This Training and Development insight is aimed at senior Sales Leaders and Sales Training Directors who are seeking new effective ways to develop their sales teams.
The Sky was darkening, the wind and rain was growing much stronger and the crew were feeling anxious as the situation became more severe. A flight manual was shaken violently and feel to the floor with a terrible thud – but nobody was brave enough to loosen their grip on the controls to even think about picking it up. The crew knew that the decisions that they had to make in the next few minutes would bring safety or disaster to everybody on board. The pressure was on..
Luckily, this was a training exercise – although it felt real enough for the crew to raise their blood pressure. It was carried out in a flight simulator. Pilots all over the world use simulators to learn about flying and the controls before they eventually fly a real plane full of people just like you and me.
Pilots have benefited from flight simulations for years because:
- Simulations provide a safe environment to practice, to test what if scenarios without ending in costly mistakes
- The lessons are indelibly imprinted in the pilot’s mind because training is dynamic and emotionally engaging
- The context and content is relevant, realistic and directly applicable to the job
- Simulation shorten training time as a few days of simulation can replace weeks of classroom activity.
Most of us would not dare board an aircraft if the pilot has not first gained sufficient experience in a flight simulator. Yet, it seems acceptable to allow sales people to represent their company in ever more complex situations interacting with senior decision makers without giving them the experience, skills and business acumen that is necessary to ensure sales success.
Training and development departments have had the desire to take a more sophisticated approach to sales training, similar to what the average pilot experiences, yet technology and training budget has not made it possible.
But now with the latest sales simulations more and more organisations have the opportunity to provide such a rich learning experience. They are adopting to this new approach in greater numbers. For more information about sales simulations and how these can be made specific to your organisation feel free to contact us
