Effective Learning – Turning Knowledge into Mastery and Productivity

By Dr. Tony Alessandra, President, Online Assessments

Imagine being at your annual sales­/training conference. You are inspired, motivated and armed with new­­ tools and techniques. Now­, fast­­ forward a month and ask yourself, “How much of the invaluable knowledge I gained am I putting into practice?” Then think for one minute how much time­­ you spent away from work to attend your annual sales­­ or training conference and imagine the costs involved in organizing this offsite experience.

Therein lies the challenge within the current learning process that is now being recognized. Fortunately, solutions are being introduced to tackle the learning process gap. Organizations are beginning to ask themselves how they can fully benefit by taking those classroom-based experiences and applying that knowledge within daily working life to increase productivity.

When I first became a University Professor in 1979, teaching was viewed as a conduit process. I was the conduit of knowledge. I spoke it from the front of the room and the students were then expected to know it. I quickly discovered that the conduit model doesn’t work; learning is much more then telling. Yet most sales conferences and training programs are still stuck in the conduit model of learning. They hire a great trainer who stands on the stage and imparts knowledge. If the budget is smaller, they buy videos of great sales trainers standing on stages and giving presentations. This ‘Sage on the Stage’ methodology is great for conference planners and course developers because it is easy and motivating to the audience. The problem is that no actual learning is taking place and therefore there is no measurable increase in performance.

This one realization started me down the path of constantly seeking the best learning methodologies. As a full-time sales trainer and professional speaker, I work hard to stay on the cutting edge of learning technologies and brain research as it relates to effective learning. My ongoing search has led me to four intriguing companies with quite different, but effective approaches – Cyrano, BrainX, CanDoGo and JIT sales training. All four are ‘blended learning models’ with on-demand coaching and mentoring, which is designed to reinforce and enhance the learning gained from the classroom or conference speaker. BrainX also allows you to create your own sales training courses around your specific products. For example, I used this product to create online courses to reinforce the material I teach in my speeches.

Cyrano is the only web-based contact management/interpersonal communication system I have found that trains (and rewards) salespeople while they use it. Cyrano contains ‘filtering categories,’ a series of checkboxes that asks the salesperson for specific information about each prospect or client. This forces the user to develop the habit of asking better questions, because Cyrano will reward them by customizing follow-ups that are ideal based on the interests, preferences – and even the behavioral style – of each contact.

Additionally, Cyrano contains videos, audios and articles to help salespeople learn more in between appointments and while using the system. One of the more interesting features is that once a user has finished reading an article, they can ask Cyrano to find all their contacts that also have an interest in that particular subject and Cyrano will then customize an email and send it out on behalf of the person who owns the relationship. This methodology combines interviewing skills, topic-specific learning and one-to-one communications to help users grow while staying connected with ‘everyone’ in their database.

BrainX is a powerful suite of online tools that create, organize and deploy any type of coursework or information to your sales force. Its easy-to-use ‘Content Creation Toolset’ guides you in making engaging, memorable online courses, role-playing scenarios, surveys, tests and certificate programs, regardless of the complexity of your training material. BrainX created an interface so that even non-technical developers can use any medium, whether it is audio, video, Flash, HTML or just MS Office files to create the best possible coursework for any learner’s study needs. Sales training especially benefits from the scenario creation and role-playing functions since ‘soft skills’ can be evaluated.

Once the coursework is created, simple Administration tools will set up access for your audience. The BrainX suite of online tools also includes flexible reporting, customizable look and feel, a personalized digital tutor function and messaging capabilities. BrainX will also host your online coursework, optimize existing courses, or create any online courses you may need, so you don’t have to.

Once the coursework is built, the system will create an unprecedented learner experience. The BrainX system uses a ‘Digital Tutor’ that customizes the coursework exactly to each learner’s needs. This ensures that every learner achieves ‘Mastery of the Material’ in the shortest possible time frame.

CanDoGo has brought a new service to market that allows organizations to get the most from their training investments as well as provide on-demand coaching and skills development for sales organizations. CanDoGo offers an on-demand sales knowledgebase that provides relevant advice, coaching and skills development in the moment it is needed for its subscribers. What makes this service exciting is their on-demand knowledgebase is based on ‘expert advice’ and they transform expert advice into a format that can be ‘accessed and applied’ in the moment of need.

JIT (Just in Time) the sales problem solver and trainer is a comprehensive sales training tool that covers virtually all sales problems and demonstrates – using actors – ‘how to’ solve those problems using short ‘knowledge bursts’ of learning video (30 seconds to seven minutes long) that are available directly to the sales person or sales manager on the Internet, intranet, laptop, hard drive or DVD. This problem-solving and teaching tool covers nearly all sales problems (and training subjects), such as dealing with objections, closing the sale, building rapport, qualifying the customer, up-selling, making appointments on the telephone – approximately 550 ‘knowledge bursts’ in all – to be solved at the moment of need. JIT is SCORM ready…compatible with all e-learning systems.

Effective learning needs to have the following characteristics:

1. It is personalized to the needs of the learner. One-size-fits-all training modules may be too advanced for some members of your team or too elementary for others. If either of these happens, learners tune out.
    
2. Delivered in byte-sized chunks, when it’s needed. One-size-fits-all. These easily digestible chunks can be consumed quickly so the learner can readily apply and obtain positive results.
    
3. It is available on demand – 24x7 – in a ubiquitous manner and can be consumed at the place required, whether that is in Outlook email, from within a business application such as an HR or CRM tool, a corporate intranet or web browser search or even via a mobile device.
    
4. Distinguish between information and learning. Sometimes a salesperson just needs information and they need it in a hurry. This must be easy to find and use. In this way, the learning system doubles as knowledge platform. The one thing we are all challenged with is increasingly less time. People seek instant answers and instant digital gratification so they can solve their problem and move onto the next task without the need to go through a lengthy curriculum.
    
5. Solve the problem of forgetting. Here is a question for you: If you effectively learn information on Monday such that you could get a score of 80% or higher on a test, how much of that information will you retain a week later? The bottom line is that learned information needs to be reinforced many times and research shows that all learners dramatically underestimate how much reinforcement they actually need before information is locked in long term memory.
    
6. Uses the right medium for the learner. Video has tremendous impact but there are times when just text, or text with audio, is more efficient for the learner. A good platform has to provide the right medium not only for the content, but also for the learner.
    
7. Mental mastery. If your system doesn’t have a way for sales people to practice using the information in the context of how they will apply it on the job, they will never reach the level of mental mastery they need. Without mental mastery, they will never take the risk of embarrassment that comes from trying something new with a customer.
    
8. On-demand coaching and mentoring also has the user benefit of allowing the learner to go beyond the confines of how the content is presented in the training. They can get feedback on how this knowledge can help them in the unique real world that they operate in.
    
9. It must operate across generations. Most sales trainers are training to at least three different generations – baby boomers, Gen X and Gen Y. Each of these three groups has completely different expectations on how content is presented.