Sales associate training is a significant investment. Selecting the right types of training pays off in added device and technology sales and improved customer loyalty.

Assessing the skills and knowledge base of your current sales associates helps you to decide on the best way to approach the training process. This allows you to play to your team's strengths while ensuring the most effective use of your available resources. 

Here are some key training categories that can supercharge your sales efforts.

Connecting with Other Team Members and Shoppers

Making positive connections with shoppers who come in your stores not only results in increased sales in the short term, but also enhances customer retention and brand loyalty over the long run. Making sure that the members of your sales team know how to build a rapport with customers and to connect with them effectively can be a solid first step toward increased profitability.

More and more customers are upgrading PCs and other tech devices on a more frequent basis. When sales associates create first-rate experiences with these customers, the likelihood of them returning to your store for subsequent purchases is much greater.

Encouraging cooperation, interaction, and teamwork among your sales staff can also improve connections. Building a team and instilling a sense of camaraderie among your front-line sales associates allows them to present a united front when interacting with customers. This collaborative approach to sales can ensure the best results both in terms of sales and in making the best possible impression on shoppers in your stores.

Prioritizing Customer Service

It may seem obvious to you and your management team that customer service should be the top priority for your sales staff. In practice, however, other tasks may be seen as more important or urgent. If your sales staff fails to provide excellent service to a customer because they are restocking shelves, performing inventory, or other non-critical tasks, your store could potentially sustain damage to its reputation on social media sites and through word-of-mouth communications.

Communicating the importance of customer service activities in preference to all other tasks in their list of job duties can ensure that visitors to your store receive the red-carpet treatment they deserve. This can also increase your device sales and your customer retention, allowing your store to enjoy greater profitability and more brand loyalty than competition located in your surrounding area.

Technology Product Knowledge

To deliver amazing customer experiences, your sales associates must have a solid working knowledge of the products and services offered. PCs, cutting-edge processors, wearables, and mobile devices are among the most popular technologies in demand by your customers. By providing solid guidance and information for these devices as related to the needs of customers, your associates establish your store as an authoritative source for emerging technologies, products, and tools.

Ensuring that your sales associates have the general knowledge needed to provide basic guidance is not always enough, however. More expertise is necessary to help customers set up more complex computing needs such as gaming systems or small business solutions. Associates need a broader spectrum of knowledge not only regarding PC products and technologies, but sales skills to uncover the specific needs of each customer.

Specialized training is one key to success in the rapidly evolving world of consumer technologies. By encouraging your sales staff to acquire added knowledge regarding your most popular products, you can deliver a better retail experience for your valued customers.

Get the Right Kind of Training on Intel® Processors and Technologies

The Intel® Retail Edge Program is a proven and trusted resource used by our retail partners to educate their sales associates about Intel® products and technologies as well as those of our OEM partners.

Encouraging your sales team to immerse themselves in this robust online Community will help ensure they have the expertise and the knowledge necessary to serve your customers effectively and move more products out the door, particularly during key sales cycles.

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