Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D. September 17, 2014
When we scan all the major defections in the media business
as a sales and marketing career, our research tells us that the looming problem
is not the fact that the media business is too fast paced or that one can’t
earn enough money or that management provides little or no help in the field,
it is that the management of many media companies do not provide for training
to insure that their new hires and mature veterans receive the appropriate learning
to maximize career and revenue results.
In spite of all the consultants initiating e-learning,
mobile learning or on-demand training for network TV, cable, radio or the
newspaper business, the classroom is still king.
Training provides a much needed solution to job defection as
it enhances customer relationships, new business development, product
knowledge, develops inner confidence and acts as an unemployment benefit: if
one does not receive proper training the unemployment line awaits. Good sales
training also inspires one to greater income heights as well as helps gain
other rewards and recognition that often outpaces just getting the commission
check. Now don’t get me wrong, we all like making money and enjoy what we can
buy as a result. But, that extra perk that goes beyond the commission is, at
least for me as valuable.
Sales training is definitely a sales manager’s best friend.
Many managers in today’s media do not have the time or inclination to train
their sales team members. With the chaotic changes in media marketing
prevailing in today’s business, including but not limited to budgeting and
re-budgeting reports, sales managers often don’t have the time to train. And,
many managers don’t want to train or don’t feel comfortable training.
A properly organized training program almost always insures
the company’s top position in the marketplace. Proper sales training is the key
to successful negotiating, presentation, customer service and strategic account
management skills. When dealing with major accounts, clients don’t want
pitchmen, they want strategic partners who develop glove fitting solutions for
their business. They want strategic partners not just another media reptile
that takes them to lunch or gets them tickets to the ball game. For the best training
solutions, an interactive classroom environment is often the best choice.
In the last four or five years, it was thought that online
learning would replace the classroom. According to Training Magazine’s 2013
Industry Report, $52.1 billion dollars was budgeted for formal training in
20013 with 70% of the formal training is in classroom environments with live
instructors. In 2013 the report stated companies will increase their training
budgets 26%. The majority of companies surveyed also affirmed that with all the
training methods available, classroom delivery was the method most
organizations used most frequently. The data shows clearly that while online
training is being used it isn’t being used as often as it seems. In
organizations of 10,000 or more employees instructor-led classroom delivery was
60% compared to 11% delivered by computer where no instructor was involved. Contrasting
the results in smaller companies of 100-499 employees, instructor-led classroom
delivered training was 69% whereas computer driven delivery such as online
training was only 7%. The balance of reported delivered instruction was
instructor –led but from remote locations or cited as “other.” From all of the
results in the 2013 Industry Report, it seems the bigger an organization gets,
the less traditional and personal the training becomes compared to smaller
organizations where personalized training is preferred.
In our ever-changing media surroundings, consultants and
corporate training heads agree that the classroom is as important as it ever
was. Online training for the reports showed that online learning is minimal;
instead, the majority of it use is a blended component used to supplement
classroom training.
After 25 1/4 years of classroom training, the lead instructors of System 21© have found
that the interactive play between the trainer and the sales rep has a much
greater impact on the individual in a classroom setting than the training
provided online while sitting at one’s desk as the phone is ringing surrounded
by paperwork to be done. In a classroom setting a teacher can tailor training
to individual needs as well as respond to challenges and questions at the
point. I can’t possibly imagine an online training site with a FAQ [frequently
asked questions] sector can be as personal and as timely as being directly in
front of the sales rep that is eager to learn and yearning for answers. Being
in front of sales team members is great for veterans as well as it may give
them a newer perspective or technique to consider. Having been on the street
calling on local-direct businesses for 17 years and teaching in the classroom
for 25 1/4 years, the original author of System 21© Philip Jay LeNoble Ph.D.
and during the last five years, lead trainer Michael Guld always look for a new
twist on things with which to experiment.
Additionally, being in front improves the trust of the
material offered as tried and tested. While the most important part of training
is the follow-up provided by the management team, a salesperson’s belief system
in the training imparted is critical to the training results.
Online training is not the panacea or “silver bullet” people
thought it might become. I found that role-playing where the sales rep is the
client and I am the ‘seller’ offers insights, answers and solutions that
otherwise may never come from a FAQ site. Classroom training provides immediate
feedback from the sales rep and is a reinforcement of the material offered. I
have found that online or computer delivered training is too one-dimensional.
Classroom environments are best for problem solving and decision-making.
Funny as it may seem, but Pleasanton, CA-based online lender
E-Loan made a name for itself on the Internet, but when it comes to learning,
the company found traditional, classroom methods work best. Their head of
training during that period Carolyn
Balling feels learning is given a boost when it is done as a group rather than
individually through e-learning. “There’s a lot of value for us in those times
when we can manage to get people together in one room,” she says.
The dynamics of a group of media sales team reps in one room
is terrific. Classroom learning initiates discussion and the effectiveness of the
material with enhanced participation. We looked at the sales results and recall
of information given in the classroom, followed by coaching of the material by
sales management at regular scheduled intervals, classroom delivery rates best.
Executive Decision Systems Inc. of Littleton, CO reports that 455 media company
clients cited an average of $624,000 generated in new, long-term local direct
revenue totaling $283,920,000. After the first year of training no further
weekly revenue reports were required by media clients. It is more than likely
the total may be greater than what was reported. All of the training provided
by The Guld Resource Group and previously, Executive Decision Systems, Inc., was classroom delivered. It would be
interesting to compare the reported revenue to online training revenue results,
given the proof was based on new and incremental, long-term, local-direct
business.
When considering what type of training a company decides to
use, management should consider the content, the characteristics of the sales
team, the commitment management is willing to make to follow up the training
and, perhaps, the incentives given for immediate success in the performance
using the training material. I always enjoyed the reward for the first sale in,
the biggest sale and the longest contract.
When training in the classroom, Michael Guld and I have
never found that the problems a sales person faces in the field can better be
solved by a computer delivered training solution when compared to a skilled
sales trainer who has many years of actual in-field selling experience. It is
more evident today that the classroom coupled with management’s buy-in and
follow up is still the leading example. With the problems facing network TV
affiliates, cable systems, radio and newspaper in their loss of audience,
revenue and subscribers, sales training may be the preeminent solution to income growth and fewer defections.
Digital media net advertising revenues in the U.S. will surpass TV ad revenues by 2017, according to the latest forecast from Interpublic Group’s MAGNA Global.
Local media revenue is on track to reach $137 billion this year and rise to $139.3 billion in 2015, representing a growth rate of 1.6%. The estimates, released Sunday by BIA/Kelsey, also project local online advertising will rise from $31 billion in 2014 to $35 billion in 2015.