Sales Training

Sell Like Your Surfboard Depends On It!

June 15, 2014 By Jackie Van Nice 8 Comments

Select Image to Launch Demo

This week’s Articulate challenge is to use a template to create a game. It’s actually a free template I created from a German drinking game I made for another challenge – so we know each other pretty well by now.

My Goals

I challenged myself to:

Make it potentially usable for a client.
Stay true to the template.

I’m working on an outside sales training project for a client right now, so a traveling salesperson moving across a game board and working his way towards a big prize (they’ve been known to send their top people to Hawaii) seemed spot-on.

Mai Tai Progress Meter

Waiter, there’s some freight in my drink

The biggest challenge was figuring out when to use company design elements versus game design elements. For example, in the mai tai progress meter the ice cubes were originally little cardboard packages themed for the company.

They still made clinking sounds like ice cubes, which entertained me, plus it was a great blend of company and game elements. But in the end it was a lot more refreshing and rewarding to see ice cubes amassing in my glass rather than pieces of freight. (Who knew?)

Challenge Screen

Realistic Challenges

For the challenges I used background images and realistic situations to add more context and meaning.

See it in action!

You can see my sales game right here, and if you’d like to see what others are coming up with this week, keep an eye on the comments section of David Anderson’s blog right here.

(You can play along too, you know!)

Before & After

By the way, here are some side-by-side comparisons of the template screens versus my finished game screens. Click on any of them for a larger view.

Introduction

Game Start

Game Board

Challenge Question

Feedback When Incorrect

Feedback When Correct

Progress Meter

Success Screen

Does Context Matter? Here’s a Before & After

May 4, 2014 By Jackie Van Nice 4 Comments

Before and After Example: Software Training

David Anderson’s Articulate challenge last week was to create an example of “bad” e-learning, and this week it’s time to turn “bad” into “good”. He wanted short, focused examples – so I chose a couple of screens and focused on context. The “before” is from a client, the “after” is from the lesson I created for the client.

What’s Context?

My first question in every new project is: “How will the learner use this information in the real world?” Then I try to design the piece from the learner’s post-course real-world point of view to show them why they’ll care about it and when where and how it’s going to come in handy. Using effective context can add lot of interest and learner motivation, too.

The Bad E-Learning “Before” – Where’s the Context?

This client had two “before” versions of this training. The learner is a salesperson who needs to know how to use the photo options on his mobile sales device. The first “before” version used the “show me, try me, test me” approach. Both versions were real and both went live.

Bad-E-Learning-Inspired Mimosa

The Show-Me-Try-Me-Test-Me Debacle

How I wish I could show you this one! It was done in Captivate (not Captivate’s fault), navigation was completely locked down, the pace was crazy slow, there was no intro or context, and all you saw was the computer screen with a mouse slowly moving around and the occasional text box popping up with cryptic information. Whenever you thought it was your turn to “try” it, it wasn’t.

It was as satisfying and enjoyable as using a voice-response phone system when the robo operator can’t understand anything you’re saying. I could only make it through two or three minutes of this course before I had to literally hang up on it and figuratively go have a mimosa on the veranda to compose myself.

The “Before” Training

The Slide-With-Animated-Text-Box Version

The other “before” version is still bad, but you’re never under the delusion that your input is desired or needed and you have a little freedom of navigation, so it’s less offensive. As training, it’s just animated software documentation. It’s context-free and a big snooze, jam-packed with information you’d never be able to retain when presented like this.

The Good E-Learning “After” – There’s the Context!

One Little Hitch

In the real course I teach the salesperson to use the camera during the sales process where they really need it. Since I can’t show you anything about their sales process in this example, I had to get creative.

Select Image to Launch “After” Demo

Plan “B”

Since a manager often takes a new salesperson out into the parking lot to introduce him to the basics of the newly-issued device, that’s the context I used. I knew learners would glaze over when hearing about sexy things like “white balance adjustments”, so I tried to think of a context in which photo adjustments in the parking lot with the manager would have meaning.

I came up with the idea of the salesperson taking practice shots of his manager to show what can go wrong when taking a photo, and then showing him how to make photo adjustments so his manager looks better. (There’s some motivation!) Putting the manager in silly poses added some much-needed humor, too. All together, it brought some context and emotional engagement to a very dry topic.

Before vs. After

Did context help? In reality the client’s salespeople and managers love this course. They find it extremely effective as an introduction to the device, and since it’s made up of many smaller lessons, it’s easy to use as a refresher, too. In case you’re interested, here’s how I designed the course. I even showed it at SolutionFest last year!

It’s a Solution! It’s a Fest! It’s SolutionFest!

February 7, 2013 By Jackie Van Nice 1 Comment

Select Image to See Sample

I’m excited to share one of my projects at the E-Learning Guild’s Learning Solutions Conference as part of SolutionFest next month. Here’s a summary of the problem, my solution, and the result – plus you can see the project I’ll be sharing.

The Problem

My client needed to train new employees on their sales mobility software and hardware. The existing online training was abysmal, featuring:

No audio and the whiz-bang pacing of a plow horse.
No images beyond software screen captures and bullet points.
No context or instruction to indicate why, when, or how the software should be used.
No user control, no flexibility for different levels of knowledge, no opportunities for learners to practice, and no opportunities to test.

The Solution

I strove to create upside-down world as compared to that training.

Context was my focus. If I could show learners when and how the software and hardware should be used, I’d be half way there. We show how the handheld integrates into the sales rep’s 24-hour day, so you see him (and his handheld) going home at night, sleeping, waking up, driving around, meeting his boss in the field, finding sales leads, calling on prospects, making sales, and more. In the introductory lessons, where a real-life sales rep would be taught by his or her manager, you see the sales rep being taught by his or her manager.

Design carried the rest of the load. I wanted navigation designed for user control, flexibility, and free practice – and visual design that was attractive, playful, and kept the learner focused on what was important. Both types of design were intended to keep learners engaged and motivated.

Tools I used included all programs in Articulate Studio ‘09 (Presenter was a client requirement), and PowerPoint 2010. The other client requirement was to design for delivery via LMS for learners on PCs, and, of course, to design and develop on a budget.

The Result

This course has just gone into full release, but the managers and trainers who have reviewed it have raved. (In a good way.) Many of them didn’t even realize that certain features existed on their Handhelds until they went through this course.

Their expectation is that employees will be far better prepared to work with their sales mobility handhelds by going through this training, and that going back to refresh their knowledge about a particular topic will also be easy to do.

A Sneak Peek

If you’d like to see what I’ll be sharing, you can see it right here!