How To Make the Business Case for E-Learning Software
Being a part of the sales team here at Articulate, I’m on the front lines answering customer questions (and yes, indeed, we get them all). In a single day, we might hear, “What is e-learning exactly?” “What is the cost of a license?” and everything in between. The most frustrating comment we encounter, however, is “Now I just need to convince my boss to pay for it.” You know how great our software is, but what’s the best strategy to convince the “higher-ups” to go for it? Here are some helpful hints. Share a Demo The first rule of sales is “show . . . don’t tell.” We are happy to offer a free, fully functional 30-day trial of Articulate 360 so you can experience how easy it is to use, and so your boss can see how much this robust software platform can do. To someone not fully versed in e-learning, words like triggers, variables, blocks, microlearning, and highly immersive courses don’t mean a lot. Those people need to see the difference. Identify the Cost Benefit Another piece of advice is to make it make sense—and cents! How much time would Articulate 360 save you compared to all of the tools and resources you currently use? And if you decide to include our AI Assistant in your subscription, your time saved will go up even more! This can be a powerful message, especially if your workload is at capacity. You should also find ways to show how much money e-learning saves your organization. Many people find they can quickly and easily justify the expense when they consider how much this small outlay will save them in the long run. Demonstrate the Ease of Use Articulate differentiates itself by providing outstanding customer support, free training webinars, tutorials, and a helpful, friendly user community. This is key for your manager to know, because you can get up and running quickly with minimal downtime—without lengthy expensive training—and if there’s a problem or something you can’t figure out, our fabulous support team and community are here to help. Fulfill Future Needs Software that meets a current need is good, but software that also has future benefits for your organization is even better. So, think about your organization’s current needs, and how they will evolve. Then, have a good explanation ready for how Articulate 360 will help your organization fill an anticipated need. For example, perhaps mobile access isn’t a huge deal to your company now but might become so in the future. With Articulate 360, you’ll have a ton of robust features to call on as your needs change, and we’re constantly adding and improving those features with monthly software updates that are included in your subscription. Wrap-Up Convincing upper management isn’t always easy, but if you prepare for the meeting and present your case logically, you might find it is easier than you think! Here are some additional resources to help get you started: Get Up to Speed on Articulate 360: What’s Included? Making the Business Case for E-Learning Build Compelling Courses Up to 9x Faster with Articulate’s AI Assistant AI Assistant Released: Pricing Details and Resources Available Don’t forget that you can start a free 30-day trial. And subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest product updates, e-learning examples, and expert advice sent directly to your inbox. If you have questions, please share them in the comments.
