Today’s consumers are digitally connected, socially networked and prefer to have gathered all the required information on the product that is to be purchased, before they even speak with your sales team. However, an intelligent consumer may approach your salesperson with a difficult question—one without an answer on your website, white paper, social media posts and so on. Is your staff adequately equipped to make that personal connection, provide a trustworthy experience for your prospective customer and tip the scale toward a win situation for your organization?
See how our product knowledge training solutions helped a leading global media company train their employees across the world. Download the Case Study
What Does Product Knowledge Training Mean?
Investing in product knowledge training represents a strategic approach to sales enablement, empowering your organization’s sales and customer success teams. It plays a pivotal role in enhancing the performance of sales professionals. This training is focused on providing comprehensive insights into the products they represent, encompassing a thorough understanding of every facet.
Think of it as the backstage pass to understanding how a product works, what problems it solves, and why it’s awesome. When sales teams have this knowledge, they can confidently answer customer questions, address objections, and, ultimately, close more deals.
According to Salesforce’s ‘State of Sales’ report, 26% of sales representatives who excel in their roles receive weekly coaching, whereas only 20% of underperforming reps report the same.
Imagine that you are employed by a corporation specializing in selling online courses. Your product knowledge training would cover topics like:
- The multiple online courses offered by your company.
- These courses come with distinct features and benefits.
- Each course is tailored to a specific group of learners.
- How to market and sell your courses.
- How to provide customer support for your courses.
Product knowledge training can be delivered in various formats, including instructor-led training (ILT), online, and on-the-job training (OJT). The most effective delivery method will vary depending on your organization’s and your employee’s needs. No matter how you deliver it, product knowledge training is an investment that will pay off in the long run. You can increase sales, improve customer satisfaction, and reduce costs by giving your employees the knowledge they need to sell your product effectively and support your customers.
Importance of Product Knowledge
Product knowledge is the most important tool for closing sales. It instills faith, trust, and respect in the customer, which creates a positive customer experience. The importance of product knowledge represents itself the most in these situations:
Answering Difficult Questions:
Many customers will have answered just about every question on your product or service before they even call you. But, there are usually a couple questions which don’t have answers online, and normally they are difficult questions like: “I have read some mixed reviews on your customer service. Can you tell me what I can expect if I have problems down the road?” This is where product knowledge training is crucial. If your team is educated on these negative perceptions ahead of time and have prepared responses for them, the answer the customer receives will be very powerful and concise. If they are caught off guard, they might become defensive, stumble over their response, or completely ignore the question, which will result in all faith being lost with the customer because the one question they couldn’t find an answer for ahead of time, was answered insufficiently.
Building Trust:
Customers have to trust the product, company, and person they interact with before they make a purchase, and by now, you probably know that the person they interact with is weighed much more heavily than the other two sources. This makes it vital for your sales team to be seen as trustworthy sources of information. As mentioned earlier, customers enter conversations armed with information about your product. Imagine what it says to your customer if what they hear from the salesperson is not the same as what they have taken from your website or marketing releases. It eliminates all trust in not only the company, but also in the salesperson, because they don’t know who to believe. This makes it crucial that not only your sales team has enough product knowledge, but that they also have the most current product knowledge.
Making Lasting Impressions:
One of the reasons that customers are doing so much research on your products and services is that tremendous competition has driven consumers to believe that all products are similar. With such a small margin of difference in the product itself, companies are realizing that they can make up for the difference in other areas. One easy area that you can make a difference is in the buying experience, but it requires an in-depth knowledge of your product to do so. For example, a customer starts the conversation by asking about one product, but your salesperson recognizes that this customer is actually a better fit for a different product (or even an add-on product.)
Your salesperson then proceeds to explain the reasons why and, in doing so, has now taught the customer something and shown that the salesperson has the customer’s best interest in mind. With so many “order takers” in the sales industry right now, this will surely create a lasting impression.
Objectives of Product Knowledge Training
The objectives of product knowledge training are multifaceted, aiming to benefit both the organization and its employees.
Understanding the Product: The first and most obvious objective is ensuring you truly understand what you are selling. It’s like getting to know a new friend – the more you know, the better you can talk about them. You should be able to explain what the product does, how it benefits the user, and any potential drawbacks.
Building Confidence: Product knowledge training boosts the confidence of your sales team. They can approach customers or clients with assurance when they know their stuff. It’s like being the expert in the room, which can be empowering.
Answering Questions: Have you ever been asked a question about a product and felt like a deer in headlights? Product knowledge training helps you tackle those questions like a pro. You’ll be prepared for all sorts of inquiries and can provide answers that instill trust in your customers.
Handling Objections: People can be skeptical, and that’s okay. But with good product knowledge, you can handle objections more effectively. If someone says, “I heard this product breaks easily,” you can respond with facts that counter that perception.
Matching Solutions to Needs: One of the awesome things about knowing your product inside and out is that you can match it to your customers’ needs. It’s like being a puzzle solver – you find the right pieces and make everyone feel good.
Cross-selling and Upselling: Product knowledge isn’t just about what you’re selling right now; it’s also about what else you can offer. With a deep understanding of your product line, you can suggest complementary products or upgrades your customers might have yet to consider.
Improving Customer Service: A deep understanding of the product is crucial for delivering exceptional customer service. You won’t have to put people on hold while you search for answers, and you can resolve issues more efficiently.
Reducing Errors: Product knowledge training can also help reduce errors. Confidence in your abilities can help you avoid mistakes, saving you time, money, and even some embarrassment.
Staying Competitive: Well-trained employees who can articulate a product’s unique selling points and compare it favorably to competitors are invaluable in today’s volatile market. Product knowledge training gives employees the confidence and expertise to highlight their products’ advantages, giving their companies a competitive edge.
Enhancing Company Reputation: Having a team with knowledge of your products can enhance your company’s reputation. Happy, knowledgeable sales reps can translate into satisfied customers who are more likely to recommend your business to others.
Benefits of Product Knowledge
Knowledge is power and for your sales force, product knowledge can be the vehicle to increased sales. We have already discussed the reasons why product knowledge is important to your business, but the list below highlights the benefits of product knowledge—as they directly relate to your sale team.
- Strengthen Communication Skills – A thorough and wider understanding of a product enables a salesperson to use different techniques and methods of presenting a product to various types of customers. Stronger communication skills empower a salesperson to suitably adapt a sales presentation for greater impact.
- Boosts Enthusiasm – Armed with deep product knowledge, a display of enthusiasm and belief in the product may generate excitement among your customers and alleviate uncertainty about the solution that the product provides for the customer.
- Grows Confidence – If a customer isn’t fully committed to completing a sale, the difference may simply be the presence (or lack) of credibility or confidence a salesperson has towards the product. Becoming educated in the product and its uses will help cement that confidence.
- Assists in Overcoming Objections – Factual information gained from product knowledge, may be used to strike down objections voiced by customers. Solid knowledge about your product coupled with parallel information about similar products sold by your competitors—gives you that added advantage to easily counter objections.
Product training with emphasis toward product knowledge will be more effective in helping you deliver customer experiences that “Wow” before your competitors do. In closing and to reiterate the importance of product knowledge, here’s a quote:
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
-Benjamin Franklin
See how our product knowledge training solutions helped a leading global media company train their employees across the world. Download the Case Study
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