Create a World Class Inside Sales Training Program (and How We Can Help)

This article was originally written in November 2020 and has since been updated with new discoveries and research in 2025.

The sales world has undergone significant transformations in the past few years, from technology to practices. One thing that’s remained the same? Inside sales is still the growth engine of B2B revenue. 

And if you want your inside sales team to masterfully execute a multi-channel approach that leads directly to more revenue, you need to deploy world-class inside sales training.

It’s 2025, and remote-first teams, AI coaching, and virtual selling are the norm. This shift demands a sharper, more precise approach to inside sales training—one that strengthens core skills while upskills reps on new tools, data, and coaching workflows.

This guide blends the timeless foundations of world-class training with new strategies to keep your team competitive in 2025 and beyond.

Foundations That Still Work 

Starting with strong, evergreen inside sales training foundations. 

Here are the basics that are still crucial for building a strong sales operation, whether you’re working with an in-house team or inside sales outsourcing:

1. Hire the right people first: The best training can’t fix a bad fit. That’s why it’s critical to start by getting the right people to fill your sales roles. Prioritize hiring reps with grit, curiosity, and coachability, so they’re poised to learn and grow. 
2. Crawl. Walk. Run.: Your sales process and tools are specific and customized. When you begin sales development, start with simple tasks, build complexity as confidence grows. This ensures retention and long-term mastery. For example, start by training your reps on basics like using empathy, solving problems, and overcoming common objections, before moving on to more complex topics. 
3. Expose reps to internal experts: Your organization is full of experts who can help bolster your inside sales training. Rotate new hires through product, marketing, and customer success sessions to build their context and knowledge. 
4. Leverage peer collaboration: When introducing new hires to key players in your organization, don’t overlook their fellow salespeople. Pair new reps with seasoned ones—shadowing and mentorship accelerate ramp-up.
5. Use structured training modules: Your training should be structured and on a schedule. Sequenced learning builds consistency across the team.
6. Dial in phone skills early: Confidence is still non-negotiable—whether you sharpen it in-house or supplement with cold calling services, with studies showing that 37% of reps produce the most leads from cold calling. Strong phone fundamentals remain a cornerstone of B2B lead generation in 2025. Getting inside reps familiar with the phones early will build confidence. Don’t forget: Roleplay, script practice, and feedback matter.
7. Show what not to do: Don’t just show your reps what to do: Show them what not to do. Real examples of failed calls or emails stick with reps more than hypotheticals.
8. Offer ongoing support: Don’t stop supporting your reps at onboarding. Continuous coaching reduces early turnover and boosts results.
9. Keep it fun and engaging: Training shouldn’t be boring. Gamification, contests, and creative activities make training memorable and engaging.

Nail these fundamentals and you’ll build a team that ramps faster, keeps learning, and books more qualified meetings—whether you’re growing in-house or pairing with inside sales outsourcing to flex capacity when it counts.

What’s New for 2025

Now that you’ve covered the tried-and-true inside sales training basics, it’s time to take things a step further. Blending internal training with outsourced sales solutions helps you scale new tools and practices faster.

Here are emerging sales trends, practices, and technologies you can use to boost rep performance:

1. Remote and hybrid training optimization: Your sales team is distributed, and your training should be too. Blend short, async training models with live virtual role plays, use call recordings for debriefs, and schedule coaching hours on Zoom to give reps a consistent, high-quality experience across platforms. 
2. Learning technologies that scale: Move from static slide decks to adaptive learning paths. For example, pair your learning system with your real CRM and call intelligence data, so lessons are rooted in real behaviors. 
3. Data-driven and skills-based assessments: Replace pass/fail quizzes with calibrated rubrics for specific sales skills like discovery, appointment setting, objection handling, and closing. Benchmark against top performers, and progress reps through training sessions based on gaps.
4. Inclusive and diverse learning approaches: Build for different learning styles and backgrounds: multiple content formats (video, audio, text), captions/scripts, and scenarios that reflect global buyer contexts. 
5. Digital soft skills development: Virtual presence is a core sales competency in the modern landscape. Train your reps in digital skills like concise email writing, async video etiquette, LinkedIn outreach that earns replies, and reading nonverbal cues on camera. 
6. Ongoing reinforcement and certification: One-and-done training rarely moves the needle. Make new skills stick with regularly spaced practices and reviews. Also, offer certifications tied to quota-bearing skills to sustain engagement and keep reps focused on the right behaviors. 
7. Manager enablement and leader-led coaching: Where needed, a sales outsourcing agency can supply manager coaching frameworks to multiply impact. Research shows that top-performing sales managers are nearly 50% more likely to receive extremely/very effective training. Give them coaching opportunities, exposure to other leaders, and roadmaps they can use for coaching other reps. 
8. Continuous improvement via feedback loops: Treat training like a product: Run pulse surveys, capture learner NPS, and test different content to see what sticks, and ensure your curriculum evolves with your market. 

Weave these into one operating system—measured, adaptive, and leader-led—and your training stops being an event and becomes a growth engine: Faster ramp, higher meeting quality, stronger win rates, and a pipeline that compounds without adding headcount.

How to Execute a 2025-Ready Inside Sales Training Program

Before you roll out the inside sales training modules and workshops, pause. In 2025 and beyond, the highest-performing training programs blend analytics, adaptive learning, and real-world drills, to ensure enablement leads to real revenue improvements.

The framework below walks you through inside sales training execution, from an honest audit to ongoing reinforcement. 

Step 1: Audit and Benchmark

Start by mapping your current motion. Review call recordings, sequence performance, conversion by channel, and ramp time, benchmarking your status against top performers and industry standards. 

Run the same audit whether you manage SDRs internally or partner through sales development outsourcing to keep apples-to-apples benchmarks. Then, identify any critical skill gaps (like discovery depth or objection handling) or process gaps (such as CRM hygiene).

Step 2: Update Learning Formats

Next, build a blended learning model. You can combine microlearning (5-10 minutes), live virtual sessions, peer-led learning clubs, and on-demand libraries. Don’t forget to leverage mobile-first formats and use elements like captions and transcripts to support learning.

Step 3: Build Realism into Training

Train with reality, not hypotheticals. Use real call snippets, live role-plays with buyer personas, and channel-specific drills to ensure your training is embedded in scenarios your reps really encounter.

Step 4: Deliver in Phases

Roll out a 30/60/90 day plan to ensure a phased, airtight delivery that leads to skill transformation.

Examples are:

• 30 days: Core foundations (ICP, value props, discovery frameworks, objection basics).
• 60 days: Advanced skills (multi-threading, executive-level skills).
• 90 days: Specializations (expansion motions, vertical plays).

Step 5: Track Metrics That Matter

Tie learning to concrete revenue signals, not vanity metrics. For example, measure meetings booked per rep, qualified meeting rate, time-to-first-meeting, and coachable behaviors (like question depth).

Step 6: Reinforce and Recognize

Make skills stick with spaced repetition—whether coached by managers or a sales development agency during peak seasons. Layer in badges for milestone behaviors (e.g., “Objection Crusher”) to encourage friendly competition and reward top-performers. 

Step 7: Train the Trainers

Lastly, equip managers and enablement teams with coaching playbooks, like standardized rubrics, templated 1:1s, and scorecards. Hold managers accountable for coaching KPIs to ensure accountability. 

How We Can Help

Eager to level up your inside sales training? Inside Sales Solutions is here to help. We can provide you with customized training for your teams that reflect your ICP, value props, and sales motions. 

Expect tailored playbooks for specific roles (like SDRs or AEs), channel-specific drills, and rubrics aligned to your stages. Our training is tech-enabled: Learn to leverage your CRM, call intelligence, and microlearning to drive significant skill development.

What else do we offer? ISS has manager training, to equip your leaders with the skills and resources they need to not only lead, but also coach others. 

Lastly, we tie enablement to revenue signals with performance analytics. When insights feed back into curricula, every cohort will grow smarter.

Blending Foundations With Innovation

World-class inside sales training is a mix of proven fundamentals and forward-looking innovation. Nail the basics (like clear messaging, disciplined discovery, and consistent follow-ups) before layering in 2025-ready tactics (such as AI coaching and adaptive learning paths). 

Teams that invest in both are more resilient, more consistent, and more successful.

Ready to future-proof your sales team? 

Contact Inside Sales Solutions today to explore how our inside sales training programs can help or to find out about our outsourced SDR services.