you, Debra. How do you intend to proceed utilizing Highspot coaching and training to assist drive gross sales productiveness within the subsequent yr, and hopefully past?

DB: As a lot as attainable. We use Highspot presently for our gross sales and consumer service groups. It’s a tremendous instrument to make use of for onboarding new hires, rolling out new initiatives, compliance, or necessary trainings. Actually something that we have to measure and provides reps. The flexibility to be taught after which reveal key learnings and something that we have to measure ourselves.

We are going to particularly use this for any coaching that can be utilized inside our CRM to assist our reps. As I discussed earlier, not simply the CRM-specific activity, however now we’re beginning to layer in authorized parts to that coaching. I’m certain as soon as that occurs, there’s going to be one other division to succeed in out and say, hey, are you able to add this to that coaching as properly, which is fantastic. They love not solely having the coaching on the precise web page that they want in that CRM, but additionally they don’t have to go away the platform and begin the hunt. One factor we’ve discovered, and I’ve discovered positively, is that the extra we use it, the extra we see why and the way we have to use it.

I’m certain there are issues that I may very well be saying extra. Similar to after we constructed a coaching course after which instantly noticed the subsequent course wanted to be constructed. I’m clear that there’ll be makes use of for Highspot that aren’t in our orbit but, and I really can’t wait to be taught them.

SS: Effectively, thanks a lot for sharing what you’ve discovered to this point, Debra. I actually admire it.

DB: Thanks very a lot.

SS: Thanks for listening to this episode of the Win Win podcast. You should definitely tune in subsequent time for extra insights on how one can maximize enablement success with Highspot.