Pre-sales question: Using Articulate for Channel Sales Training
Jul 09, 2012
By
John P
Hi there,
I work in a B2B industry and we have a suite a products we want to promote via an agent channel. The industry is quite unsophisticated in many ways. Most training takes place in the agent's office, and consists of showing some bored agency staff a PPT and hoping they retain some of it.
We are looking at how we can stand out from the crowd and make these training sessions more engaging, and I want to know if Articulate is a good tool, and what features would be most suitable.
Some background:
- Training will almost always be delivered in person at the agent office first.
- How could we motivate agents to continue the training once our staff have physically left?
- How could we motivate agents to do the training in situations where we never get a chance to meet them face to face?
Essentially, since we cannot make our training mandatory once we have left the premises, we need to be very creative in order to get them to do it.
Looking forward to your replies,
John
3 Replies
Hi John, and welcome to Heroes.
My first question would be this:
Why should they care?
"Bored"...."retain"...."get them to do it"...
"Interested and engaged"..."see the value"..."want to learn more and benefit".
Please explain to me, before talking about the technology, (which is really quite immaterial in the long run...), how you and your company plan to move your product training from the sentiments that you articulate (excuse the pun) in the first sentence to the second set of words.
Standing out from the crowd is all about getting to the second set, not how you present a concept.
Articulate is only a tool to deliver your message. Before you start you need to have a message.
Have a read through the long "Where do Freelancers find your work" thread, there is loads in there about the value of messaging that can be applied here.
Hope to see you around the forums, and hope we can help.
Bruce
http://www.pperf.co.uk
John -
What you are talking about is going beyond event-based e-learning, which is great. So you are essentially creating a job aid for them AFTER the training. I work with clients who are in the B2B space and so pleased to hear of another one that is looking at things outside of the "event". I think your analysis should figure out what you want them to do with your training and that should help you determine how to best position and design your learning product.
Make sure you don't spend all your energy on the creative side of it. You can have substance and sizzle in my opinion.
The sizzle is all about the creative ways you can hook your learners and make your experience entertaining/engaging. The substance is about how your training products solves their problem (think of it like an extension of your actual product).
On the substance side:
Look into Cathy Moore's Action Mapping approach, and figure out how you might train them to use the job aid. This might get you started: http://blog.cathy-moore.com/2011/10/how-to-create-a-memorable-mini-scenario/
Check out the Five Moments of Need by Gottefredson and Mosher which Connie outlines nicely: http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/working-with-the-five-moments-of-need/
Both of these are nicely referenced here: http://blog.integratedlearningservices.com/2012/06/teach-learners-to-use-job-aids.html
Here are some ways ppl have used the Articulate suite to create "job aids": http://community.articulate.com/blogs/david/archive/2011/10/14/job-aids-as-spoilers-in-e-learning-courses.aspx. I'll bet there are some great examples for Storyline as well. Do you own an Articulate product? If so, which one? Or are you looking for best fit for your needs?
And I hope David Anderson checks in here, he'll be able to point you to nice (sizzle) examples I'll bet!
Hope that helps!
Holly
Hi John,
Despite the fact that Bruce plays football with his feet (can you even imagine?
), he has this right. Your challenge does not lie with how good/flashy the training is, it lies in the motivation of the user.
Channel Sales training, even more than other types, is all about the WIIFM. Consider a broader "business partner" approach that has both parties with some skin in the game. I've seen personal rewards, better program terms, co-op dollars and more all tied successfully to this kind of training. If the benefits for you AND your customers for completing the training are truly worth it, then forge a partner approach that reflects that truth.
Hope this helps,
Bob
This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.