Second Nature raises $12.5M to coach salespeople with AI-powered avatars

As remote and hybrid work becomes commonplace, companies are investigating ways to train salespeople one-on-one virtually -- typically over video chat platforms like Zoom. Even before the pandemic, 59% of learning and development professionals were spending more of their budget on online training than in-person, according to LinkedIn. But not every department is devoting an equal amount of time to coaching, surveys show -- and this can be to the detriment of sales. A recent RingDNA report found that 45% of salespeople have received less coaching than usual or no coaching since moving to remote work during the pandemic. It's estimated that 75% of sales organizations waste resources due to random and informal coaching, besides, the opportunity costs being substantial.