As a trainer, it’s common to hear complaints like these from sales reps: “I don’t have time for training.” “By the time I get back to my territory, the information is obsolete.” “I need the information just before a sales call.” “Training is boring.”

Any trainer who has at some point in his or her career tried to train sales professionals has likely heard these and other, similar comments. Most do not want to be there, wish they were selling instead of training and have very short attention spans.

Salespeople are typically very motivated, driven to succeed and people-oriented. Their attention is measured in minutes or seconds, so you need to get to the point and keep training interesting and fast-paced.

Recent business demographic research indicates that millennials will make up nearly 50 percent of the workforce by 2020, as the baby boomer generation continues to retire. Millennials are the iPhone, tablet and Xbox generation: Everything is visual, quick and on-demand. Experiences are in one- to three-minute increments. Their attention spans are short, as is their patience for drawn-out, non-technical-based learning.

Trainers are learning that sales training is more impactful when delivered at the moment it’s needed, in the format it’s most desired, and with opportunities to immediately put new knowledge and skills into practice. One option is to provide just-in-time sales training through on-demand video bytes available 24/7. 

WHAT IS JUST-IN-TIME SALES TRAINING? 

Just-in-time methodology was originally developed by the manufacturing industry to coordinate the manufacture and distribution of products at the exact time they were needed: the right material, at the right time, in the right place, in the right amount – all in an effort to reduce holding costs.

Just-in-time sales training uses these same principles to deliver training to sales professionals at the exact time that they need it, allows the training to be personalized, and provides bite-size chunks that salespeople can absorb quickly and apply immediately.

The use of video for sales training continues to grow as technological advancements make video streams readily available through cloud technology and learning management systems (LMS). This accessibility has enabled sales managers and trainers to leverage video as a meaningful tool in the training toolbox.

BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES  

There are multiple benefits of using video just-in-time sales training, including:

• Businesses save on travel costs and the cost of losing productive selling days.
• Salespeople receive the training when, where and how they want and need it.
• Sales managers have a flexible tool that supports training on topics such as sales messaging, overcoming objections, product changes and important industry information in an easily accessible format.
• The gap between knowledge acquisition and practice can be reduced dramatically. 

The challenge for training departments is developing and maintaining a training function with the expertise, resources and time to quickly deliver training content. Doing so involves producing learning content quickly; in video format; and allowing for visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning preferences. It also requires developing the video presentation skills of sales managers, subject matter experts or trainers so they are comfortable in front of a video camera.

Presenters also need to understand the challenges of the “video gap” between the video and the learner; when presenting in video bytes, trainers must exaggerate their facial and body motions, voice inflections and learning points for maximum impact. Doing so requires practice, training and remembering one’s audience.

DEVELOPING JUST-IN-TIME SALES TRAINING VIDEO BYTES 

Trainers can quickly drive video bytes from concept to completion by following these four steps:

1. Understand when video bytes should be used by identifying topics that can be broken into one- to three-minute videos; knowledge or skills that must be developed quickly; or outside events that need swift, impactful messaging.
2. Obtain consensus among sales managers on the guiding philosophy behind the video bytes and the desired outcomes or goals of each. Consensus prevents inappropriate use of the videos and protects legitimate training methods such as group, live or virtual training.
3. Don’t rely solely on the perspective of the sales manager or subject matter expert. Also take into consideration the immediate need or problem of the sales professionals from their perspectives. You might use quick surveys, assessments or video chats to help determine content and activities.
4. Research shows that salespeople want training to be of high quality, interesting, motivating, relevant and available the moment they need it. Keep an eye on the quality of your videos with a practical understanding of both time and budget constraints.

Video bytes by their very nature are short-form content covering one or two major knowledge points or sales skills. Presenters should, at a minimum, have an outline or script for their presentations to prevent retakes and save time and money.

Visuals such as white boards or PowerPoint slides may be used, and captions at the bottom of the screen or pictures of actual sales collateral can be added post-production. Role plays, discussions between subject matter experts or managers, answering frequently asked questions and follow-up assessments are effective interactions on video bytes.

THE MOST IMPORTANT DRIVER: ROI  

The most compelling reason companies pursue just-in-time sales training through video bytes is the return on investment. Training should drive clearly defined business outcomes, with its costs tied to specific sales metrics. As videos are released, managers can evaluate sales data by integrating the CRM with the LMS and monitoring the platform on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, measuring it against the cost of producing and distributing the videos.

Just-in-time sales training through video bytes is here to stay and will continue to grow as technology advances and new ways to “skill-up” salespeople emerge. Training teams can take advantage of this powerful new creative tool to reduce the learning gap and increase skillsets of sales professionals and meaningfully impact ROI in the future.