Learning Technolgies Show 2011 Part 3 Live Call phone coaching, long run training partnerships and effective e learning

Mandy Stephens, Director of Phone Coach Limited
PhoneCoach have been leaders in the supply of telephone role-play equipment for years.



Using their equipment delegates learn in a realistic and safe learning environment to get instant feedback.


For all the discussion about the challenges of communicating to clients over the telephone, watching videos, reading workbooks plus the artificial and unsatisfactory way of getting delegates to sit back to back and ‘play –ring ring’ - in the end it is the practice doing it that helps. I agree with Mandy. I have used PhoneCoach equipment of the years and delegates learn most by DOING.


Phone coach both hire and sell a comprehensive array of equipment from a 3 way simulator ( Seller, Buyer and Trainer), through cordless versions, to 12 station units.

The newest development from PhoneCoach is the PhoneCoach Live Call anytime.



For sales trainers who have already conventional run role play practice- PhoneCoach now enable the learner to move to the next level. By recording outgoing real calls. Delegates can practice new business development calls , cold calling and other proactive phone call skills.


PhoneCoach provide a number to dial, once you hear the dial tone you ring the number you want, at the end of the call, you can ring off or you can wait for the respondent to ring off and then make further calls if you wish.


You can then play back your recordings any time you like. Web playback is the most popular.

Accessing the PhoneCoach website using a secure login,( user name and password) your calls then can be downloaded to your PC or laptop via a USB memory stick. Recorded calls can be deleted automatically at the end of any period or kept for a longer period and can be remotely archived.


Leading Telephone Sales Trainer Audrey Bryce has written a glowing endorsement on the system. Apart from the accelerated learning benefits and measurable success of training Audrey says

“ This tool will enable companies to quantify their return on investment. "

http://www.phonecoach.com/



Anne England of Ashford Tailored Training


I attended a short presentation by Ashford Training. Anne England described the training partnership that Ashford have had with Pets at home.



There may be nothing new in training, Anne explained the content matters still but the vehicle is different.



http://www.ashfordtraining.co.uk/


Ashford Tailored Training have become the voice of -“Pets at home” covering induction through Customer service to management development. The theme of her talk was “In it for the long run”.


Through the case study were shown how the story had developed & the changes of training materials.

Anne illustrated a simple but engaging way how Ashford helped to training product and technical knowledge of customer service staff at Pets at home where knowledgeable and helpful staff are needed at the customer interface.


She adapted a session on animal nutrition to one for the audience at the exhibition – Human Nutrition. We were lent a squeaky pet toy to use for voting for our choice on a multiple choice questionnaire projected on PowerPoint slides.


Testing them out as when Stephen Fry asks the contestants on TV’s ‘QI’ programme to test their buzzer, the audience at the show were involved and engaged.

This was impressive as the seminar theatre was open to the corridors of the exhibition on two sides with attendant distractions of people walking by.



It is also a somewhat less expensive option to electronic voting used at other sessions and the conference!


Ashford measured their training with the client and achieved an impressive 89% knowledge retention score, improved sales and Net Promotion Scores ( NPS)

Raf Verheyden Managing Director of McVirtus


There were a host of e-learning purveyors at the show this year.

Indeed the First floor was dedicated to one which caught my eye was McVirtus.
I asked Raf who is from Belgium what makes effective e- learning.


McVirtus’ approach is for very high quality visual input underpinned by Cognitive Load Theory so that learning is embedded and sticks with better retention.. With clients like Siemens and BASF their solutions sell.


Along with visually rich content, e-learning sessions Raf suggested that they should be no longer than 20 minutes. McVirtus' e –learning Sales training suite comprises of six modules which are to be covered in two weeks.


Their projects are supported by follow up emails, reminders and control statistics for monitoring and measuring.

This is important since a major criticism of on line learning approaches is the issue that often candidates don’t complete their courses.

Effective Online training is achieved through better comprehension, greater user adoption and superior retention.


McVirtus offer on line course in Sales, Procurement, leadership and soft skills.
http://www.mcvirtus.com/


They blog at www.SIPM.com/WINS

The Learning Technologies Show 2011 continues tomorrow 27th January Further reports will be posted on Better use of presentation on Camera with RADA and Mobile learning the Element K way.