How Harness Cut Sales Training Review Time by 75% with Yoodli AI Roleplays

TL;DR:

Harness supercharged its sales training by integrating Yoodli AI Roleplays, cutting sales submission review time by 75% and saving an estimated $94,500 per year per Sales Enablement team member in time spent. With automated grading and real-time feedback, the company streamlined its Sales Kickoff (SKO) Certification Program, boosted rep performance, and scaled training with ease.

Background

Harness, a leading software delivery platform, aimed to enhance its sales training program to accelerate new hire ramp time, improve sales product knowledge, and reduce the hours spent reviewing submissions. Traditional training methods were time-consuming, inefficient, and lacked real-time feedback critical for effective sales conversations.

Challenge

Harness’s Sales Enablement team struggled to scale training effectively while reducing the time spent reviewing sales submissions.

• Time Spent: The grading process for their sales training programs required managers and enablement teams to review every single roleplay manually, leading to hours of tedious work. For their SKO Certification Program alone, they would have to manually review 167 participants—each submitting 3 presentations—requiring 84 hours of effort
• Lack of Instant Feedback: Reps weren’t getting immediate, actionable feedback, delaying improvement and making coaching less effective
• Issues Scaling: Scaling was a nightmare. With more reps, the review workload kept growing

They needed a way to automate sales training feedback without sacrificing quality.

The Solution

Harness partnered with Yoodli to automate and enhance their sales training program. Yoodli’s AI-powered roleplay technology delivered real-time, data-driven feedback on critical skills like pitch delivery, accuracy, and pacing, eliminating the need for manual grading and allowing the managers and Sales Enablement team to focus on high-impact coaching. This was achieved through:

• Custom Roleplay Scenarios: Yoodli collaborated with Harness to develop targeted training exercises to educate sales reps on essential product features and address common prospect pain points. Reps practiced in a stress-free environment, enhancing their skills effectively
• Real-Time Feedback: Yoodli’s AI provided instant evaluations on key performance metrics, enabling reps to make instant improvements without waiting for human feedback. This streamlined process freed up managers’ time to focus on more strategic, high-value coaching
• Continuous Improvement: Sales reps gained ongoing access to Yoodli’s training tools, encouraging consistent practice and skill enhancement over time

Implementation

Harness rolled out Yoodli in their SKO Certification Program using a structured, results-driven approach:

• Developed an AI-powered training program featuring three roleplays designed to address key customer pain points and demonstrate product solutions
• Integrated Yoodli’s AI-driven roleplays into their learning management system (LMS), ensuring reps completed training before the SKO
• Used AI-generated feedback for initial insights and rapid skill-building, while the final evaluations remained human-driven. The real test occurred at SKO, where reps delivered live “stand and deliver” pitches assessed by human judges

Results

The impact was clear:

• Massive Decrease in Time Spent: 75% reduction in manual review workload – cut from 84 hours down to just 21 per session (saving 63 hours per training event!)
• Huge Cost Savings: Automating feedback cut 63 hours of review time per training, saving $9,450 per session at a $150 hourly rate. Over 10 sessions, this totals $94,500 in savings—freeing the Sales Enablement Director to focus on strategic initiatives
• Sales Readiness Skyrocketed: 96% of reps passed certification, which was a vast improvement over previous exercises.
• Performance Boost: Sales reps went from scoring an average of 75% on their first attempt to 92% on their highest score, reflecting a increase in individual competencies tested and sales readiness
• Ongoing Skill Mastery: The program saw an 81% completion rate for the initial sales training program, with reps averaging 7 attempts per user and 19 minutes of practice time per session. This demonstrated that reps not only returned to practice but were actively focused on refining their skills

Conclusion

Due to the success of the program, Harness is now using Yoodli not only to train sellers but also to accelerate onboarding for new hires and support ongoing skill development for the entire sales team. The real-time feedback and personalized training experience have empowered Harness’s sales team to become more effective and confident in their roles while decreasing time spent on training reviews, saving thousands.