Sales performance isn’t based on personality or style. It’s driven by skills that can be taught, practiced, and measured. While many abilities factor into selling, five core skills have the greatest impact on success.
Sharpening these skills takes consistent practice, reinforcement, and coaching. The challenge is teams often lack the resources or feedback to make significant progress. By leveraging AI as part of the sales training process, reps gain the personalized support they need to develop their skillset and drive measurable performance gains. Here’s how:
Top performers succeed by staying in sync with buyer decision-making. When reps move at the right pace and in the right sequence, they earn trust and build lasting relationships.
AI Advantage: Some AI training solutions provide realistic selling scenarios that mimic all the different stages of the buying journey, enabling reps to align their approach with each one.
Too many reps treat presentations as the main event. In reality, the best ones are short, targeted, and focused on needs uncovered earlier in the conversation.
AI Advantage: Immediate feedback on quality, clarity, and pacing helps ensure balanced dialogues that directly address buyer priorities.
Questions are a powerful tool. They uncover needs, clarify influencers, and keep conversations going. The best reps don’t just ask – they ask the right questions.
AI Advantage: Real-world sales conversations based on specific ICPs can help salespeople refine questioning techniques and test different approaches to see what uncovers the most insight.
Every sales call should move the deal forward, which requires clear objectives and a structured plan to reach them.
AI Advantage: A judgement-free environment within an AI training solution can give reps a safe space to practice, while call analysis helps identify areas of improvement.
This is the toughest yet most essential skill. Many reps hesitate to ask for a commitment, fearing it will harm the relationship. But without gaining it, deals stall.
AI Advantage: On-demand roleplays with custom AI personas can empower teams to ask about next steps and handle objections until the skill becomes natural.
Salespeople often know what to do but struggle to apply it consistently. AI offers the opportunity for ongoing practice, feedback, and reinforcement to bridge the gap between knowing and doing.