The majority of retail sales courses are generic and hard to relate to. Some might have examples that relate to your business model, but that would be lucky. Compare this with a customised program that provides examples of your own team members selling your products in your stores. Although it might cost you more, customisation is a must if you expect to get top-of-the-line results. Let’s take a look at why.
Engage your learners
Using customised content helps to engage your learners. One of the most important principles of adult learning is relevance. It’s important that adults see how their learning directly relates to their role and the challenges they face daily at work. If the learning doesn’t seem useful then they’ll disengage very quickly. Small customised elements, like a tip on applying a technique with your customers, can reinforce the relevance and get them back on track.
Move knowledge into action
Customised learning is much easier to apply. If you’ve ever been to a professional development course, then you’ll know what I’m talking about. It can be difficult to work out how the insights you’ve gained apply to your own business!
At RedSeed, we overcome this problem for your learners using bespoke in-store scenarios filmed onsite. This way, your team members can see an example of exactly how to use a technique with their own product before they try to do it themselves. Kirsty James, training manager at RM Williams, put it like this: ”Now, working with the RedSeed film crew, our team can experience short, sharp nuggets of ‘what good looks like’ so they’re able to take it in, learn from that and be able to do it.”
Reducing time to competency for new hires can result in significant ROI, especially in peak periods.
Put your twist on it
Your company has its own unique brand, and that will extend to the way you sell to your customers. Customising your training allows you to add your own twist to proven sales techniques. That could be as simple as the greeting you use or the tone you speak in. Whether you’re teaching new employees or trying to change an existing habit, customised training is the best way to make sure every customer’s journey is consistent.
Show you care
Creating customised learning is a great way to show commitment to your team’s development. When your employees see that you’re putting in the time and money to get their learning right, they’ll be more likely to match that with their own effort. It’s an awesome solution to increase completion rates without having to force it!
So if you’re wondering if it’s worth customising – the answer is yes. Although, as passionate trainers and coaches, we think that any training is better than no training!
RedSeed.com is an online learning ecosystem with seriously good content for retail teams. If we don’t have it in our library, we can make it for you. And you can use it on your platform or ours.
- Video-based course library.
- Bespoke content development.
- Build knowledge and change behaviour.
- Integrated manager-led coaching.
Simply, powerful LMS. Please consider following us on Linkedin for updates!
