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What Is Technical Skills Training?

Why is technical skills training important?

Technical skills training gives workers the tools to grow, adapt, and thrive as their work evolves. When employees know they have the skills to meet new challenges head-on, they’re more engaged, more motivated, and more likely to envision a future with their organization. For employers, that translates to a stronger, more capable workforce ready to tackle whatever comes next.

Today, the stakes couldn’t be higher. According to a recent IDC survey, North American businesses alone could lose $5.5 trillion by 2026 due to IT skills shortages. That number is staggering, but it illustrates an important point. Companies that fail to invest in technical skills risk falling behind, while those that do give themselves a much-needed edge. Upskilling is no longer just a corporate buzzword. It’s a requirement for employees and businesses that want to stay agile and resilient.

Types of technical skills training

There’s no one right way to approach technical training. The method you choose depends on a number of factors, including the skills being taught, the learners’ needs, and your organization’s goals.

Here are some of the most common and effective ways to build technical expertise:

Formal programs

These are structured courses offered through universities, technical schools, or corporate training. Formal programs are ideal when learners need a comprehensive foundation or a specific credential to validate what they’ve learned. They’re often designed with clear objectives, assessments, and a curriculum that takes learners from beginner to advanced levels.

On-the-job training

In some cases, learning by doing is the most effective method. These methods immerse learners directly in the work environment but provide guidance from more experienced colleagues or mentors.

Each approach has its own features and benefits:

  • Mentorship. An informal relationship where more experienced teammates provide guidance and support as an employee learns new skills.
  • Apprenticeship. A structured program that combines practical work with formal instruction under the guidance of a skilled leader or manager.
  • Learnership. This combines theoretical study with workplace practice and results in a recognized qualification.
  • Dual training. This model splits time between classroom-based learning and in-company training.

People sitting along a big table and looking at their devices

Benefits of technical skills training

Technical skills training is about much more than just learning new tools. When done well, it transforms the way employees work, feel, and grow. It also helps organizations stay ahead of the curve.

Here are some of the many benefits for both sides of the equation:

For employees

  • Improved competency and job performance. When workers master the skills their roles require, they become more efficient, make fewer mistakes, and build confidence when approaching new challenges.
  • Enhanced job satisfaction and career readiness. Gaining new capabilities helps employees see a clear path for growth, raising engagement and preparing them for the next step in their careers.

For organizations

  • Reduced skills gaps and higher operational efficiency. Training gives teams the right skills to meet business needs, improving productivity and minimizing costly errors.
  • Stronger agility amid technological disruptions. Organizations that invest in ongoing technical training are better positioned to adapt quickly to new tools, systems, and industry changes.

Examples of in-demand technical skills

The modern workplace requires a range of specialized technical skills that are shaping industries and career paths. The following are some of the top areas where training can make a real difference:

1. Cybersecurity

Cyber threats aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they’re growing in both frequency and sophistication. Organizations need to rely on employees to protect sensitive data and help maintain secure systems. Specialized cybersecurity training is essential for anyone looking to enter or advance in this field.

2. Data science / AI / robotics

Data-driven decision-making and automation are becoming increasingly prevalent. When a worker is skilled in data analysis, artificial intelligence, or robotics, it opens doors across various sectors, from healthcare and finance to manufacturing and technology. Professionals with these skills are highly sought after.

3. Cloud computing / software tools

Cloud platforms and software tools form the backbone of many modern jobs. And proficiency in these areas isn’t optional. It’s a fundamental skill that helps employees manage workflows better, collaborate more effectively, and support other digital initiatives.

4. Green jobs / sustainable tech

As organizations shift toward greater sustainability and more climate-conscious operations, expertise in green technologies is becoming increasingly valuable. Skills in renewable energy systems, sustainable engineering, and eco-friendly technologies put employees at the forefront of growing industries.

6 steps to create an effective technical training program

Creating a technical training program that makes a lasting impact requires more than just handing employees a heavy training manual or signing them up for mandatory sessions. It takes a thoughtful, strategic approach to make sure learners gain real-world skills and that the organization sees measurable results.

Here is a step-by-step guide:

  1. Identify training needs through skills mapping. Start by assessing your team’s current capabilities and identifying gaps so you can focus training on what matters most.
  2. Set clear objectives linked to business goals. Define what success looks like, for both the learner and the organization, so you can measure progress effectively.
  3. Select the optimal training type (in-person, online, blended). Choose the delivery method that best fits your content, learners’ needs, and available resources.
  4. Source or develop content. Leverage trusted platforms and partners, such as Articulate 360, which lets you create customized content that aligns with specific skill needs and engages learners using immersive methods.
  5. Deliver and distribute content. Once your content is ready, it’s time to get it in front of learners. An LMS like Articulate Reach lets you distribute training fast, track learner progress, and send training reminders.
  6. Measure effectiveness. Track outcomes using frameworks such as the Kirkpatrick method to make sure training achieves its intended impact, and continuously refine your approach.

Resources and tools for technical training

The right resources and tools can make all the difference in whether your technical training works its magic. From digital platforms to planning frameworks, the following options help learners and organizations get the results they need:

  • Online platforms for course creation and distribution. Tools like Articulate 360 enable teams to build custom training that is interactive, scenario-based, and tailored to real workplace needs.
  • Training templates. Instead of starting from scratch, you can get a jump on course creation using templates like the ones offered by Articulate. This includes customizable examples for topics such as information technology training or using AI in course design.
  • Scenarios and simulation tools. Tools like Articulate Storyline allow you to build realistic simulations and branching scenarios that reflect common workplace challenges. Whether it’s troubleshooting a software issue or learning a new workplace app, these tools help learners practice skills in a low-stakes environment, building confidence before they have to do it on the job.

Your path to workforce resilience and growth

Technical skills training is much more than just a learning activity. When approached strategically, it’s an investment in your team and organization. By focusing on role-specific capabilities, you’ll help empower employees to adapt, innovate, and remain competitive. In a fast-moving technological landscape, prioritizing hands-on, flexible training lets individuals and businesses build resilience, seize new opportunities, and thrive in an increasingly uncertain world.

Ready to unlock even more practical insights? Check out our post, 8 Strategies for a Winning Technical Training Program, and start building skills for future-readiness.

Why Continuous Learning Matters—and How to Make It a Habit

What is continuous learning?

Continuous learning is the ongoing practice of building new skills and knowledge throughout your career. It doesn’t mean going back to school full time. It means consistently strengthening the capabilities that help you perform better today—and prepare for what’s next.

Why is continuous learning important for professionals?

Continuous learning expands your professional opportunities, increases your job security, raises your earning potential, improves your performance, and keeps you engaged. Here’s how.

Audience member clapping and sitting in a crowd of people

1. Expand your career development opportunities

Organizations increasingly prioritize skills over tenure. That means career advancement depends on what you can do—not just how long you’ve been at the company. Regular skills development opens the door to stretch assignments, greater autonomy or job responsibility, and cross-functional opportunities.

2. Increase your job security

When technology evolves or business priorities shift, employees who regularly build relevant skills can grow into emerging skill gaps rather than be displaced by them. The more adaptable and versatile your skills, the more essential and irreplaceable you become—no matter how your role changes.

3. Raise your earning potential

Continuous learning increases the value you bring to the business and positions you for higher-paying roles.

  • Strengthen your case for a raise. When you continually develop high-impact skills, you contribute to larger initiatives, solve more complex problems, influence higher-level decisions, and bridge in-demand gaps—giving you stronger leverage in compensation conversations.
  • Qualify for higher-paying roles. Expanding your expertise can open doors to internal advancement—or increase your competitiveness in the broader job market.

4. Boost your performance and confidence

Ongoing learning exposes you to improved tools and techniques, helping you work smarter, deliver faster, and strengthen performance.

Increased competence often translates to greater confidence. Each new skill mastered reinforces your willingness and ability to take on bigger challenges and creative risks, speak up in important conversations, and make important decisions.

5. Feel more engaged and energized at work

Lifelong learning also keeps work dynamic and interesting. It introduces new ideas, fresh approaches, and meaningful challenges. Humans have an innate desire to learn. That’s why employees in strong learning cultures consistently report higher job satisfaction and a stronger connection to their work.

What are the business benefits of continuous learning?

While continuous learning benefits employees, its impact extends to the organization, too. The business benefits of continuous learning include increased resilience, better performance, lower turnover, and reduced hiring costs.

  • Greater resilience. A workforce that continuously builds skills adapts faster to new technologies, market shifts, and unexpected disruptions.
  • Better performance. Exposure to new tools and cross-functional knowledge expands workforce capability and strengthens creative problem-solving. Research shows that organizations with strong learning cultures are 92% more likely to develop novel products and processes and 56% more likely to be first to market. They also outperform their peers financially.
  • Lower turnover and hiring costs. Companies with continuous learning cultures have higher retention rates and stronger internal mobility. This reduces turnover, expenses, and ramp-up times associated with the external hiring cycle.

How do you practice continuous learning?

You don’t need a dramatic career reinvention plan to keep learning. You need consistency, focus, and smart prioritization. Here’s how to approach continuous learning in a way that’s sustainable—and impactful.

1. Identify skills that matter

Focus on learning that aligns with strategic business priorities. That’s where your time generates the highest return.

Ask yourself:

  • What new skills are becoming more important in my role?
  • What capabilities do leaders demonstrate?
  • What would make me more effective in the next 12 months?

2. Learn in short, repeatable blocks

You don’t need to devote hours to learning every day. Aim for 20 minutes of focused learning, one to three times per week. Small steps, repeated consistently, build real expertise.

For example, you could:

3. Attend conferences, workshops, and immersive learning events

Immersive learning events accelerate growth in ways that day-to-day work rarely can. Conferences, workshops, and training events provide concentrated exposure to new ideas, tools, and expert insights—without the usual workplace distractions. In just a few days, you can absorb knowledge that might otherwise take months to gather on your own.

These events help you:

  • Sharpen skills through hands-on sessions
  • Discover new tools and technologies before they become mainstream
  • Stay ahead of emerging industry trends
  • Learn directly from experts, thought leaders, and peers
  • Network and build relationships that expand your perspective and open new opportunities
Building on last year’s success, Articuland returns with inspiring training sessions, product roadmap reveals, and powerful networking opportunities for learning pros to uplevel their skills.

4. Build skills through application

Doing the work is also a great way to build skills. Instead of separating “learning” from your job, use real projects as your training ground. Apply new knowledge immediately to reinforce understanding, eliminate the need for extra study time, and build real-world capability.

Look for opportunities to:

  • Join cross-functional initiatives
  • Lead a process improvement effort
  • Participate in a pilot program
  • Support new tool implementation
  • Shadow a coworker who’s mastered the skill you want to learn

5. Join a learning community

Learning accelerates in a community of practice. Engage with peers to gain exposure to real-world examples and diverse perspectives or experiences. Ask questions, compare approaches, solicit feedback, study how others tackle similar challenges, or reinforce your own knowledge by teaching it.

How to get your boss to approve professional development

You’re more likely to get approval for formal training or professional development support if you position it as a business investment with clear returns. Here’s how to make a compelling case:

  1. Lead with business impact. Connect the skill to a real business need. For example: “I’ve identified a gap in [area] that’s affecting [task or outcome]. This program would help improve [specific result].”
  2. Show the ROI. Tie the learning to measurable business outcomes like faster project turnaround, reduced revision, higher quality output, improved customer experience, or expected revenue impact.
  3. Show ownership. Demonstrate that you’ve researched options, evaluated costs, considered timing, and planned how to manage your workload.
  4. Commit to sharing the value. Offer to present key takeaways or train the team afterward so the investment benefits more than just you.

Frequently asked questions about continuous learning

How does continuous learning influence career growth?

Continuous learning helps employees adapt to change, qualify for new opportunities, and increase their value within their organization and industry.

How does workplace skill-building benefit employees?

It strengthens performance, improves job security, increases earning potential, and enhances engagement.

What’s the best way to start continuous learning?

Identify a high-impact skill directly aligned with your organization’s business goals. Commit to regular, manageable learning sessions, immerse yourself in a conference or focused training event, learn alongside others, and put new knowledge into practice right away.

Your career is a long-term asset

Continuous learning isn’t about doing more—it’s about growing smarter. Intentional skill-building expands your opportunities, makes you more marketable, and keeps you engaged in work that evolves with you. The more consistently you invest in your development, the greater return for your career and personal growth.

Ready to build momentum?

If you’re looking for a space to connect with other professionals, sharpen your skills, and stay ahead of workplace trends, check out Articuland in Orlando or one of our global locations. This year’s tracks include:

  • Performance acceleration
  • Customer impact growth and retention
  • Product knowledge adoption and impact
  • AI transformation and readiness for learning teams
  • Global training
  • L&D expert: design delivery and measurement
  • Articulate product expertise

It’s an experience designed for people who believe growth should be continuous—and actionable. Because your development shouldn’t be accidental.

Meet the Organizations of On Purpose 2026

When learning meets purpose

When resources are limited, but ambition is boundless, learning becomes the most powerful tool for change. That’s the idea behind On Purpose, Articulate’s spotlight on organizations that use learning to make a positive difference in the world.

In this article, meet the seven featured organizations making a difference. Explore the full inaugural edition for extended stories of each organization and additional insights to inspire your own work.

7 organizations changing the world with learning in 2026

From education to conservation, healthcare to animal welfare, the seven organizations featured in On Purpose demonstrate the transformative power of learning across industries and communities. See how each of the nonprofits featured in the 2026 edition uses e-learning to transform their missions into impact.

Project Lead The Way

Project Lead The Way removes learning barriers for students and educators across the U.S. The organization prepares pre-K-12 students for careers, college, and life by providing STEM experiences that prepare them for the real world, provide valuable knowledge, and instill confidence.

Online learning is crucial for facilitating those experiences. All of the organization’s learning is delivered digitally, whether facilitated online or in person. This allows learners to practice key concepts virtually, even when physical resources aren’t available. It also helps foster a sense of community among teachers, many of whom may be the only STEM educator in their school.

“E-learning is a tremendous avenue for improving our access and reach.”

Joel Kupperstein, Chief Product Officer, Project Lead The Way

United Network for Organ Sharing

The United Network for Organ Sharing provides life-saving training to doctors, nurses, surgeons, lab techs, and other professionals who coordinate organ transplants. The organization delivers high-stakes training to a vast network of transplant professionals with speed and precision—many of whom may only have a few minutes in between patient visits to learn about an important policy update.

E-learning allows the organization to meet learners where they are with realistic, just-in-time training. With a learning audience spread across the country, distributing content digitally keeps communication consistent and accurate, instilling trust and deepening learners’ connection to the cause.

“We choose e-learning because it allows us to do what’s best for our community.”

Samantha Settimio, Learning and Development Manager, UNOS

The Animal Humane Society

More than a shelter, the Animal Humane Society is a nonprofit that provides animal care, adoption, and community services like veterinary care, food support, and temporary pet housing. When a nationwide shortage of veterinary technicians threatened their work, they turned to training to fill that urgent community need.

Through a combination of online and in-person training, the organization created a comprehensive veterinary technician training program to equip future vet techs with all the skills they needed. A comprehensive e-learning component kept the program flexible, and allowed learners to make the most of their live training sessions, ultimately increasing the organization’s capacity to help more animals and their people.

“E-learning made the training more flexible, and helped participants feel more prepared.”

Jay Carpenter, Systems Support Specialist, Animal Humane Society

Rare

Rare is an environmental conservation organization focused on changing human behavior to fight climate change and protect nature. To date, the nonprofit has trained over 5,000 conservation practitioners in over 60 countries.

To reach a global scale, e-learning has been crucial, enabling connection for learners who may speak different languages, live in remote areas, or face bandwidth limits. It also allows Rare to affordably create collaborative learning environments for diverse groups of learners, who can then work together across time zones, cultures, and career paths to solve challenges together.

“E-learning is a powerful equalizer.”

Kate Mannle, Director of Training Programs, Rare

National Head Start Association

Head Start supports school readiness for young children via programs for pregnant women and children from birth to age five. The National Head Start Association advocates for these programs at the national level, providing essential resources, training, and support to the professionals who lead them.

Online training helps remove geographic, technical, and time-related barriers, opening up professional development opportunities to more people. It allows the organization to reach families in rural areas with consistent, in-depth learning opportunities, provides opportunities for online connection through social learning, and even facilitates career development strategies like digital portfolios. This multifaceted approach to learning improves school readiness for more children and their families.

“E-learning is not a replacement for in-person learning. It’s an expansion.”

Dr. Deborah Bergeron, Deputy Director | Community Engagement Innovation, NHSA

San Diego Eye Bank

San Diego Eye Bank provides donated corneal, scleral, and other ocular tissues to those needing sight restoration and preservation. The organization’s training prepares learners for complex procedures and moments, including tissue recoveries, transplants, and conversations with donor families.

San Diego Eye Bank chooses a mix of in-person and online learning to scale its training without sacrificing quality, comprehension, or human connection. E-learning allows the organization to standardize its content, expand its reach nationally and internationally, and increase public awareness about eye donation.

“E-learning has allowed us to standardize our content.”

Shahri Jones, Learning Management System Developer, SDEB

Accountability Framework initiative

A global coalition of NGOs, the Accountability Framework initiative helps companies in commodity supply chains make measurable progress on deforestation, ecosystem conversion, and human rights.

With e-learning, the organization has transformed its complex, thorough framework into a digestible digital guide. Learners can more easily navigate resources and explore content through linked resources. Ultimately, this allows them to help more companies turn deforestation pledges into action.

“E-learning makes our materials more digestible and accessible.”

Adrienne Brown, Senior Manager of AFi’s Backbone Team, Rainforest Alliance

Learning for lasting impact

These seven organizations prove that with the right tools and strategies, learning’s impact reaches far beyond courses. It crosses continents, languages, and communities—expanding opportunity and creating lasting change. Their stories remind us that meaningful progress begins with sharing knowledge and that, with the right support, anyone can be part of the movement.

Explore the full On Purpose magazine to read more about each organization. Learn how these nonprofits shape a better world with learning.

Interested in being featured in the next edition of On Purpose? Apply today to share your organization’s story of learning-powered progress.

How to Create an Effective Digital Sales Strategy

Two coworkers review a sales strategy in a brightly lit conference room

What is digital sales?

Digital sales is the process of selling products and services through digital channels. Unlike traditional methods like calling prospects or showcasing products at trade conferences, digital sales engages prospects through:

  • Websites
  • Emails
  • Social media
  • Targeted ads
  • Online chat
  • Digital sales rooms

A digital-optimized experience is essential, as the majority of B2B buyers prefer self-service buying. Customers research online and want to keep sales rep interactions to a minimum. Sales teams need strategies tailored to prospects’ digital-first, self-service preferences.

Enter digital sales strategies. A digital sales strategy uses digital tools, channels, and data to engage prospects throughout the sales funnel and drive them to purchase. The right strategy takes the guesswork out of your team’s efforts and ensures you deliver the right resources to prospects at the right time, increasing conversions.

Key components of an effective digital sales strategy

Every company’s digital sales strategy is unique. That said, there are key components you should keep in mind when crafting yours, including:

Clear revenue and growth goals

Clear, realistic revenue and growth goals increase the likelihood that your sales team will achieve desired results. For example, you might aim to increase revenue growth by 10% over the next year by improving close rates for an active digital channel.

Defined buyer personas and buying journeys

A buyer persona is a research-based representation of your ideal customer that describes their demographics, needs, motivations, and challenges. A well-defined buyer persona helps your sales team understand your ideal customer’s pain points and preferences, enabling more personalized, effective sales campaigns.

Meanwhile, understanding the buyer’s journey—the steps a customer takes from discovering a product to purchasing it—helps your team deliver the right messaging at the right time.

Digital sales channels and touchpoints

It’s critical to engage prospects through the digital channels they already use. Look at your prospect persona and journey. If they use social media, chat, and online search, your team should optimize the sales pitch for each of these channels. As much as we wish a prospect’s journey were linear, it takes an average of eight touchpoints to nurture a prospect to convert. Leverage these channels effectively to increase meaningful touchpoints and support sales goals.

Sales content and enablement resources

High-quality sales content, like case studies and e-books, helps customers understand how your solution solves their problem. For example, case studies highlight real-life companies that face the same challenges as prospects and show how they used your solution to overcome them.

Meanwhile, sales enablement resources, such as product one-pagers, educate sales reps on product features and benefits so they can communicate them to prospects.

Technology and tools stack

The right tools bring your digital sales strategy to life. For example, a CRM system organizes customer data and enables personalized outreach, while digital sales room software provides a central hub for sellers to interact with buyers. Also, an AI-powered sales tool can automate admin tasks and save sales teams hours of manual work—one survey suggested as much as 2 hours a day. That’s time reps can reallocate toward closing complex deals.

These tools, well-employed, could mean the difference between a vague aim to increase digital sales and a concrete digital sales strategy that actually drives revenue.

Step-by-step guide to creating a digital sales strategy

What are the steps in a digital sales strategy? Our breakdown walks you through the process—from identifying goals to choosing the best tools.

1. Define your digital sales goals

Setting clear goals helps your sales team focus its efforts and makes it easier to evaluate performance. Use a goal-setting framework like SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) to get started.

For example, you could break down our earlier goal of increasing revenue growth through digital channel close rates into smaller SMART goals. Namely, “increase digital channel close rates from 20 to 22% over the next year by improving lead qualification.” From there, translate the goal into actionable steps, like determining the current number of qualified leads.

2. Understand your digital buyer

Create a detailed digital buyer persona by defining their job title, industry, company size, challenges, and behaviors. Find information using data from your CRM and lead generation tools, as well as customer surveys and social media feedback.

3. Choose the right digital sales channels

Let your buyer persona guide your channel choices. If your target audience frequently engages on LinkedIn and converts through emails, prioritize those channels. You can also choose channels based on which ones are most ideal for your industry.

4. Align sales and marketing around digital selling

It’s critical to get marketing and sales on the same page to ensure a positive customer experience. Even more importantly, according to a recent HubSpot sales trend report, surveyed sales pros say alignment improves lead quality and increases revenue.

To unify sales and marketing around digital selling:

  • Establish shared goals and KPIs
  • Collaborate on messaging and branding
  • Develop a joint content strategy
  • Integrate sales and marketing technology

5. Enable your sales teams with content and training

Empower your sales team with the knowledge and skills they need to be effective digital sellers. For example, provide training on relationship building, digital communication skills, social selling techniques, and AI sales tools.

Create training content and courses on key sales topics like confident negotiation. Online training platforms like Articulate 360 make it easy to update sales enablement content as needed, and deliver training continuously to keep sales reps up to date on product updates, sales trends, and tactics.

6. Select and integrate digital sales tools

Choose digital sales tools that align with your goals, like using CRM software for tracking customer data and performance management tools to measure and optimize campaigns.

Ensure these tools integrate with your existing tech stack. Or better yet, use an all-in-one sales solution that offers the key capabilities you need.

Common digital sales strategy mistakes to avoid

We’ve walked you through how to build a digital sales strategy step by step. Issues in your digital sales strategy can drive customers away and reduce sales. So, let’s explore common mistakes in the digital sales strategy process—and how to avoid them.

Treating digital sales as a channel instead of a strategy

While digital sales involves selling through different online channels, it’s not a channel itself. Treating it as such leads your team to aimlessly run ads on Instagram with the murky goal of “boosting conversions.” To avoid this, create an overarching digital sales strategy with measurable goals and detailed buyer personas, then choose channels that align with both.

Relying too heavily on technology without process

AI and other sales tools can’t fix a broken sales process. If your team’s workflow is disorganized or no one has mastered your clunky CRM, more technology will only compound the issue. Start with a clear process and align your team on it, then bring in sales engagement platforms and AI-driven automation to reinforce the structure you’ve established.

Failing to train your sales team

If your team can’t effectively explain over digital channels how a product addresses customer pain points or why a customer should choose your brand over a competitor, you won’t close deals. Provide sales playbooks and other training materials, and create a tailored sales training program to strengthen your team’s knowledge.

Misalignment between sales and marketing

Sales and marketing misalignment leads to mixed messages throughout the buyer’s journey, reducing trust and revenue. Invite teams to collaborate on goal-setting, buyer persona development, and brand messaging. Then, integrate your CRM with marketing software to create a unified system for everyone.

Understanding these common mistakes helps your team avoid these pitfalls, making your digital sales strategy that much more effective.

Examples of effective digital sales strategies

Let’s look at a B2B example of this framework in practice.

Scenario: A leadership coaching software company wants to increase annual revenue by 20% by prioritizing digital channel performance. It creates the following digital sales strategy:

  1. Goal: Prioritize follow-ups to increase the team’s close rate by 15% this quarter. The business sets team KPIs for follow-ups and close rates.
  2. The buyer persona: The team uses CRM, customer survey, and industry data to create a persona: an HR director at a mid-size company who struggles to deliver actionable feedback to direct reports. They spend most of their time online checking emails and LinkedIn.
  3. Digital channels: The team conducts outreach and follow-ups through email and LinkedIn messages.
  4. Sales and marketing alignment: Sales and marketing collaborate on customer LinkedIn testimonial videos and standardized follow-up messaging tailored to buyer personas.
  5. Sales team enablement: Sales leaders train their teams on effective follow-up frameworks and provide templates.
  6. Tools: The team uses a CRM system to track opportunity stage and follow-up tasks, and a sales engagement platform to automate follow-up sequences.

By prioritizing structured follow-ups via email and LinkedIn, the company increases its close rate by 15% and grows sales without additional lead volume.

Building a scalable digital sales strategy

So, how do companies implement digital sales strategies? In short, by using the right metrics and tools to measure sales performance and streamline workflows.

Metrics to measure success

The metrics you use will depend on your goals and the digital channels you use. That said, here are six KPIs you may consider using:

  1. Conversion rate: The percentage of potential customers who take a specific action
  2. Customer acquisition cost (CAC): The total cost of gaining a new customer
  3. Average deal size: The average value of a company’s deals
  4. Sales cycle length: The time it takes for potential customers to move through the sales process
  5. Pipeline velocity: How quickly qualified leads move through the sales funnel
  6. Customer retention rate: The percentage of customers a company keeps over time

Tools to support digital sales

We can’t emphasize the importance of digital selling tools enough. Here are six to incorporate into your digital sales strategy:

  1. CRM software: Centralizes customer information and tracks interactions
  2. Sales engagement tools: Automate and track interactions between sales teams and prospects across channels
  3. Digital sales room software: Provide secure online spaces for sales teams to interact with buyers
  4. Sales training platforms: Onboard, train, and coach sales teams to improve skills and close more deals. Course authoring platforms like Articulate help leaders create effective sales training.
  5. AI-powered automation tools: Streamline workflows and reduce time on manual tasks
  6. Sales analytics tools: Collect sales data and generate insights on performance

Putting your digital sales strategy into action

Now that you have a step-by-step process for creating a digital sales strategy, you can focus on executing it. Start with clear, measurable goals and a detailed buyer persona, and take it from there. Also, make sure your sales team has the right resources to achieve digital sales success. On that note, check out our blog post “How to Quickly Create Sales Training With AI” to discover how to drive sales enablement without creating training courses from scratch.

Articulate Ranked #1 for Enterprise in G2’s 2026 Best Software Awards

What are the G2 Best Software Awards?

The G2 Best Software Awards rank the top software companies and products each year using data from G2’s marketplace—the world’s largest software review platform.

G2 is a trusted, independent review source known for its rigorous commitment to accuracy and its strict vetting process to verify reviewer authenticity.

An LED billboard in Times Square announces Articulate as the G2 2026 #1 winner, Best Enterprise Software
A billboard announces Articulate 360 win in G2’s 2026 Software Awards for Best Enterprise Software

Unlike traditional industry awards, G2’s rankings are determined by verified customer reviews and market presence scores from the previous year. The awards rank products based on real, timely reviews from real users and publicly available data, including:

  • Customer satisfaction scores
  • Market presence data
  • Category competitiveness
  • Geographic data about the company and workforce
  • Reviews by category persona

Because the awards are based on real user feedback, they’re a powerful indicator of how the software companies deliver meaningful results and value for customers.

Articulate’s recognition across five award categories highlights the impact our platform has on organizations worldwide—from growing companies to global enterprises, in multiple lines of business.

Where does Articulate rank on G2?

Based on reviews from January 1 to December 31, 2025, Articulate was recognized in the following categories for the 2026 G2 Software Awards.

#1 Best Software for Enterprise Businesses

Among the recognitions, we’re especially proud of Articulate’s #1 ranking for Best Software for Enterprise Businesses. Large organizations face complex workforce training challenges as business shifts and product innovation accelerate faster than ever in the age of AI. These organizations need solutions that are powerful enough to support large workforces and global operations at scale, yet incredibly user-friendly and easy for teams to adopt quickly.

Enterprise organizations rely on Articulate to:

  • Create engaging learning experiences faster
  • Scale training across distributed teams and global workforces, in 80+ languages
  • Empower subject matter experts to build courses without specialized technical skills
  • Deliver scalable business outcomes through behavior change

Being ranked #1 by enterprise customers demonstrates the confidence large organizations place in Articulate to power their learning programs.

Articulate’s inclusion across four additional award categories underscores the platform’s versatility and impact for organizations of all sizes. Notably, Articulate is top ranking course authoring software in every category below.

#9 Best HR Software Products

Learning and development play a critical role in helping organizations attract, develop, and retain talent. Articulate’s ranking among G2’s top HR software products reflects the enduring importance of learning in modern workforce development.

#39 Best Software for Mid-Market Businesses

G2 ranked the best software for mid-market organizations, which often need solutions that balance powerful capabilities with ease of implementation. Articulate helps growing teams quickly build and scale impactful learning programs.

#62 Best Global Software Companies

Recognition in G2’s global software category highlights Articulate’s global reach and the impact our platform has on organizations worldwide. Its integrated Localization solution, which supports training in 80+ languages within the platform, further underscores Articulate’s commitment to helping organizations scale learning globally.

#94 Best Software Products Overall

Ranking among the best software products across all industries shows the broad value organizations find in the Articulate platform. We’re thrilled to be in the top 100 software products among giants like Slack, Google Workspace, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Gong.

Together, these rankings reinforce Articulate’s position as a trusted solution for building effective, engaging learning experiences across business verticals.

G2 Awards: Powered by customer feedback

One of the reasons the G2 Best Software Awards are so meaningful is that they’re driven by verified customer reviews.

Every ranking reflects feedback from real users who rely on these tools in their day-to-day work.

Customers consistently highlight several strengths of the Articulate platform, including:

  • Intuitive tools that make course creation fast and accessible
  • Powerful capabilities for building engaging learning experiences
  • Flexibility for teams of all sizes
  • A supportive customer community and ecosystem

Monika Saha, Articulate’s Chief Commercial Officer, said of the award, “The G2 Best Software Awards matter because they’re grounded entirely in customer feedback. Ranking #1 for enterprise, alongside companies like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Gong, is a strong signal that large organizations aren’t just adopting Articulate, they’re getting real value from it. That trust is what fuels retention, expansion, and the long-term partnerships we’re building with enterprises around the world.”

We’re incredibly grateful to the customers who shared their experiences and helped make this recognition possible.

Sample G2 customer reviews

“Articulate 360: Powerful E-Learning creation with next-level AI”

—Shiann A, Enterprise Talent Partner

“I really like how flexible and easy to use Articulate 360 is.”

—Ryan H, Mid-Market Computer Software Company

“From initial content creation through the review and editing, Articulate 360 makes my job easier.”

—Chad P, Mid-Market Insurance Company

“Articulate 360, especially Rise, is so intuitive and makes creating engaging eLearnings easy to handle.”

—Ashley G., Small Business E-Learning Designer

What this recognition means for customers

For organizations evaluating learning technology, recognition like the G2 Best Software Awards offers valuable insight into which platforms can help them achieve real results.

Articulate’s rankings across five categories—and especially the #1 position for enterprise businesses—highlight the platform’s ability to support organizations at every stage of growth.

Whether teams are building their first training program or delivering learning across thousands of employees worldwide, Articulate helps organizations create learning that is engaging, effective, and easy to build.

We’re incredibly grateful to the customers who shared their feedback on G2 and made this recognition possible.

Your insights help us continue to improve the platform and empower learning professionals everywhere to create better learning experiences.

We look forward to continuing to support organizations around the world as they build training that develops skills, engages employees, and drives meaningful outcomes.

Join a demo to see why Articulate 360 is the industry leader in workplace training, trusted by 100 of the Fortune 100.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the G2 Best Software Awards?

The G2 Best Software Awards are an annual ranking of the top software companies and products worldwide, based on verified customer reviews and market presence data from G2’s marketplace.

How are the rankings determined?

G2 uses a proprietary algorithm that evaluates verified customer feedback, satisfaction scores, and market presence to identify the top-performing software products.

Why is this recognition significant?

Because the rankings are based on real customer feedback, they reflect the experiences of the people who use the software every day.

What awards have Articulate won in 2026?

In addition to the G2 Software Awards, Articulate earned accolades in the top G2 Winter 2026 Report overall, and #1 in G2’s Grid® Report for Course Authoring. Articulate was also recognized by TrustRadius, another well-respected customer review site, as a TrustRadius 2026 Buyer’s Choice winner. Read more about Articulate news and Awards on our blog

What Is Virtual Onboarding? Benefits and Best Practices

What is virtual onboarding?

Definition and core components

Virtual onboarding eliminates many of the needs—and costs—of in-person interaction by moving the process of integrating new hires online, using digital tools to facilitate their introduction and training. Virtual onboarding processes vary by industry, but there are several core components vital to a seamless experience, including:

  • Preboarding activities. Preboarding—the phase between offer acceptance and a new hire’s first day—is increasingly used by organizations to provide welcome kits, set up login credentials, and prepare employees for onboarding.
  • Digital orientation. Just as first-year college students are introduced to their new environment, digital orientation introduces new hires to the organization’s values, culture, and operational policy.
  • Self-paced learning. While onboarding has a definite timeline, remote hires can complete learning modules covering role-specific training at their own pace.
  • “Paperless” paperwork. Necessary documentation like tax forms and contracts can be completed digitally through e-signature software to streamline the administrative process.
  • Social integration. Relationship-building via virtual coffee chats, mentorship meetings, and team-building activities help new remote hires form a sense of belonging, despite the distance.
  • Ongoing support. Consistent communication, support, and opportunities for feedback are crucial to consistently engaging new hires.

How it compares to in-person onboarding

While in-person onboarding has its advantages—instant feedback and support, for example—virtual onboarding provides a higher level of consistency and flexibility. Self-paced learning caters to the remote employee, allowing for on-the-go mobile learning while avoiding the costs of synchronous, instructor-led sessions.

Organizations can also tap into the benefits of microlearning, an instructional strategy that distributes learning through bite-sized, interactive e-learning modules that reduce cognitive load and increase engagement. Compared to the sometimes stale, passive experience of traditional in-person onboarding, virtual onboarding provides a consistent and engaging orientation for new employees.

Key benefits of virtual onboarding

Cost and time savings

Virtual onboarding reduces or eliminates costs associated with in-person onboarding like travel expenses, venue rental, and materials costs. Because most learning experiences are moved online and HR processes are automated, organizations and learners save massive amounts of time.

Expanded and diverse talent pool

If I sought to find the tallest palm tree in the whole world but only focused my efforts on my home state of Minnesota, my options would be extremely underwhelming, to say the least. Similarly, organizations have found that the best talent isn’t always within commuting distance of the office, or even that a physical office isn’t necessary at all.

Virtual onboarding empowers organizations to expand their search to a wider, global talent pool. And by extension, virtual onboarding empowers candidates to expand their search beyond borders, and integrate into company culture without leaving the comfort of their own home.

Consistency and scalability

Team size and location no longer act as limiting factors. Virtual onboarding delivers a consistent, high-quality, and personalized training experience for all new hires, regardless of how many there are and where they are located. Scaling up no longer necessitates hiring more instructors or creating new material.

Enhanced accessibility, sustainability, and inclusivity

Reaching a wider talent pool doesn’t just mean geographically. Virtual onboarding programs make it easier to meet accessibility standards for employees with visual, auditory, physical, or mental disabilities. This inclusive nature of virtual onboarding opens the door to underserved communities.

Removing the travel requirements and materials printing costs associated with in-person onboarding helps organizations meet their sustainability goals, and attracts a growing number of candidates that hold environmental issues high on their list when applying.

Best practices for virtual onboarding

Digital preboarding kits and welcome communications

To keep the excitement built during the interviewing process going, immediately send a preboarding welcome kit to new hires. Consider including the following:

  • A personalized welcome email from their manager
  • A digital employee handbook
  • Administrative forms
  • An interactive checklist of what to expect during preboarding and onboarding
  • Company history on an interactive timeline and an organizational hierarchy chart
  • A Google form “about me” questionnaire for new hires to fill out

Sending required equipment and setting up tech early

There’s nothing worse than juggling the stress of your first day on the job with tech issues. Remove this barrier by making sure new hires are properly equipped—with a laptop, tablet, smartphone, or other accessories—before their first day. Ship this equipment to them with all necessary software pre-downloaded and instructions for setting up company accounts and credentials.

To ensure a smooth setup, provide a contact number and email for IT support. You can even assign new hires to specific IT associates so they know ahead of time who they might be hearing from.

Company swag with a personal touch

Your new remote employees likely won’t find a company-branded sweatshirt at their local strip mall. Send a Google form with the preboarding welcome kit that asks their preferred shirt size and give them an option to receive other swag like a coffee mug, backpack, or notebook. Include a personalized note with quick messages from individuals on their new team.

Clear communication channels and introductions

Onboarding is a hectic time for new hires. They’re taking in more information than they can likely retain, so the very least you can provide is clear communication. Ensure they have open communication lines with IT, their manager and team, and anyone else they need to make integration easier.

With this in mind, make sure who they’ll be in contact with expects to hear from them. Encourage open lines of communication with current team members just as much as new ones.

Role integration, mentorship, and relationship-building

Sometimes, onboarding programs use a one-size-fits-all approach that ignores the complex, unique nature of an individual’s role within the organization. They may form solid relationships with other new hires, but feel like complete strangers to their actual team members after onboarding.

Help new hires build a sense of belonging and value by facilitating:

  • One-on-one and group meet-and-greets with team members
  • Weekly manager meetings to establish expectations, goals, and support structure
  • Role-specific, personalized training modules with real-world examples to accelerate time-to-productivity
  • Mentor meetings with a senior team member
  • A confidence-building first project they can accomplish quickly that simulates their daily workflow

Automation, asynchronous learning, and personalized content

It’s a common myth that new hire onboarding only lasts a few weeks. Ideally, onboarding should continue for up to the first year of a new hire’s time. To keep new hires engaged beyond their first few weeks, provide professional growth opportunities and encourage continuous learning.

Asynchronous learning content, personalized to the new hire’s role and trajectory within the company, should be available to access at any time, from anywhere, and on any device. Once they’ve mastered the basics of their new role, goals for upskilling and reskilling can be discussed with their manager. With a robust LMS like Articulate’s Reach, personalized learning can be automated, giving new hires a clear pathway toward professional development.

Common virtual onboarding challenges and how to address them

Building social connection and combating isolation

Without face-to-face interaction, building genuine relationships can be difficult. You’ll want to do as much as you can to help new hires bond with their team, despite being in different time zones. To combat the isolation many remote workers feel from their team, facilitate virtual networking events to make connections. These can be held live through video conferencing or team members can send recorded video messages back and forth with guided, weekly topics.

Ask the new hire’s team members to fill out short “about me” questionnaires that include hobbies and interests outside of work. Turn them into interactive flashcards with their names, photos, and roles on the front and hobbies and interests on back. Send these to the new hire as part of a “Get to know the team” microlearning module they can access at any time.

Technical difficulties and access issues

Technical issues can slow down the onboarding process, frustrating new hires and delaying productivity due to a slower ramp time. New hires should be introduced to the IT department—and other departments they’ll cross paths with—as soon as possible to develop an understanding of their role.

Use a learning management system (LMS) that makes content and user management simple, with access controls and learner progress tracking built in.

Avoiding information overload

Assigning dense, disorganized onboarding material to your new hires all but guarantees they’ll disengage before finding and understanding key principles and concepts. The limitations of our working memory—where we store new information before committing it to long term memory—can be addressed using cognitive load theory.

When designing onboarding content, CLT provides advice on how to approach all three types of cognitive load every learner will encounter.  You’ll need to manage intrinsic load, which is the inherent complexity of any given topic, eliminate extraneous load, which is any non-essential content that only distracts the learner, and optimize germane load, which is any content that contributes directly to learning.

Tools and tech to support virtual onboarding

Onboarding software platforms

Software platforms that help facilitate and centralize virtual onboarding programs can be a major help to streamline the process. Here are three proven onboarding software platforms, trusted by training pros:

  1. BambooHR. For small to mid-sized organizations looking to simplify the onboarding process, BambooHR offers new hire packet templates, e-signature software, automated workflows, and interactive onboarding checklists.
  2. Deel. Ideal for mid-market and enterprise level organizations, Deel streamlines onboarding through automated task lists, facilitates relationship-building with meetup roulettes, and organizes weekly 1-on-1s within Slack.
  3. Greenhouse. Greenhouse simplifies recruitment, optimizes the hiring process, and automates tedious tasks like scheduling interviews and distributing interview prep to candidates.

Communication and collaboration tools

To facilitate virtual meet-and-greets, one-on-one meetings, and day-to-day workflow operations, you’ll need the best available communication and collaboration tools. Tools like Zoom focus heavily on live video conferencing, whereas Teams and Slack are ideal for brainstorming, informal discussions via text and video, and file sharing.

Tools like Asana and Trello can help with workflow management, with Trello being ideal for smaller teams with a need for visual tracking and Asana for larger, more complex workflows involving multiple teams and multiple projects.

Course authoring tools and templates

If your goal is to create engaging onboarding content, simplify collaboration, and seamlessly distribute content to learners wherever they are and to whatever device they’re using, it’s crucial to invest in a robust e-learning platform. With Articulate 360, you can create virtual onboarding courses 9x faster with integrated AI, ensure learning for everyone with built-in accessibility features, and distribute content globally with end-to-end localization support.

Final takeaways

Virtual onboarding empowers organizations to select from an increasingly remote, global talent tool. Moving onboarding tools online reduces costs, simplifies scalability, and enhances accessibility. Despite geographic distance, remote and hybrid employees can be successfully integrated and connected to workplace culture through virtual onboarding best practices. Send new hires digital welcome kits, company swag, and the necessary tech to reach full productivity sooner.

Lastly, ensure you’re using the right tools for the job. Find the best workflow software, communication apps, and course authoring tools to streamline the onboarding process for your new hires.

Curious how other organizations have embraced a diverse talent pool with virtual training? Check out how BJC Healthcare uses e-learning to deliver scalable, flexible learning experiences to tens of thousands of employees.

Ready to start building effective virtual onboarding courses? Start your free trial of the Articulate 360 platform today.

What Is Digital Sales?

What is digital sales?

Digital sales is the process of selling products and services through digital channels, including websites, email, social media, chatbots, and online ads.

For example, say a prospect visits a company’s website to learn more about its project management software. They research the software and start a free trial.

Then, a sales rep follows up via email to answer the prospect’s questions and send a payment link to upgrade. The customer completes the purchase online. That’s a digital sale.

Here are some other examples of digital sales:

  • Website: A customer browses a company’s online store, adds items to their cart, and completes checkout on the site.
  • Email: A prospect clicks a promotional email link and signs up for a paid subscription.
  • Social media: A TikTok user sees a product in a livestream and purchases it on TikTok Shop.
  • Chatbot: A customer gets product recommendations from a company’s AI chatbot and completes their purchase through chat.
  • Online ads: A prospect clicks a Google ad and schedules a demo through the company website.

If you want to meet customers where they are and drive revenue in the digital age, you must embrace the online channels that prospects increasingly turn to.

Why digital sales matter for businesses today

A digital sales process meets your customers where they are while giving teams the insights and automation needed to speed up sales and personalize shopping experiences. Explore these benefits in more detail below.

Benefits of digital sales adoption

When it comes to digital selling approaches, the numbers speak for themselves:

  • Broader reach: PYMNTS Intelligence found that 35% of small and medium-sized businesses use online channels to expand their customer reach.
  • Better scalability: “Inside” or remote salespeople cover four times as many prospects as traditional field reps at 50 percent of the cost, according to McKinsey research.
  • Enhanced personalization: A 2025 Special Ecommerce Platforms Report found that 48 percent of online retailers invested more in ecommerce technology to better personalize shopping experiences.

In other words, sales teams that overlook digital selling risk a narrow customer base, reduced capacity and efficiency, and generic buying experiences.

Digital-first buying behavior

Today’s customers do their research and shopping online. Luckily, digital sales give customers the autonomy and convenience they’re looking for. For example, prospects can get quick answers from an AI chatbot before making an online purchase.

Impact on revenue and growth

Digital selling helps increase revenue by giving sales teams insight into customer behavior, allowing teams to tweak outreach and convert more customers. For example, your CRM could show which prospects are clicking links in product launch emails. Your team could send personalized follow-up emails with these prospects, leading them to make purchases.

Core components of digital sales

Digital sales is more than promoting your product or service online and hoping for the best. It’s a strategic process that brings together various components, including:

  • Customer relationship management systems to organize customer information and manage interactions
  • Digital marketing strategies to promote products and guide customers through the sales funnel
  • Digital sales channels like digital sales rooms with embedded payment links to connect with prospects and facilitate transactions
  • Data analytics and insights to understand buyer behavior, measure performance, and optimize sales strategies
  • AI-driven automation to handle admin tasks and improve efficiency
  • Personalized customer experience to improve customer satisfaction and increase conversions

These elements work together to create seamless digital sales processes that turn customers into repeat buyers and, eventually, brand advocates.

Digital channels that drive sales

Digital channels aren’t just used to boost awareness of company products. They’re also used to convert prospects into paying customers. Here are the main digital channels designed to do so:

  • Websites and e-commerce stores: By offering product details, demonstrating social proof through customer reviews, and ensuring a seamless checkout process, company websites and e-commerce stores have become ideal conversion channels.
  • Email campaigns: These can promote new products, offer special discounts, or provide limited-time offers. Avoid overusing email, though, as this can alienate customers.
  • Social media platforms: TikTok Shop is a huge testament to the strength of social selling. Sell directly from social media apps using built-in shopping features or use social media ads to drive customers to your site for purchases.
  • Live chat and messaging systems: Live chat and SMS messaging let you answer FAQs and make targeted product recommendations, bringing prospects closer to purchase.
  • Online advertising: Targeted ads in search results or across social media platforms help you reach people who match your buyer persona and are more likely to purchase.

Leveraging these diverse digital channels ensures your team doesn’t miss any prospects—from sworn social shoppers to chronic email checkers.

Digital sales vs. traditional sales

Digital sales let customers discover products, learn about them, and make purchases through online channels. In some cases, the process is entirely self-service. Buyers research, compare, and check out on their own without speaking to a sales rep.

But in other cases, a sales rep is present throughout the digital sales process. For example, sales reps answer questions over email, host virtual demos, and guide buyers through checkout. Still, these interactions occur virtually instead of in person.

In contrast, traditional sales involve more face-to-face interactions between customers and sales reps, whether at retail stores, trade shows, or other in-person meetings. Sales reps spend more time educating customers about products and services and persuading them to buy, which can be ideal for more complex deals or those requiring additional guidance or product knowledge.

While some businesses may choose one approach over another, many use a combination of self-service digital sales, rep-involved digital sales, and traditional, in-person sales. For example:

  • Self-service digital sales: Best for lower-cost, standardized products. For example, a customer can subscribe to Canva Pro directly through the website without speaking to a salesperson.
  • Rep-involved digital sales: Best for higher-priced or more complex solutions that still close digitally. For example, a company evaluating a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) may attend a virtual demo, communicate with a sales rep through email, and sign a contract electronically.
  • Traditional sales: Best for large, customized investments requiring in-person interactions and relationship-building. For example, enterprises purchasing aircraft engage in in-person negotiations before moving forward with an agreement.

While digital sales meet consumers where they are, traditional sales remain critical for many industries and purchase types.

Tools and technology in digital sales

According to HubSpot’s 2024 AI Trends for Sales report, 75 percent of salespeople with AI-powered CRMs said AI helps them drive sales. We explore additional benefits of digital selling technologies like AI in more depth below.

  • CRM systems: CRM systems centralize customer information (purchase history,  engagement data, and more) and automate tasks like email communications and report generation. This allows sales reps to focus on conversions instead of admin.
  • Sales enablement and training platforms: Platforms like Articulate 360 help you develop engaging sales training programs that refine sales reps’ skills and enable them to close more deals.
  • Analytics and performance dashboards: Clear dashboards give you insight into what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to tweak your campaigns in real time.
  • AI tools and chatbots: Sales reps interact with countless customers. AI tools and chatbots prevent customer outreach from slipping through the cracks by automatically responding to customers on websites and social media platforms.

When exploring these tools, it’s important to think about your business’s unique needs.

The digital sales process

Closing a sale is just one step in the overall digital sales process. Need a refresher on the other steps? We have a simple breakdown for you.

1. Identify prospects

Your company’s digital selling efforts will fall flat if you don’t understand your ideal customers.

If your company hasn’t developed one already, start by creating a buyer persona or a profile of your ideal customer that describes their demographics, personality traits, goals, and pain points.

Use existing customer information from your CRM to flesh out these details. For example, purchase history and live chat conversations can help your team identify pain points and tailor selling strategies accordingly.

2. Attract and engage prospects online

Proactively connect with prospects through multiple digital channels, including personalized emails, virtual meetings and demos, and digital sales rooms.

Share blog posts, videos, and other content that speak to their goals and pain points. Also, build trust by replying to prospects’ comments and answering direct messages.

3. Capture leads and start conversations

When prospects signal interest by downloading content or requesting information, take the initiative and move the conversation forward.

Follow up with personalized emails, ask qualifying questions, and assess whether the prospect matches your buyer persona. Use personalized outreach to better understand their goals, challenges, and decision-making process.

Early engagement helps you determine next steps and avoid wasting time on prospects who aren’t likely to become customers.

4. Educate and nurture leads

Guide qualified prospects through the decision process by providing relevant information and consistent communication.

Send tailored resources, schedule virtual demos, clarify product features, and address objections as they arise. Use CRM insights to personalize follow-ups and reference past interactions so each conversation feels organic, not forced.

5. Close sales digitally

When a prospect is ready to move forward, approach the closing process with clarity and confidence.

Present pricing, send proposals, conduct final walkthroughs, and handle any remaining objections. Share contracts or payment links electronically and clearly explain terms.

After the deal is signed, confirm next steps and coordinate a smooth handoff to onboarding or customer success.

Digital sales strategies that work

The following digital sales strategies equip your team with the clarity and intentionality needed to close more deals.

Omnichannel engagement

Engage prospects thoughtfully across multiple channels—from digital sales rooms to emails. For example, as marketing builds awareness, step in to nurture prospects through personalized outreach, like a timely follow-up email after a prospect engages with a blog post. Understanding where the sales fit in this bigger picture is key because when every touchpoint feels natural and intentional, prospects experience a seamless customer journey.

Personalization at scale

Personalization saves customers time, increases trust, and makes them feel like you understand their taste. Tailor interactions by sending emails with personalized content recommendations, like relevant case studies, based on user engagement.

Sales enablement and training

Equip teams with digital selling skills by developing effective training programs. E-learning platforms like Articulate 360 offer AI-powered features to streamline sales course development. You can create interactive, scenario-based lessons on key selling topics and technologies like needs analysis, objection handling, CRMs, and AI tools.

For example, if your team is struggling with objection handling, create a course with realistic customer objection scenarios and scripts. This way, reps learn how to respond to common objections before they talk to actual prospects, helping them close more deals.

When you implement these digital sales strategies, you strengthen relationships with prospects while also giving your team the tools they need to build upon that work.

Digital sales as a competitive advantage

Customers today expect seamless, personalized digital sales experiences. That means sales teams that deliver them will come out on top. By embracing the right digital channels, tools, and strategies, your sales teams can meet prospects where they are and close deals faster. This sets you apart from teams that don’t take a digital-first approach and risk missing out on revenue as a result.

If you want to make sure your sales team stays ahead of the competition and continues to adapt to a dynamic sales landscape, check out our blog post on creating sales training that sticks.

FAQs about digital sales

What’s the difference between digital sales and e-commerce?

Digital sales focus on the methods, strategies, and channels sales teams use to close deals online, including social selling. Meanwhile, e-commerce focuses on the overall business and ecosystem of buying and selling goods online—from website and inventory management to shipping and logistics.

What is a digital sales room?

A digital sales room is an online space where B2B sellers and buyers interact throughout the sales process. It speeds up the sales cycle by centralizing sales assets and communications in one place, ensuring buyers and sellers have the information they need to make informed purchase decisions and provide seamless sales experiences, respectively.

What’s the difference between digital sales and digital marketing?

Digital sales is a short-term process focused on closing deals through online channels. Digital marketing is a long-term strategy focused on engaging customers and building brand awareness over time rather than simply closing deals in the moment.

How Does Localization Impact Training Outcomes? A 90-Day Study

What is training localization? Definition and background

E-learning localization is the process of adapting course content for multiple languages and cultural contexts so it resonates with global learners. Research widely supports that localized employee training can improve comprehension, increase engagement, and enhance overall training effectiveness across linguistically or culturally diverse teams.

While these benefits are well documented, Articulate wanted to examine our own data to better understand how localization influences actual learner behavior.

Research methodology: how we measured the impact of localization on learning

A 90-day observational analysis

Articulate conducted an internal observational analysis based on anonymized and aggregated customer usage data. The study reflects real learner behavior in real-world conditions, not a lab environment. Here’s how we gathered the data:

  • Who: The data came from 115 Articulate 360 subscriptions who use Reach with a paid localization contract. For more context:
    • Reach is Articulate’s integrated content delivery tool. It enables course creators to quickly share training with learners and track their progress—without the complexity of a traditional learning management system (LMS).
    • Localization is Articulate’s built-in translation and validation solution. Users can translate content into 80+ languages with AI, and invite human validators to check for accuracy and review live course previews before publishing.
    • Used together, these features allow teams to publish multiple language versions of a course as a single source file, eliminating the need to export, translate, and re-import course files.
  • What: We looked at two primary training performance indicators:
    • Course completion rates
    • The amount of time learners spent completing courses
  • How: Aggregated and anonymized learner behavior metrics were compared before and after the localization contract start date. This allowed us to observe how course completion patterns changed after localization was introduced.
    • Aggregated means the data was combined across many learners and organizations to identify overall patterns, rather than analyzing individual users. Looking at data in aggregate helps reveal more reliable trends by reducing the impact of individual outliers.
    • Anonymized means all personally identifiable information was removed, so no individual learner or organization could be identified in the data. This approach protects customer privacy and ensures that sensitive information remains secure.
  • When: Results were analyzed across 30-, 60-, and 90-day windows to understand how outcomes shifted over time.

Research findings: how localization affected training performance

1. Course completion rates increased after localization

Among Articulate customers using Reach and Localization, average course completion rates increased from 77.4% to 83.4% over a 90-day period, a 6-percentage-point increase.

While individual results vary, the overall trend showed improved completion after localization was employed.

2. Learners completed localized courses faster

We also examined how long it took learners to complete courses before and after localization. Across all available data:

  • The median time to complete a course decreased by approximately 50% after localization.
  • Mean completion times showed an even larger drop, though these results reflect extreme outliers.

Because some courses had unusually long completion times before localization, median values provide a more accurate picture of the typical learner experience.

After localization, course completion times were more consistent and less variable, suggesting learners processed content more efficiently overall.

What does the data suggest about localization and employee training?

Higher completion rates suggest learners are more likely to finish courses when language barriers are reduced. Faster completion times suggest they can move through content more efficiently. Our hypothesis: Efficiency increases when learners no longer need to expend extra effort translating or reinterpreting information as they proceed through the course.

For workplace learning teams, that can mean:

Benefits of training localization beyond the study

These 90-day findings show only part of localization’s broader benefits. External research reinforces how localization enables:

  1. Better, faster learning. Training in a learner’s native language is easier to understand, apply, and remember.
  2. Higher-quality, more consistent training. Translation addresses local needs while keeping training standardized across regions.
  3. Safer, more compliant workplaces. Removing language barriers reduces miscommunications that can lead to accidents or compliance issues.
  4. Stronger employee engagement. Culturally relevant, relatable training helps to increase participation and buy-in.
  5. Inclusive learning cultures. Localization supports broader access to professional development opportunities—no matter where employees work.

Want more training localization resources?

Our results confirm that localization can measurably improve employee training performance. The next opportunity is to embed localization into your learning design and development processes. Articulate Localization makes it easy and cost-effective.

To learn how to build or scale a localization strategy for your organization, explore our e-book, Course Localization Breakthroughs.

To read perspectives from leaders tackling global learning challenges, check out our related post, 6 Lessons in Localization: How Leaders Tackle Global Learning.

What Is Customer Service?

What is customer service?

Customer service is the assistance you give customers before and after they buy products and services so they have a positive experience with your brand.

Greeting customers cheerfully, answering customer questions fully, and resolving complaints efficiently are all examples of customer service.

But good customer service goes beyond merely replying to support tickets. It’s about delivering personalized, proactive support whenever customers need it and on their channel of choice—whether that’s phone, email, social media, or a combination.

A customer service agent smiles while using a headset.

Your team can provide the following types of customer support:

  • In-person support: Interact face-to-face with customers in retail stores and other physical locations.
  • Phone support: Resolve customer issues quickly by picking up the phone and speaking with customers in real time.
  • Email support: Address detailed questions and issues via email and use email management software to prevent messages from slipping through the cracks.
  • Social media support: According to The Sprout Social Index, 73 percent of social users say they’ll buy from a competitor if a brand doesn’t respond on social media—think DMs on Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and other platforms.
  • AI support: Bring in AI agents to help with responding to questions, scheduling appointments, and other customer service tasks. But be sure to keep a human in the loop to monitor exchanges and review AI-generated responses.
  • Live chat support: Engage in real-time, text-based conversations with customers via a chat window on your website or mobile app.

By providing omnichannel customer service, your team can support all customers—not just those calling in or coming through your doors.

Why is customer service important?

Customer service is important because it creates a positive brand impression and experience for customers, which leads to:

  • Increased customer retention: Forrester research found that customer-obsessed organizations report 51 percent better customer retention than non-customer-obsessed orgs.
  • Improved brand reputation: Happy customers spread positive word of mouth online and in person, enhancing your brand perception and reputation in the process.
  • Higher revenue: Forrester also found that customer-obsessed orgs report 41 percent faster revenue growth.
  • Stronger competitor advantage: Companies that provide great customer service stand out from those that respond angrily to customer complaints or don’t respond at all.

Meanwhile, the cost of poor customer service can be monumental, with consequences like damaged customer trust, negative reviews, customer churn, and decreased revenue.

Your team can avoid these risks by making excellent customer service a top priority. To achieve this, your team needs to understand the pillars of quality service.

7 pillars of customer service

Providing great customer service is easier when your team is clear on what it looks like. Focus on cultivating the pillars of great customer service with your agents so they’re best equipped to support customers.

1. Responsiveness

Customers expect service teams to respond quickly and helpfully to their questions. The Sprout Social Index even shows that most consumers want brands to respond within 24 hours or sooner.

Make sure your service level agreement (SLA) response times align with the following channel-specific benchmarks:

  • Phone: Keep wait time to 2 minutes or less.
  • Email: Respond within 1-2 hours.
  • Social media: Respond within 4 hours.
  • Live chat: Respond within 30 seconds.

2. Empathy

When your team puts themselves in the customer’s shoes, they can connect on a human level rather than providing generic service.

For example, an agent who understands a customer’s frustration with a malfunctioning product will know to acknowledge the customer’s frustration and validate how they’re feeling using empathy statements.

This could be as simple as saying, “I completely understand how frustrating that can be,” or “I’m sorry, you’re experiencing this. Let me see how I can help.”

3. Knowledge and competence

Service agents who understand the company’s products and services and handle customer interactions confidently make customers feel like they’re in good hands.

Skilled and well-informed agents also resolve issues faster, increasing customer satisfaction and retention.

Improve your team’s knowledge and competence by creating a robust training program that educates agents on company products and introduces effective customer service techniques like the HEARD (Hear, Emphathize, Apologize, Resolve, and Diagnose) technique.

Make sure training is continuous and offer plenty of options. For example, provide onboarding training to introduce reps to company products, job aid–style training for key topics like troubleshooting technical issues, and microlearning for quick product updates.

4. Clear communication

Clear communication is speaking to customers and addressing their concerns in a way that’s easy to understand. This means answering questions directly, avoiding jargon, and speaking at a moderate pace so customers can easily follow what you say.

When agents communicate effectively, they increase trust, speed up problem resolution, and strengthen customer loyalty.

5. Consistency

Businesses that provide the same quality service instill trust in customers. When customers notice a pattern of excellent interactions—from contact center calls that resolve their issue to speedy email replies that answer their question—they’re more likely to come back to a brand.

Ensure your team delivers consistent customer service by standardizing escalation processes, follow-ups, and other procedures.

6. Accessibility

Accessibility in customer service means all customers, including those with disabilities, can easily interact with and use your various support options.

For example, your in-person service counters are wheelchair-accessible, help center content is screen-reader compatible, and your call centers include telecommunications relay service (TRS) for people with hearing disabilities.

You can also increase accessibility by training reps on effectively interacting with customers with disabilities and making support available through multiple channels (phone, email, live chat).

7. Personalization

Personalization tailors support based on customers’ specific needs and preferences.

Tailored interactions are more important than ever before, with 78 percent of customers expecting personalized service, per HubSpot’s 2024 State of Service Trends Report.

Your team can personalize interactions by:

  • Using customers’ names when communicating with them
  • Making customized product recommendations based on previous order history
  • Offering automatic ticket escalation and other benefits to VIP customers

When your customer service strategy is built on these key pillars, your team improves customer satisfaction and makes it a no-brainer for people to return to your brand.

How is customer service success measured?

Measuring customer service success is critical if you want to keep customers happy and encourage repeat visits. Here are five metrics to pay attention to:

Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)

Customer satisfaction score measures how happy customers are with an interaction or experience by using a 1–5 scale on a post-interaction survey.

CSAT indicates whether an interaction met, exceeded, or failed to live up to customer expectations.

How to calculate customer satisfaction score: (Number of satisfied customers/Total number of respondents) x 100

Net promoter score (NPS)

Net promoter score measures customer loyalty by looking at how likely customers are to recommend your company on a scale of 0–10, with respondents categorized as promoters (9 to 10), passives (7 to 8), or detractors (0 to 6).

A high NPS correlates with customer retention and predicts revenue growth.

How to calculate net promoter score: (Percentage of Promoters) – (Percentage of Detractors)

First response time (FRT)

First response time measures how long it takes for an agent to respond to a customer after they’ve reached out. Fast responses show customers you care about their time, which gives them a positive impression of your brand.

How to calculate first response time: (Sum of all first response times) / (Number of tickets)

Average resolution time

Average resolution time measures how long it takes to fully resolve a customer issue.

Shorter resolution time often leads to higher customer satisfaction because it proves to customers that your team can solve problems effectively.

How to calculate average resolution time: (Total resolution time for all resolved tickets) / (Number of resolved tickets)

Customer retention rate

Customer retention rate measures the percentage of customers your company keeps over a period of time. It indicates how well you’re maintaining your customer base and directly impacts profitability.

How to calculate customer retention rate: [(E-N)/S] x 100, where:

  • E = The number of customers at the end of a given period
  • N = The number of customers added within the given period
  • S = The number of customers at the start of a given period

Having clear metrics means you no longer have to wonder whether or not your team’s customer efforts are successful. Now, you can look at data and adjust your team’s approach accordingly.

Create better customer service training that improves ROI

Robust customer service training is key to improving how your team engages with customers, which helps decide whether they come back to your brand. Here’s what you need to know before creating your own customer service training.

Core areas of customer service training

Effective customer service training covers the following key areas:

  • Product knowledge and updates: Customer training programs should deepen agents’ knowledge of company products so they can assist customers when problems arise. Provide hands-on access to products, share brochures, and refresh training course content to keep agents updated on product changes.
  • Communication and active listening skills: Use training videos and role-playing exercises to help agents cultivate their soft skills. Practice listening to and summarizing customer concerns, asking clarifying questions, and using empathy statements.
  • Conflict resolution and de-escalation: Educate agents on different types of difficult customers and how to respond to them. Roleplay challenging customer service scenarios and introduce de-escalation strategies like the HEARD technique.
  • Process and workflow training: To streamline your team’s workflow, create call center scripts and email templates. Also, train agents on how to use AI to summarize tickets and draft pre-written responses that they can then review for tone and accuracy.
  • Technology and CRM tools: When training agents on your CRM and AI tools, encourage hands-on practice so agents can seamlessly integrate these tools into their daily workflows.

Types of customer service training

Customer service training can be broken down into six types:

  • Onboarding programs: During onboarding, introduce new service agents to the support team, educate them on company products, and give them access to the tools they’ll use to do their jobs.
  • Ongoing skills development: Have agents review communication, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and other essential skills in quarterly skill refreshers.
  • Role-playing and scenario-based training: Include role-playing exercises where agents practice common customer service scenarios, like resolving a billing issue, to build their communication, active listening, and empathy skills in a realistic environment.
  • Cross-functional product education: Rotate agents across the product, sales, and marketing departments so they develop a deeper understanding of products and can handle more complex questions.
  • Leadership and coaching development: Build world-class service leaders by teaching managers how to foster a customer-centric culture and measure service success.

Effective customer service training gives your team the knowledge and skills they need to not only satisfy customers but also lead them to continuously choose your company over competitors.

Achieve customer service excellence through effective training

Great customer service is more than responding to customer questions. It’s making sure they feel seen, heard, and valued in interactions with your brand—and that requires empathy, deep product knowledge, and strong communication skills. Help your team develop these critical skills by creating effective customer service training. If you’re not sure where to start, our free guide covers how to design training that strengthens your team’s skills and drives ROI.

FAQs

What’s the difference between customer service and customer experience (CX)?

Customer service is one aspect of the customer experience that focuses on responding to customer needs in the moment. The customer experience involves every customer-brand interaction and focuses on meeting needs throughout the entire customer journey.

What are common customer service challenges?

Common customer service challenges include handling difficult customers, managing too many requests, navigating fragmented systems, and dealing with complex inquiries.

How is customer service evolving with AI?

AI is making customer service more efficient, personalized, and accessible. For example, agents can use AI to send automated responses to routine inquiries, give customers personalized product recommendations, and provide 24/7 support through chatbots. Enablement teams can also use AI-powered e-learning platforms like Articulate 360 to build effective customer service training.

Cognitive Learning Examples for Real-World Application

What is cognitive learning?

Core definition

Cognitive learning is about much more than just pouring new information into our brains. The trick is making sense of it all. This approach focuses on how we actively process information, i.e., how we reason, reflect, and connect new ideas to what we already know. Rather than passively receive content, learners engage with it directly, question it, and build mental frameworks that help them apply this knowledge in real situations.

It’s a bit like making a mental map. You don’t just add new concepts to an ever-growing list. Instead, you create links to existing knowledge and form a network that strengthens both understanding and your ability to recall it. This is in stark contrast to rote memorization or behaviorist models, which often rely on repetition and external reinforcement as opposed to a deep comprehension of the material.

Cognitive learning encourages learners to go beyond the what and plumb the depths of why and how. It’s the difference between simply knowing that something works and understanding why it works—a critical distinction in a rapidly changing world.

Colleagues deep in discussion which referencing something on a computer screen

5 cognitive learning examples

Implicit vs. explicit learning

Learning isn’t always dependent on flashcards and study guides. Oftentimes, we absorb patterns and behaviors without even realizing we’re learning. For example, we learned our native language by being immersed in it at a young age. Social cues from other people teach us cultural dos and don’ts. This is implicit learning. It’s unconscious, intuitive, and surprisingly powerful.

Explicit learning, on the other hand, is intentional and structured. Think of onboarding at a new job, studying for a test, or making your way through a product tutorial at work. In these scenarios, you’re actively trying to learn and retain information. The beauty is that both types play a role in cognitive development, and recognizing the difference helps tailor learning experiences to real needs.

Meaningful, discovery, and experiential learning

Meaningful learning occurs when new information connects with and enriches what you already know. Ever had that lightbulb moment when a concept or idea finally clicked into place? That’s meaningful learning. Techniques such as analogies, concept maps, and narrative storytelling make this kind of learning stick.

Discovery learning goes a step further and encourages exploration. Instead of handing learners the answers, they uncover answers on their own through guided inquiry. Experiential learning moves knowledge from abstract to concrete as learners solve real-world problems, build prototypes, or engage in role-playing scenarios that mirror real-life challenges. Each of these methods leads to better engagement and long-term retention.

Mental imagery and visualization

Even if you’re not primarily a visual learner, certain mental imagery techniques might help you deepen or reinforce your understanding of complex processes or ideas. Things like flowcharts, diagrams, mind maps, or visual metaphors can help learners organize and retain information more effectively, especially for spatial or abstract concepts.

Worked examples and testing effect

Sometimes, watching someone else solve a problem can be more helpful than just diving in cold. Worked examples show step-by-step solutions, which help learners internalize the strategies before trying them out on their own.

The testing effect is the idea that actively recalling information strengthens memories. Pair worked examples and the testing effect, and you have a powerful combo. Quizzes, flashcards, and retrieval practice become much more than just assessment methods. They become learning tools.

Active learning strategies

Passive learning has significant limitations, and it’s driving a trend toward active engagement in learning. Techniques like simulations, role-playing exercises, and interactive modules turn learners into active participants rather than spectators.

Whether it’s a solo challenge or a group activity where team members work toward a shared goal, this type of active learning is more personal and dynamic and leads to greater engagement, higher motivation, and improved retention.

Applications across contexts

Education and schools

In the modern classroom, cognitive learning is reshaping how students engage with the material. They no longer just memorize facts and figures for a test. Instead, they build concept maps that visually connect ideas, explore topics through discovery-based activities, and reinforce understanding through worked examples and low-stakes quizzes. These strategies shape students who are more confident, intellectually curious, and most importantly, better prepared to use their skills in the real world.

Corporate training and L&D

For training professionals, cognitive learning means putting passive slide decks or lengthy manuals aside and opting for more immersive experiences instead. Scenario-based learning better teaches the real-world challenges workers face, and interactive assessments offer the type of retrieval practice that strengthens memory. Experiential tasks encourage employees to learn by doing. These cognitive strategies help organizations nurture adaptable and thoughtful employees.

Personal development

Outside of formal settings, cognitive learning empowers people to take charge of their growth and development. In creative pursuits like writing, painting, or music, the techniques of mental imagery and experiential learning let individuals visualize outcomes, experiment with new styles, and refine their craft through feedback and iteration. It also applies to everyday decision-making and problem-solving situations, such as managing finances, planning a career move, or navigating interpersonal relationships, where things like worked examples and active reflection help people weigh outcomes, anticipate consequences, and make better decisions.

Deeper learning for a smarter tomorrow

Cognitive learning is more than just a theory. It’s a toolkit for deeper, more meaningful growth. By shifting focus from passive memorization to active understanding, it helps learners think critically, adapt when necessary, and put their knowledge to use in the real world. Whether it’s a classroom lesson or a corporate training module, techniques like discovery learning, retrieval practice, and worked examples can transform how people learn and how well they retain what they need to know. In a world that demands lifelong learning, cognitive approaches offer a smarter and more human way forward.

Ready to build a stronger learning culture? Check out our post, “Why a Learning Culture Makes for Happy, Productive Employees,” to see strategies that fuel continuous growth.