Data shows that as sales reps complete more product training, companies often experience an increase of up to 18% in sales growth. Clearly, training is a key ingredient in a successful marketing plan.
Yet, leaders often spend valuable marketing dollars creating promotional materials that miss the opportunity to make the information memorable. Compounding the issue is the lack of data showing the success of the produced materials.
So how do you create better training materials that deliver your brand message and keep sales reps engaged?
Start by thinking about what learners need to know to be successful.
In this case, learners are the sales reps who need to fully understand their product. They have sales goals to hit and a need to train but have little time to invest in training.
For manufacturers who want to build the best product training possible, they need to focus on offering short courses that target the needs of their specific audience. Additionally, engage the learner with something more than just words on a page—make it relevant for the sales rep.
The following section provides best practices and key concepts to consider for building better training that catches the attention of every sales rep in the supply chain.
The first step in creating an effective product or skills training is determining the goals, also known as the objectives. For example, the objective of a product training may be for the learner to gain a fuller understanding of a brand, a product application, or key benefits for the end-user.
Training objectives clearly define the learning outcomes of a course. Here are some prompts to get started:
Create a team and a tactical plan to begin building better training materials.
A lot of training comes from a company's marketing team as part of a sales/marketing initiative, so it's a good idea to invite the marketing team into the training conversation from the beginning. They manage the company's brand, so they can provide guidance to ensure the brand is accurately and consistently reflected. After all, a training course is just another opportunity for brand recognition and awareness.
Every step of training development takes time. To keep organized, build and share your milestones with a timeline.
Start by deciding the launch date, then work backward to create a detailed schedule. Don't forget to include the review process in the timeline, as reviews are vital to finalize the work.
Key milestones and tasks to consider include:
Do people actually complete surveys after they complete a training? Yes! Especially when your training is incentivized with $BlueBucks.
When you include surveys with your courses, the answers can shed light on marketing efforts and uncover a lot of information that will make future courses even better.
Surveys provide a good opportunity to discover what the learner gleaned from the course that they didn't already know. Their answers can also be included as quotes in future marketing materials as a way of highlighting the learner's experience with the course.
At BlueVolt, we know that creating product training can be stressful and time-consuming. Luckily, our Creative Services team is here to offer guidance. The team can even produce dynamic, interactive product training.
Set up some time to talk with the team today by clicking the button below.
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