4 ways SMBs can minimize training time during a digital transformation
Training is one of the most essential tools in a small-to-midsized business’s (SMB) decision to transition to a digital platform. Good training bolsters employee welfare and retention, which improves customer experience and reduces the costs of adopting digital sales tools. Studies show that a good onboarding and training process more than triples a company’s investment in their employees.
But SMBs don’t have the luxury of months-long training programs, especially for employees with extensive workloads already. Sales reps need plenty of time to build connections with clients and prospective customers, so it’s important that they be able to grasp new sales tools quickly and effectively.
With that in mind, here’s some training features to look for when deciding on a digital sales tool.
1. Choose user-friendly tools
When selecting a digital sales tool for your team, prioritize those that are intuitive and easy to use. Salesforce is one of the biggest names in the market but it has a notoriously extensive training time; it takes 60 hours on average for someone to even have a chance at passing their simplest certification exam and most companies need to have a dedicated Salesforce Administrator on staff to take care of more complex needs.
SMBs should look for sales tools with simple, user-friendly interfaces and avoid tools with complex navigation, cluttered screens, or too many options. This not only makes tools easier to use and easier to learn it helps teams work more efficiently.
2. Break down training into manageable chunks
Trying to teach everything about a tool at once can be overwhelming for new users, especially if the content doesn’t necessarily relate to their job. Instead, start by identifying the key learning objectives for the training, which are often related to why a company chooses a specific digital sales tool.
Do you want to improve the accuracy of your quotes? Start with quote generation. Are you having trouble keeping track of clients? Run a training on customer relationship management. Do you need your contracts to be 100 percent compliant? Draft up a lesson in contract lifecycle management.
Aligning training with company priorities will ensure pain points begin to be addressed immediately, even as employees are adjusting to new tools.
3. Use interactive training
If you’ve looked into any research on education or training, you might have heard of the “70–20–10” rule. Simply put, the rule suggests that someone learning a new skill will learn roughly 10 percent through coursework and training, 20 percent through mentorships and instruction, and 70 percent through experience and hands-on work. It’s pretty simple: people learn by doing.
See if digital tools have any step-by-step instructions, screenshots, or videos to help users understand how the tool works. Some providers, like ScaleFluidly, will even be able to incorporate your company data into a demo, to show employees exactly what their digital workspace will look like.
By incorporating training into people’s actual jobs, SMBs can combine training with revenue generating activities, strengthening the training itself and reducing its cost. It’s a win-win.
4. Look for ongoing support
Even after initial training, users may have questions or need additional guidance. That 70 percent of training that happens on the job mostly comes from encountering situations you haven’t seen before.
It’s important to look for a provider that offers support services throughout their relationship with your SMB. Clear lines of communication can help people resolve issues quickly and will help employees better trust the tools they’re using.
SMBs face more hurdles in training than bigger enterprises, but this means they get a greater benefit from thorough education. By choosing a user-friendly tool and breaking it into manageable hands-on chunks you can comprehensively educate your people while ensuring that revenue-generating tasks aren’t neglected.
Originally published at https://scalefluidly.com.
