Isaac Adewumi
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Why Sales Training Is Still the Most Underrated Growth Lever
TLDR:
- Most Nigerian companies confuse onboarding with actual sales training, leading to poor performance in the field.
- Sales training is often treated as a one-time event, not a continuous, evolving process.
- Effective sales training should be practical, campaign-driven, and rooted in real-time feedback from reps.
- Structured support systems, confidence-building, and ongoing upskilling are key to team performance and retention.
- To drive real revenue growth, sales training must become a core part of your operations, not an afterthought.
In Nigeria, too many companies still treat sales training like an afterthought or worse, like a one-time event. They confuse it with onboarding, run a workshop or two, then wonder why performance tanks after a few weeks.
If you’re serious about hitting ambitious sales targets, building a strong brand in the field, and retaining your best people, then sales training needs to move from checkbox to growth strategy.
Let’s break it down.
How most companies get sales training wrong
1. They confuse onboarding with sales training
In many organizations, onboarding and training are used interchangeably. But they’re not the same thing and mistaking one for the other is where the trouble often starts. Onboarding is an internal process. It’s about introducing new hires to your values, operations, and company policies.
Sales training, however, is an external-facing skill-building process. It’s focused on helping your team connect with prospects, close deals, and handle objections in the field. When companies collapse both into a single week, they overwhelm new hires with information that doesn’t prepare them to sell. The result is enthusiastic and reliable agents with no tactical know-how.
2. They think sales training is a one-time thing
Sales training isn’t a “set it and forget it” process. Treating it as a single event (usually tied to onboarding) is a costly mistake. Sales is very dynamic: buyers change, competition evolves, and even your own product may shift over time. To win in such a fast-moving environment, your team needs constant sharpening.
Think of training as a continuous feedback loop, not a one-day seminar. One-time training might light a spark, but only consistent, structured learning will keep the fire going.
3. They focus too much on theory
There’s a place for motivation, but it’s not the main task. Nigerian companies often fill training time with lectures, motivational talks, or PowerPoint slides filled with abstract ideas.
Unfortunately, none of that helps improve the performance of a sales rep who’s trying to convince a skeptical buyer in Mushin or Jabi to take a chance on a new product. Sales training should be grounded in practice: real role plays, shadowing, scripts, field simulations, and live call reviews. Theoretical knowledge is useless if your reps can’t apply it under pressure.
4. They ignore feedback from the field
Sales reps are your frontline soldiers. They know what customers are saying, what objections are trending, and where the product gaps lie. But too often, their feedback goes unheard. This is a huge missed opportunity.
If your sales training content isn’t evolving based on what the field is experiencing, it becomes stale. Worse, it signals to your team that their lived experiences don’t matter. A feedback loop that takes agent insights seriously doesn’t just improve training it improves product strategy, messaging, and company culture too.
How to do sales training right
1. Separate onboarding from training
For sales managers, start by creating a clear boundary between the two. Onboarding should orient new hires into your company’s DNA: your mission, values, and operations. Sales training, in contrast, should be its own structured process that kicks in after onboarding.
This is where you equip your team with the tools, tactics, and scripts they need to succeed in the field. Don’t try to do both at once, it dilutes the impact of each. Instead, stage them in phases so new hires absorb and apply the right lessons at the right time.
2. Teach how to sell, not just what to sell
Knowing your product inside-out isn’t enough. Your agents must know how to sell it especially in unpredictable, high-friction sales environments like Nigeria. That means understanding buyer psychology, building trust in seconds, responding to objections with agility, and tailoring pitches to different customer types.
Too many agents can list features but freeze when a customer says, “I don’t have money” or “Let me talk to my boss.” Sales training should be focused on responses, reactions, and relationship-building not just memorization.
3. Build structured support systems
Talent is important, but structure is what turns talent into performance. Great sales teams don’t just rely on “smart hires”, they operate within a framework. That includes clearly defined KPIs, smart campaign playbooks, and frequent manager check-ins.
When sales reps have a clear roadmap, they’re less likely to get stuck. Add coaching to the mix and you’ll start seeing improvements in consistency, execution, and team morale.
4. Integrate campaign-based learning
Campaign-based learning allows training to happen in parallel with actual execution. Before a campaign starts, hold a strategy session to align goals and review key techniques.
During the campaign, introduce small tweaks based on what’s working and what’s not. After it ends, conduct a review to lock in lessons and identify new gaps. This method doesn’t disrupt the workflow, it enhances it.
5. Use real-time feedback tools
Sales doesn’t wait for weekly performance reviews and neither should your training. Set up WhatsApp groups, drop quick voice notes, and have real-time coaching calls with your agents.
A 2-minute voice note correcting a pitch mistake on a sales campaign can prevent a rep from losing a big deal. Real-time feedback empowers reps, reduces mistakes, and keeps momentum alive. You need fast, regular touchpoints that guide reps as they navigate the field.
6. Train for confidence, not just competence
Confidence is a performance booster. When sales reps know the exact words to say, how to handle pushback, and what a “good day” looks like, they show up better. Training should not only improve skills but also reduce anxiety and guesswork.
When everyone is aligned on the playbook, reps collaborate better, support each other more, trust the process and sales growth occurs. Over time, this creates a winning sales culture where success is shared, not scattered.
7. Upskilling = retention
Training is less expensive than replacing burnt-out reps every few months. Many field sales agents leave not because of bad pay, but because they feel stagnant or unsupported. Investing in their growth tells them, “You matter. We’re building with you.” That sense of value builds loyalty.
When reps feel like they’re learning, improving, and moving forward, they’re less likely to jump ship for the next ₦5k or ₦10k offer.
8. Make training part of the operating system
Your sales team shouldn’t be wondering when the next training is, it should be baked into how they work. That means consistent reinforcement, daily learning moments, and post-sale debriefs. Scrap long-winded, generic workshops.
Focus on short, relevant, repeatable sessions that help agents build mastery over time. The companies that win don’t train harder; they train smarter.
9. Track what matters post-training
After training, you need to track both early and late-stage indicators. Early signs that training is working include more confident pitches, higher meeting attendance, and quicker lead follow-ups.
Later on, look for measurable results: higher closing rates, better customer retention, and more referrals. But don’t just look at revenue - behavioral shifts tell the story first. When you start seeing those shifts, you know the training is landing.
Sales training = growth strategy
In today’s competitive environment, sales training is not a “nice-to-have.” It’s a core growth lever.
It’s what transforms new hires into top performers. It’s what keeps good agents from quitting. It’s what separates teams that hit targets from those that struggle to stay afloat.
Brands need to stop treating sales training like a one-off event or a motivational exercise. It needs to be consistent, campaign-driven, and tied to real business goals.
Because in Nigeria’s tough, dynamic markets, intentional sales training isn’t just smart, it’s the key to business revenue growth.
