Over the weekend, I went shopping at a supermarket with my family. On my way out, we were cornered by a sales rep from a well-known travel company. Not wanting to sound rude, we listened to him present his travel packages to us. To sound a bit interested, we asked him few questions.

Finally, we told him that we are not interested and walked away. When I replayed the conversation in my mind, I realized that despite being polite with him, the sales representative was nervous and fumbling while answering our queries. It made me wonder if he was trained to answer questions other than those mentioned in his list.

A sale is the single most important part of any business. Hence, it is imperative that a business should have a well-trained sales staff. And, what other way than sales training to make sure that your sales people know and understand all the methods and approaches to gain sales?

During the training period, the company should explain minute details about itself, its products and services offered. The sales person should be updated with features, benefits and the competitor’s products or services, et al.

Using scenario-based and role-play approaches, he should be asked to make a sales pitch to a prospective client… The sales people should also be trained on verbal and written communication skills, computer skills for basic reporting, soft skills, dress sense, etc. They should be made to realize that a confident sales professional is bound to create a lasting first impression on potential clients.

Sales person should be trained to be an effective listener and should be prepared to answer and act accordingly. When a customer answers, he can restate it for clarity, try to gain insight into the customer’s need and wants by asking the right questions.

Customers buy not just the product or a service, but a solution through the product or service. He should be able to identify those solutions. While talking about the features and benefits of the product or service, he should allow the customer to see the benefits, solutions and results offered through the product or service.

Customer loyalty, ethics and integrity are important components of sales. An ethical sales person will be honest and tell the customer that he does not know the answer to a specific question, unlike making up an answer just to create sales.

Some companies may think training sales staff is a waste of time and money. However, trained sales professionals have an edge over their untrained counterparts.

However, in today’s competitive business environment, any advantage, businesses give their sales staff pays rich dividends. Online technology has created an entire new way of conducting sales and it is important that business and sales personnel train themselves in these methods. Businesses should consider sales training for everyone, be it the front desk receptionist, customer service or office boy that has direct contact with customers.

Do you agree that sales training really pays-off?

Thank you for reading my blog and look forward to your comments and opinions.

The training industry, especially the e-learning industry has evolved from ILT, online courses, blended courses to rapid e-learning, audio/video and a range of instructional simulations and interactivities. Earlier, companies would convert manuals and instructor materials into slideshows for training purposes. Now, e-learning programs offer engaging, interactive and virtual experiences. A year or two ago, when recession affected industries, people focused on learning to retain their jobs.

Recent times have seen learning happen through social media tools. From YouTube to blogging, podcasts to micro-blogs, social news and bookmarking to wikis, social media tools have taken e-learning to another level.

The shift towards social learning is mainly because organizations have started recognizing the tremendous need to build, manage and formalize their social and collaborative learning programs.

Organizations are rethinking their training strategies and models to accommodate learning programs under ‘learning environments’ that offer collaborative learning and built in social media tools. According to Wikipedia, collaborative learning refers to various methodologies and environments where learners engage and actively interact to learn or attempt to learn something together.

A collaborative learning environment in an organization enables learners to converse with contemporaries, present as well as defend ideas and perspectives, exchange diverse beliefs, question other conceptual frameworks and get actively engaged. Learning in a collaborative environment can take place at any time. It can happen when individuals are in discussion in a group or over the Internet.

Some organizations may offer ILT training on a need basis, but over 70% of learning happens while reading, watching and listening or simply by talking with one another.

There are many new tools and platforms similar to LMS to manage, track and facilitate people to learn and work together. It’s a matter of time when collaborative learning will happen on the move through mobile phones, Blackberry phones and related mobile devices.

While Google has Google Wave, Microsoft’ SharePoint and Live Services, Adobe’s Connect, a few companies such as Saba, Plateau and Taleo are creating new tools and platforms to facilitate communication and knowledge-sharing.

What are your thoughts on Collaborative Learning? Will organizations be able to create learning environments to enhance informal and collaborative learning? Please comment and share your knowledge.

Thank you for reading my blog.

As an instructional designer, I have worked with many Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). I came across several SMEs who lack the experience of working with an instructional designer, hence making them aware about the process of creating an e-learning course. It goes without saying that SMEs play an instrumental part in developing an effective e-learning course.

SMEs are connoisseurs in their field of work. They possess immense knowledge of the subject, contribute content, source materials, reference links, prioritize topics and concepts, check the content for technical accuracy, etc. Failure on an ID’s part to incorporate constructive information in the course can result in an ineffective e-learning product.

A good SME respects project timelines, understands learning objectives, the learner’s motivation and does not force every bit of content in a course. Before the start of any project, it is good to spend some time to get to know the SME. This ice-breaker forms the basis of a relationship of trust between both parties. Usually, SMEs are very willing to help and share their knowledge if you build a good relationship with them. The following are my observations on my interactions with SMEs.

Introduce e-learning to the SME. Explain what good e-learning is, its capabilities and limitations. Discuss timelines and the process of creating an e-learning product from concept to finish. To provide a better understanding, create a special project plan discussing each step of the project and timeline. Be specific about time commitments, such as an estimate of each task and the final deliverable dates. This will help both parties to stay on track and meet deadlines.

Discuss the SME’s role in the creating the product. Ask SME to schedule his time for your project and prepare him for the task on hand. Help him identify your training needs, audience and their motivation and learning objectives. Make sure that the SME is accessible for clarifications on the content during the development process. Communicate what you want, how much you want at each step of the project. Also, invite the SME to attend the kick-off meeting. He will be able to know and understand the target audience and the client’s needs.

Before your information-gathering meetings, do your homework on the subject. Read all you can on the topic before approaching the SME with a question or two, when in doubt because this wastes his time. Instead, create a question bank which the SME can answer in an organized manner.

While some e-learning companies have internal SMEs, often, the client too provides the vendor with internal experts. Respect the SME’s time. Plan deliverables, schedule meetings or phone calls according to his convenience.

It is possible that SME loses focus on the learning objectives. As an ID, you should help him stay on track. He may want to include unrelated content. Allow him to step into the learner’s shoes and ask,”How will the learner use this piece of information on the job?” Keep the extra content aside and find innovative ways to make it useful to the learner.

Update the SME during the development stage. If possible, share any available content. Ask the SME to proofread the course on completion of the first draft. Create a checklist with detailed instructions on proofreading the course. Your checklist can include details relating to consistency and clarity of the content, accuracy of review and assessments questions, technical accuracy of the content and flow of the course, etc..

By incorporating the above-mentioned points, I continue to enjoy a good working relationship with SMEs. Keeping them informed and involved during each step of the course creation process will lead to an effective alliance for your e-learning project.

What are your thoughts on the same? Do comment and share your knowledge on what it takes to be an instructional designer and what was your experience working with SMEs.

Thank you for reading my blog.

This month’s big question in Learning Circuits “What are your Predictions and Plans for 2010?”

My crystal-gazing revealed certain expected trends in learning. I do not know if they would come about in 2010 but things will surely move in these directions.

Learning Management Systems (LMS/LCMS): Organizations will move more toward adapting open source LMS/LCMS like Moodle, ATutor or Ganesha rather than going in for proprietary systems like SABA, SumTotal and so on.

Also, they would be more interested in the basic features rather than all the frills (and expenses) that go with the current systems. So, it will be more ‘back to basics’. It augurs well for organizations that offer customization and maintenance of open source LMS’ or offer their LMS free like TLN and change for maintenance.

Duration for Training: In 2009, CommLab has developed more than a 100 eLearning courses for 25-30 organizations in 7 countries. The trend is clear. The customers/learners want “capsules” or “pills” of learning – the more concise, the better. Gone are the days of 3-5 learning hours for a program. Now, the average seat time is less than 1 hour. I think this will further come down to 30 minutes or even less. It poses a challenge to Instructional and Learning Designers to come up with ‘precision’ learning. Again, to cut the bells and whistles. The learners are becoming very mature. They want more training and less entertaining. They want both effective and efficient learning – better learning in less time.

Harnessing Social Media: I am sure all of you have learnt something useful through social media in the past year. I have personally learnt substantially by just reading various discussions in LinkedIn, leave alone posting and participating in them. I think Social Media is the next big wave in learning. The challenge here is to channelize and manage this revolution. I really don’t know how. Any ideas?

Just-In-Time (JIT) Learning: Reading about learning delivered through mobile phones (m-learning) and other PDAs makes me wonder that a time is near when learners want to acquire learning just before they need to use it. For example a sales person may want to brush up his product knowledge just before a crucial sales call or an operator wants to run his eyes down a checklist just before starting a new machine or a custom service executive goes through the latest analysis of a particular customer’s behavior before taking the call.

Boom in Cross-Cultural Learning: When we started CommLab in 2000, without any physical representation outside India, trying to do business virtually, we knew pretty little about the cultural aspects of our markets. Today, after 9 years, we feel that we know so much about these cultural nuances. The world is really a global village now and we will continue to learn so much about each other, wherever we may be physically living. I foresee a boom in learning about each other’s cultures. The day is not far that a common, basic culture evolves. Maybe it is too grand a vision, but it is exciting to think about it!

Great time to be alive!!!

RK Prasad

CEO

CommLab’s Introduction

• Started in 2000 by RK and Ayesha
• STPI Registered 100% EOU (Custom Bonded)
• Vision: To help individuals and organizations learn in the most efficient and effective way by using the latest eLearning strategies and state-of-the-art Media, Internet and Information Technologies.
• Values:

CommLab’s Products

• Markets: US, Canada, UK, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, KSA, UAE
• Unique Selling Proposition:
  • Strong pedigree in teaching and corporate training
  • Top notch quality through exacting processes and systems
  • Price and Time advantage by operating solely from India

Employees Retention

• Salary’s on 1^st Since Inception
• Increments twice a year uninterrupted
• Free high quality lunch
• Open Leave Policy
• Weekly Celebrations
• Extensive Technical and Soft Skill Training
• Flat Organization
• High Retention

Customers Delight

USA (16), Canada (1), Australia (3), UK (2), Switzerland (2), Sweden (1), Dubai (2), France (1), Germany (1) and Italy (1)

• Customer Focus: On time and Quality Product
• Building Relationship on Trust
• Effective Processes:
  • Sound Instructional Design
  • Production process
  • Quality Process
  • Client Interactions
  • Sound Technology Backing

Customer Mix

Our Present Customers – 30 Worldwide

Technology Growth

Marketing Focus: Our Prospects

New Age Marketing: Building Relationship

Financial Success: Profit Margins

IT and Asset Security