Ready to run a training session for your co-workers? Well, before you fire up the Webex (or GoToWebinar/Joinme/ect.), see if you need to make any of these 3 changes to your material.
If you're not sure, take advantage of our coaching service.
1) Ditch the detail
The majority of Admins I speak with are great at their Admin jobs. They love getting into the nitty gritty of Salesforce. Understanding all of the backend connections. How this object interacts with that object. How workflows work. Coming up with a clever concoction to make everyday life simpler.
The problem is, the folks being trained don't care about the details.
See, what makes an Admin so good at her job is her ability to focus on the details (many Admins are analytical and detail oriented). And what makes a Sales rep so good at his job is his ability to completely ignore the details (many reps are focused on results, no matter how they get there).
That's a bit of a joke, but it holds some truth.
When a sales rep is selling, he doesn't run through every detail of the product with the client--he usually conveys a high-level vision of what a product or service can do. He focuses on the results. That's what great selling is. And it carries over into the sales reps' world of Salesforce as well.
Most sales reps are not motivated to learn all of the details of Salesforce. They only care about what pertains to them.
That's not good or bad. It just means that you will have to modify how you deliver your training. While you are very excited about the details and the backend, your audience is not. So leave that stuff out. Only include what is absolutely necessary for your audience to do what they need to do.
Cut everything else out.
2) Focus on triggers
Don't spend 10 minutes explaining the home screen and the search field. Instead, spend 10 minutes explaining which situations will arise during the day that will require your co-workers to view the home screen and use the search field.
Every day, we experience triggers. When we wake up in the morning, we may have a trigger that says, "look at the email on your phone." When we have gone through our emails at work, we experience a trigger that says, "go get a snack."
What triggers are your co-workers experiencing that will require them to use Salesforce?
Perhaps they receive an email that says, "I'd like a sales quote." When they receive that trigger, how should they respond? If they are used to an older system, their subconscious wants to do what it's always done--use the old system. Your training should focus on helping them to do something new when they receive that trigger. That's when you teach them how to search for the account requesting a quote.
Or maybe they get a phone call that says, "I'd like to learn more about your Hydroxul widget!" That's a trigger. If that trigger is unfamiliar, your co-workers won't be sure what to do--so you need to train them how to respond when they receive that trigger, and search for the Hydroxul widget details.
When you put context around using Salesforce, it becomes easier to adopt it.
If your co-workers first come in to work and aren't sure what to do while sitting at their desk, that is a trigger. Your co-workers need to be trained on how to respond to that moment of "What should I do?" That's when you teach them to go to their home screen and look at their tasks and their calendar.
3) Give them a reason
Why are your sales reps using Salesforce? If your reason is, "So management can check up on them and get better reports!" I'm sorry, but you're going to have to try again. That's not very motivating.
That's like saying, "Sign up for a Facebook account so your parents can make sure you're behaving." Not very compelling.
Make the training all about them. Salesforce will incorporate automatic workflows that will help close sales. Salesforce will help them manage follow-up phone calls and do more upselling. Salesforce will help them know who they're talking to so the conversation can be more personalized, and increase the chances of closing the deal.
That's what your audience wants. Give them a reason that makes them want to login and use it.
Knock 'em Dead
Look over your materials, make those tweaks, and deliver an awesome training session.
Take advantage of our coaching service so you can prepare an awesome training session.
