For a sales rep, being able to access or recall the right information at the right time can be the difference between closing a deal or losing it. But even though many companies have invested in extensive training and robust enablement programs to ensure this is possible, sales teams still have trouble surfacing the information they need.
This has created a largely broken system in which reps miss opportunities, lose trust with prospects, and ultimately fail to convert as many customers as they can. Here’s a deeper look at why memory retention is a problem and what can be done about it.
The “Forgetting Curve” in Sales
First, it’s important to be clear that salespeople aren’t lazy or forgetful–far from it. Memory retention in sales is not a reflection of work ethic. Instead, it has a lot to do with basic neuroscience. German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered a psychological principle called the “Forgetting Curve,” which helps to explain how this works.
Ebbinghaus’ research shows that people can lose as much as 75% of new information within days—or even hours—of learning it. When applied to sales teams, it explains that even when salespeople have the information they need, they naturally forget details over time unless they regularly revisit them.
For example, consider a salesperson who has gone through a product training session. They might be excited about all they’ve learned and feel flush with knowledge. But no matter who they are, most of that will have faded from their memory within days if they haven’t been intentionally reviewing it.
This might not seem particularly important, but it can have significant consequences. For instance, the sales rep may appear hesitant or uncertain during their next customer interaction, which can have the domino effect of reducing the buyer’s confidence in them–and their effectiveness overall.
How Forgetfulness Impacts Sales Performance
Forgetting isn’t just inconvenient—it has direct, tangible impacts on sales performance. As covered previously, forgetting recently acquired knowledge can impact a salesperson’s credibility. But the damage goes beyond this. If a seller forgets critical product differentiators, they won’t be able to build value for prospects, ultimately missing out on potential upsell or cross-sell opportunities.
In addition, sales reps who are well-prepared and remember important details can handle common objections seamlessly. Those who can’t do this tend to lose control of the conversation and fail to move the customer forward in their buying journey.
Similarly, salespeople who don’t remember customers’ specific needs or pain points won’t be able to shape interactions around them and provide solutions. Those who don’t recall the nature of their prior interactions with customers won’t be able to personalize their follow-up efforts later. This not only makes the buyer feel insignificant, but it can also stall the entire deal.
Leveraging Technology to Strengthen Recall in Sales
It might sound like there’s little hope for salespeople who want better recall and results, but fortunately, that’s not the case. Thanks to technology, there are several ways to reinforce learning and keep critical information within reach, including:
- Automated Knowledge Refreshers: Learning Management Systems or sales enablement platforms can deliver automated reminders to review essential information regularly. By scheduling refreshers on product details, pricing structures, and competitive differentiators, sales teams can reinforce knowledge over time, ensuring that crucial details don’t fade.
- Centralized Knowledge Hubs: Sales Content Management Systems and Digital Sales Rooms keep sales information in one place allowing sales reps to access the most up-to-date information on demand in one central location, thus empowering them to respond accurately and quickly, even if they haven’t memorized every detail.
- Sales-Ready Content at a Moment’s Notice: AI-powered technology can help sales teams quickly ask for and access assets tailored to their upcoming sales conversations. Advanced AI Sales Engineers can even learn and amplify the messaging and approaches of top performers to the rest of the sales organization, enabling sellers to find and deliver relevant content whenever they need it. This spares them from remembering all information themselves and allows them to use AI to retrieve critical insights on demand instead of spending valuable time searching for the right solution page or product document.
Final Thoughts
While every human being forgets information over time, this reality doesn’t have to impact sales outcomes negatively. Instead, by understanding the “Forgetting Curve,” and using technology to better support sales, you can make information more accessible, reduce knowledge loss, and empower your team to be more effective. Giving sales reps the resources they need to retain and recall critical information means that sales enablement can finally deliver on its promise to equip sales teams for success.
