Why Traditional Learning Isn't Enough for Sales Teams

As Learning Technologies 2025 came to a close, one message became clear: training and content are no longer enough. For sales and revenue teams to succeed in 2025, performance and execution must take center stage. Here’s why the shift from traditional training to performance-driven learning is the future and how it’s already making an impact for sales teams.

The need for a shift in learning strategies

In a standout session, Laura Keith (CEO of Hive Perform) and Tom Sheepshanks (CRO of Fospha) explained how Fospha made the shift from training, content, and spreadsheets to a focus on performance and execution. Their transformation resulted in a 30% revenue boost — all by aligning learning initiatives directly with business goals and sales performance.

Sales teams at Fospha struggled with vague coaching sessions, ineffective training methods, and pipeline reviews that lacked actionable outcomes. These traditional methods were no longer sufficient to support the growing needs of the business. Fospha turned to performance-driven strategies, using tools like Hive Perform to provide real-time insights and coaching that aligned with sales goals, not just theoretical training.

The Problem with traditional training

While traditional training focuses on delivering content, it often falls short when it comes to real-world application. This has been a growing concern for sales leaders, who are looking for strategies that empower their teams to perform consistently — not just learn.

As Laura Keith highlighted in a second session, the focus of learning needs to shift from content-heavy training to real-time performance. Modern sales teams need data-backed, actionable insights that support execution, not just knowledge acquisition. By prioritizing preparedness and execution, businesses can see tangible results.

In 2025, success isn’t defined by how much content is delivered, but by how well teams can execute based on that content.

How performance-driven learning drives results

What does performance-driven learning look like? It’s all about real-time feedback, data-backed insights, and execution-focused strategies. Fospha’s experience with Hive Perform serves as a key example of how organizations can move beyond content-heavy training. By integrating real-time coaching into the sales workflow, Fospha was able to reduce ramp-up time and achieve a 35% increase in sales, while also cutting down on administrative tasks.

Performance-driven learning means that sales reps no longer need to sift through endless training modules. Instead, they get actionable insights at the moment of need, such as call snippets, competitor intelligence, and deal-specific coaching, all aligned with the work they’re doing in real time.

Hive Perform’s tools, like Perform Intelligence and Perform Agent, allow sales teams to get real-time visibility into their performance in the deal flow, enabling them to make decisions and take action immediately, without waiting for the next training session.

Performing when it matters the most

Everyone knows how expensive it is to exhibit at shows like Learning Technologies, meaning to achieve ROI performance and execution on the floor is an absolute must.

The Hive Perform team decided to help out the sales teams on the ground selling their solutions by offering them insights on their show talk tracks using Perform Agent.

Reps did their best pitch and received an email from Perfrom Agent breaking down their performance and sharing suggestions to make their pitch likely to convert more prospects at the show and afterwards.

Embracing performance and execution

As we look to the future of sales enablement, the focus is clearly shifting from content-heavy training to performance and execution. Sales leaders need to align their strategies with the evolving learning landscape, ensuring that training isn’t just about knowledge transfer, but about driving real-world performance and measurable business outcomes.

The key takeaway from Learning Technologies 2025: Sales leaders must work closely with L&D teams to ensure that training programs are aligned with sales goals and real-time performance metrics. This partnership is essential for transforming learning into a strategic driver of revenue growth.

Success in sales isn’t about how much training content is delivered, it’s about preparing teams to act, perform, and achieve tangible results in the moment. By aligning learning with execution, sales teams will be empowered to consistently meet targets, drive revenue and achieve long-term growth.

This shift in learning strategies is a game-changer for sales and revenue leaders. If you’re ready to move from traditional training to performance-first strategies, let’s talk about how Hive Perform can support your team’s real-time success.