Our article Marketing to the Internal Audience – From Low ROI To Cost-Effective Corporate Training offered insights to how Corporate Training is and is not serving Marketing’s internal constituencies like Sales and IT. Continuing the interview with our panel of experts we ask them about managing the information flow, improving the attractiveness of their products, and how they make learning entertaining. If you’re operating in a crowded market and challenged by customers to prove ROI prior to product delivery, you might gain from the way Trainers are using personalization to maximize value. We also find out how they believe their marketplace will change in 2014.

SocialAgenda Media: To deal with the challenge of providing cost-effective training that supports corporate goals, many companies are turning to external providers to fill the resource gap and manage the information flow. What should service providers do to increase the attractiveness of their offers and value of their services? 

Margaret Maat, Owner & Managing Partner, Forward Focus Coaching & Consulting: As one of those external providers, Forward Focus customizes all off-the-shelf learning activities to the organization, using information gathered in interviews with key organizational leaders. Using a very efficient design process, we can design activities specifically for each client at a cost-effective rate. Another key is flexibility. We listen carefully to client needs to make sure our pricing and service offerings meet the business objectives of the organization. We offer a variety of delivery media, including webinars. We use post-training application activities to reinforce learning and ensure learning is being effectively applied back in the workplace setting.

Roberta Nedry, Founder and President, Hospitality Excellence: We offer industry and geographic customization and internal marketing components and have had tremendous success with that approach. We advocate culture and experience impacts rather than just focusing on behavior. It is also essential to delegate authority to people according to their responsibility in the experience chain and empower them to deliver touch points that will exceed customer expectations.

Bob Longo, Owner, Bob Longo Consulting: Investigate and understand the company’s culture and methods.  Too many contractors try to give all-encompassing sessions without customizing to the specific needs of the client.

Daniel Tobin, Vice President of Design and Development, American Management Association: If a company is turning to an external service provider to meet the challenge of providing cost-effective training, it is almost always because the internal training group has failed in its mission.  As an external service provider, it should be important to find out why the internal training group failed and why the company is seeking external help.  To be truly effective as an external provider, one should learn as much about the company as possible and focus efforts on providing company-specific training that the company will recognize as being immediately relevant to its goals and strategies.  This may mean customizing content for the company through the development of company-specific models, case studies, and examples.  The service provider should also recognize that the views of company challenges and problems given by those who have hired them might not be the same views held by those who attend the training programs.

Karen Grosz, Owner/President, Canvas Creek Team Building: I can only tell you what I have done.  I make a video proposal that incorporates the mission and goals of the company, and here is the really interesting thing, since I began doing that, I have actually told more companies our process is not the right process for them.   I can do that because by digging in, by committing to fully understating their goals, not just wanting their cash to flow my way, I have more confidence as a provider and thereby can offer better results.

Suman Nair, Managing Director, Atiitya Trg & HR Consultants:

a) Service providers should be made part of some of the organizational conversations for them to be aligned to business realities. I have been engaging owners of L&D companies to be part of organizations; I have supported two organizations by being available one day of the week to help in their Leadership Development. This provides an opportunity to exchange knowledge and to pool intelligence in the given subject area.

b) We should scope our work to include longer supply chains rather than just training delivery. This can include end-to-end service from training need identification to monitoring training effectiveness.

c) We MUST keep learning in order to provide the best service.

d) There has to be a centralized certifying body for facilitators, at least those who facilitate Leadership learning.

Bob DeGroot, Founder of Sales Training International: Service providers need to become content experts representing “Ideal” practices, not just the industry’s “Best” practices. For example, let’s say an industry “best” practice in sales is to offer a discount on the second rejection. Just because a “Best” practice is a discount, doesn’t mean that in an ideal world that’s what you’d want to do or that it would even measure up to the client company’s values.

When a supplier can demonstrate through logic how they can help the customer meet one or more of their four business needs (increased profits, lower costs, enhanced image and lessened vulnerabilities), and can then wrap the logic with emotion (all buying decisions use emotional energy to overcome inertia), then the value and attractiveness of the service goes up.

Carol Leaman, CEO at Axonify Inc.: Service providers need to be thinking about making the learning experience highly personal, short, targeted and fun.

SocialAgenda Media: Considering the volume of information training attendees need to digest, do you (or your clients) assure that your training events not only offer educational content but also provide entertainment value? If so, how and why?

Margaret Maat: Entertainment is essential to effective learning in today’s work environment. We now have research in the neurosciences to confirm that “getting the brain’s attention” is the first step in any effective communication. Thus, starting off a learning activity with humor, a story or some other entertaining event is more likely to result in actual learning. Of course, entertainment is only part of the process. It is also important to provide engaging content and to include activities that require use of motor skills (speaking, writing, taking action) to make sure the learning sticks. And then engage in follow-up activities after training so that learners “do” the behavior change at least 21 times to make it a habit.

So we use videos, stories, metaphors, and other entertaining activities throughout our training. An example was the time we used 3D glasses so that attendees could get a point about 3D leadership vision. We showed pictures of company employees that took on three dimensions when viewed through the glasses. Employees took the glasses back to their work area to remind them of the key points.

Suman Nair: Yes, more than entertainment, it is about creating a joyful experience. Hence all our workshops or learning experiences are based on application. Any concept they learn, they also practice during the class either through dialogue, trialogue, role-play, case study, presentation, business simulation or a simple game. We also use a lot of visuals the learners create during the class. I have used storytelling, poem writing, tabloids, etc. to reinforce learning. Use of experience based or application based learning helps in retention and recall of a particular concept. I also encourage them to maintain a ‘cheat sheet’, which is an assimilation document. This helps them to recall a concept and learning when they actually need to use it.

Carol Leaman: We employ a variety of game mechanics, gamification of content, rewards and social elements that motivate employees to want to learn, make the experience fun, satisfy social needs to contribute and be recognized, and give them clear data that shows their growth in knowledge and success.  All of that is accomplished while actually delivering learning, the most important objective.

Bill Stinnett: Relatable and credible might be better words than entertaining. We find that an audience of seasoned sales professionals can be very discriminating, and they can tell in a matter of minutes whether a speaker has ever walked a mile in their shoes. Every person who leads one of our workshops has a proven track record in sales and marketing and is a leader that sales teams can relate to and want to learn from.

Bob Longo: Not only does training have to grab attention, but you have to address the “why am I in this training” question.  An attendee must be clear on how they will benefit from the training.  One way to do this is to let participants direct the flow of important information.  A good trainer should ask many questions, chances are the audience knows the answers already and just needs a guide to get there.  Additional information needs to be split into two classes, nice to know and need to know.  Nice to know should be accessible as reference.  The need to know has to be developed in class.

Bob DeGroot: Certainly the volume of information requires some time to digest. The Ebbinghaus “forgetting curve” is proof of that. In addition to structuring the training using basic Accelerated Learning methods, the single most effective way to mitigate this curve is to use application driven “peer-to-peer” coaching assignments during the training event. Entertainment of the light distraction type that does not involve intense learning is positive for learning events. However, in so far as entertainment goes, the big change I’ve seen over the past 15 years is that unless spouses and family are included, the entertainment component of events is way less important than comfort and brevity.

Roberta Nedry: Engagement value is more important that entertainment value. Entertainment value can be used to help engagement occur but best motive is helping employees feel they have an important role and are contributing to the big picture. Employees want to feel they can have a real impact, that they are listened to and that they are learning things–that’s what attracts and breeds top performers.

SocialAgenda Media: What is your approach to licensing training content vs. developing 100% of it in house? What successes have you (or your clients) had? What failures have you learned from?

Suman Nair: In our work with our clients, we use content developed 100% by us. Licensed material we use is mostly for registered simulations. Our clients prefer material developed by us 100% as it is built around their specific requirements. There will be a time in India when the content or the framework will be registered and licensed. Having said that, learning is always influenced by the skills and insights of the facilitator.

Carol Leaman: We do not license training content.  Our customers develop their own content in the form of highly targeted questions in the topic areas most important to them.  Often they are product, procedure or policy specific, which makes the information much more targeted and proprietary to their employees.  We have yet to have a failure.  Our clients absolutely love the ease of content creation, the specific way they can address learning needs by topic, location job title and employee, the complete lack of friction they get from employees in terms of using it, and the chance to deliver a really positive experience to everyone that has measurable results.

Bob Longo: I believe there needs to be a mixture of both.  The best are comprehensive programs that allow for tailoring and real examples e.g. DDI.  The worst are programs that treat every company as the same.

Bob DeGroot: Unless training is a full-service company core competency or the course cannot be acquired elsewhere, it is usually better to buy or license and then customize if needed. The trainers themselves often have higher credibility if they are employees of the company. Even then, outsourcing the design and development for a specialized training is often the better way to go. There are some instances where I’ve recommended that the client hire a person to do tasks that could be done at a fraction of the cost of an outsource situation.

Everyone has experienced the agony of homemade training done by a good person who has no training in adult learning. If it’s going to be done in-house then one should at least hire competent professionals to do it.

Roberta Nedry: Clients need to license training content from experts and those who have experience, skills and solid track records to support the content being delivered. We are experts in our field of Guest Experience Management, Hospitality Training, Customer/Guest Service and Service Excellence and create all our own content. We are influenced by some of the original experience thought leaders like Walt Disney and James Gilmore (The Experience Economy).

We also use organizational management techniques of connecting profitability, service and loyalty. Our success has been to see complete culture changes in our client organizations and to see employee perceptions go from negative to positive and become truly motivated teams. Employee retention improves, customer loyalty builds, customer reviews and referrals increase, and positive organizational change takes place. And, of course, profitability and the bottom line increase!  Where we see failure is when leadership in our client companies does not remain focused on being leaders and role models to and for employees. Employees will treat others the way they are treated. If they feel management does not care, they will not care as much either. We constantly evaluate good, positive and indifferent strategies in our clients and try to guide them to the positive experiences that will benefit everyone in the organization and in turn, their customers. It must go in that order to be the biggest success.

SocialAgenda Media: What training areas are you focusing on for 2014? What primary formats will you be using and why?

Margaret Maat: Our clients are requesting more webinars and fewer classroom trainings. Due to cost considerations, we are using more conference calls for learning activities. Other clients are purchasing classroom training from us, but in conjunction with one-on-one coaching for senior leaders to maximize impact.

Suman Nair: 2014 will have more long-term interventions because organizations are more willing to invest in them. These interventions will be long-term engagements, where the chain runs from identifying the needs to impact on business delivery. There will be more interfaces between organizations and consultants. There will be scientific ways to establish individual development needs. The use of psychometric tools to enhance individual development will be increased. I see a reduction in two-day seminars. Skill development will be more half-day workshops with intermediate gaps that allow them to practice what they have learned, come back, review and further scale up.

Retreats will definitely increase with work stress becoming more acute. Individuals will be willing to spend on their own development without waiting to be sponsored by organizations. The focus on self-awareness or spiritual learning will increase.

Bill Stinnett: Sales Excellence has always taken the approach of custom-tailoring every workshop specifically for our clients; we rarely, if ever, deliver anything “off the shelf”. We can create an effective training program that takes place in a half day, one day, two days or even spread out over a year through our self-paced, one-on-one coaching programs. We are currently working on a new LMS platform that will launch in 2014 that will make it even easier to learn from a tablet or smartphone.

Bob Longo: Return to basic selling skills. Evaluations, self-assessments and field observations will determine individual needs.  From there format will be decided based on group or individual needs.

Bob DeGroot: In 2008 we completed the transition to a virtual business. We went from 30 employees to 0, from 7,000 sq. ft. of office and classrooms to no offices or classrooms. We outsourced almost everything. Our clients find us online, use our free diagnostics to find out what they need, take the needed courses online, and use the coaching guides we supply free to monitor and refine the skills.

With this virtual company “work from anywhere” business model, we put our offices on our boat and took 2.5 years to complete the GreatLoop where we circumnavigated the eastern USA. We’re back now for a couple of years to restructure our volumes of sales content into Apps for the next generations who prefer just in time learning.

Roberta Nedry: We offer a variety of onsite programs, which are very effective, based on the emotional connection we make with participants and the engaging style of our workshops. Our content is very customized so we can deliver anything from a few hours to half day to full days and series, which build on stages of skill development. We also offer online programs which reinforce the onsite training and can serve as easy access refreshers and orientations 24 hours a day. We are planning to do more videos and publications based on client demand in 2014.

SocialAgenda Media: What have been your most successful demand generation and sales strategies in 2013 for acquiring clients for your training programs?

Carol Leaman: We have a very rigorous direct sales process that involves campaigns, social media, inside sales, PR and direct sales.

Roberta Nedry: We write articles that are published around the world which generate tremendous interest and leads based on our content, style and methodology. We offer follow up and refresher courses to our existing clients as part of our partnership and commitment to ensuring their long-term success. We help evolve existing clients into other strategies and skills that will build on exceptional service delivery and maximizing the experience. Our existing clients and relationships also send us a lot of referrals and we have tremendous loyalty with our own customer universe.

Since we deployed our unique 3D Service™ Methodology as a successful business strategy for both internal and external service delivery in all industries, we are seeing more client interest for newer programs such as employee recognition, service evaluation and design (like mystery shopping but with implementation of results), and comprehensive service initiatives.

Bill Stinnett:  Certainly we invest in our marketing efforts and we employ the same sales strategies we teach in our workshops, but over the years our greatest technique in generating demand has been to delight our clients. We get a great deal of business from client referrals as well as from workshop participants who move to another company and tell their sales leaders about the effectiveness of our programs. You can’t pay for better marketing than that!

Bob DeGroot:  Organic search engine placement and client referrals take care of 98% of our new business. Our clients self-select by having to include search terms that indicate they want an online solution. That way, we don’t spend time having to convince them that’s the way to go. We’re averaging around 400 course completions each month, which interestingly enough is down from where we started this year due to the gridlock in congress. Once they repair themselves and our clients stop postponing, we should see that number return to its former lofty level.

Suman Nair: In our experience business growth in the last 10 years has been by references and repeats. Our investment in media or employment of business development gave us lesser returns in the past years. Now the market seems to be matured to consider Training vendors as Business partners and not individual freelance service providers.

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Also read:

• Marketing to the Internal Audience – From Low ROI To Cost-Effective Corporate Training
• Leadership The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation – interview with ex-SVP of Apple, Jay Elliot
• Top 5 Most Important But Not Obvious Principles Of Selling And Business In General – interview with speaker Richard Grehalva
• Marketing Through Sports: Secret Sauce of Getting Publicity With Celebrity Endorsement Deals