Post Pandemic Training Opportunity

Will the hybrid meeting, blended working, flexible half-remote near-future of the next year or so bring more or less workplace training?

There’s a burning current question for b-school undergrads and business team leaders alike as commerce learns to live with the coronavirus.

You’d hope it’s the former. A sparking of opportunity realisation. We can and we should focus on training like never able to before.

You no longer need to drag all, especially if geographically dispersed, team members along to a certain place at a specific time. For salesteams, an especially risky proposition, as it reduces ever-so precious customer-facing time. Typically by a factor of an entire day. No matter how any mini-session is dressed up around other chances to get admin done and bounce off colleagues not normally encountered.

For over a decade now, I’ve noted the trend for the traditional “training day” to be replaced by shorter bursts of workshops. Usually a couple of hours long with short breaks built in. Although some companies like(d) the half-day approach, particularly when combined with those “all hands” style get-togethers.

In these times of remoteness – and as I blog the prevailing wisdom is presently that even those big cheeses wishing to mandate office return are finding that to keep valued staff they are having to instead offer location and diary flexibility – a training focus offers huge paybacks. Perhaps none more so than In Sales.

Even a single 45-minute weekly session on an element of ‘new normal’ selling (& buying) could work wonders. Imagine the returns for next quarter and beyond.

In which case, have you thought of what such slots could feature?

How about these half-dozen ideas as starters for consideration;

When to choose phone, email, messaging or video as your communication method

Re-jig that zoomscape you’ve been inside for the past eighteen months

Which sales tasks (with prospects and colleagues) are best suited to synchronous versus asynchronous completion

How to present over video

Proven video call prep, including Agendas

Running a prospect workshop virtually

It would be remiss of me to omit that plenty more topics jump out from my book, Video Calls That Sell.

I hope these give you ideas for your own sales endeavours and can be a launching pad for even more besides.