Rethinking Virtual Training

A few years ago, just before the world moved online, a sales director told me, “I’m just not into virtual training.” He felt it didn’t connect with sellers or reflect the dynamic nature of their work. For him, it meant staring at slides on a screen—passive, disconnected, and forgettable.

That perception isn’t uncommon, and it’s part of the problem. Many organizations still equate virtual training with flat webinars or pre-recorded content. But real virtual training—when built and delivered with purpose—is something entirely different.

I asked him whether his sellers used video calls and screen shares in their day-to-day work. Of course, they did. And his best reps were especially strong in that environment. They used visuals, tools, and interactivity to keep buyers engaged and move deals forward.

Sales training can be just as dynamic. When done right, virtual learning replicates the best parts of in-person training and adds flexibility, focus, and new ways to practice. The key is designing the experience with intention—not just transferring slides into a Zoom room.

What Makes Virtual Sales Training Effective?

To deliver training that actually sticks, you need more than a camera and a PowerPoint deck. Here’s what matters most:

1. Short, Focused Sessions

Instead of thinking in training days, think in training sessions. Virtual sessions should be short—ideally 60 to 90 minutes—and part of a structured series. This keeps attention high and allows participants to absorb, practice, and return ready for more.

Breaking content into smaller pieces also supports retention. It lets you focus each session on a clear objective without overwhelming the audience.

2. Built-In Engagement

Virtual environments demand a higher level of engagement by design. If people aren’t participating, they’re drifting. So, each session should be structured around interaction—not just information.

This could mean answering a poll, reacting to a scenario, contributing in chat, or joining a breakout room. Participants should be challenged to think, respond, and contribute at regular intervals to stay involved and connected.

3. Practice and Accountability

One major advantage of virtual training is the opportunity to practice between sessions. This allows participants to apply what they’ve learned in the real world, reflect on their experience, and come back ready to share.

Want to improve prospecting? Have sellers test out a new message and report back. Running a session on negotiation? Ask them to apply a framework in an active deal. This creates accountability and gives training immediate relevance. No one wants to be the only one who skipped the assignment.

4. Use the Right Tools

Virtual training opens up a toolbox of resources that can enrich the learning experience—polls, whiteboards, word clouds, breakout rooms, videos, and more. These tools aren’t just add-ons; they’re essential to making learning active rather than passive.

Use them strategically to keep energy up and reinforce key points. Don’t just show tools—build training around them.

5. Think Beyond the Session

Training isn’t a one-time event. It’s a system. To change behavior, you need to think about what happens before, during, and after the training.

Set expectations early with pre-work. Reinforce key concepts between sessions. Build follow-up activities into team meetings. Embed new skills into workflows. The more seamlessly the training connects to daily work, the more likely it is to stick.

Final Thoughts

Virtual sales training can absolutely work—but it has to be designed to. Simply repackaging in-person content or defaulting to lectures on screen won’t move the needle. But when you structure sessions intentionally, create space for real practice, and focus on engagement from start to finish, you can deliver powerful learning that leads to real change.

The goal isn’t just to run a training. It’s to build new habits that stick. And yes, virtual can do that—if you let it.