(888) 815-0802Traditional Sales Training is Broken – Utilizing Video as Reinforcement is the Future for Training Sales Reps, with Mark Magnacca [Episode 116]
Mark Magnacca is the co-founder and President of Allego, a mobile based sales learning platform. He is also the author of the book So What? How to Communicate What Really Matters to Your Audience. In today’s episode, Mark Magnacca and I discuss why sales training is broken and how you can utilize video to reinforce the learning for sales reps.
Why is traditional sales training broken?
One of the reasons is because most sales reps don’t remember and don’t absorb what they learn in a traditional instructor lead training. There is value in this type of training. It has the power to change one’s thinking and adopt a new mindset. The issue with this type of training is that it doesn’t have the methodology or follow-up that makes it easy to master what you have learned. The other part of the problem is that there’s no way to visibly or formally assess if the information they learned stuck or not.
What is a KPI and how do you measure it?
A Key Performance Indicator is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a business is reaching their key objectives. Organizations use KPIs to evaluate their success at reaching targets.
What is the difference between Skill Based & On-Demand Based Knowledge?
There are two kinds of knowledge: skill based and on-demand based. Skill based knowledge means you need to practice, acquire feedback, and receive ongoing coaching to be effective. On-demand based is basically the ‘how to’ knowledge you achieve from watching videos on YouTube or from peers, which have the expert information you are needing at the time.
Sales Reps need to invest in themselves to achieve the success they desperately want.
A shift has happened; people are using different form factors to achieve their knowledge. People are visually oriented. Especially sales people, whose personality type generally skews towards impatience and wanting to know the answer now. Video is a more powerful medium to learn than reading a book. The ability to hear from your peers, telling a story on how you position a product from someone you trust and respect is one of the most valuable tools.
Are people in potential danger of retaining the knowledge?
People don’t feel a need to master a skill, if they don’t need to know it on a normal basis. They can just look it up again on demand if needed. That is where the two kinds of knowledge, mentioned above, come back into play. It needs to be part of an ongoing process. For example, sales reps learning to ask for a referral, requires practice, feedback, and coaching. If you are not able to put that work in, video alone does not save the day.
What is Allego?
Allego is a mobile based, video sales learning platform. First and foremost, it is a platform designed to help sales people absorb information. Visual images along with sound of a human voice are very powerful in concert. See it, hear it and practice it, is a dynamic learning methodology. The content that is most valuable is top performers in your company talking about specific things that you want to know about. By using this platform, companies will start to build up useful content on a number of topics. You want to make sure to utilize your company’s top performers as subject matter experts. Instead of hoarding all of the knowledge, shifting the mindset to a more team oriented thinking. The capacity to use software, to be able to use coaching and be able to share best practices is a very powerful combination.
Learn More About Mark Magnacca:
What’s the most powerful sales tool in your arsenal?
Name the one tool or app you use for sales or sales management that you can’t live without.
Who’s your sales role model?
Jeff Goldberg
What’s the one book that every sales person should read?
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
What’s your favorite music to get you pumped up for a meeting or sales call?
U2
What’s the one question you get asked most frequently by sales people?
Is doing something on video a substitute for doing it in real life?
What’s the first sales activity you do every day?
Open notebook, which he purposefully handwrites and doesn’t use as a computer based program to help organize his day.
