How to Train Your Sales Team

Salespersons have this ability to sell even an average product smartly. However, just depending on their inherent selling skills is not enough. As an employer, you should train your salespersons and keep them updated about your latest products, services, and the industry trends. One good idea would be to organize training programs regularly. If possible, consider inviting industry experts to your training programs. This would be a great opportunity for your sales team to interact with the experts and get the right guidance from them. Before you rent classroom for your training program, check whether your training room rental company provides the necessary tools and facilities for conducting an effective training session. Here are some useful tips on how to train your sales team.

Keep it short

According to a recent study, long lectures are ineffective. Students have a short attention span these days. Even if you deliver a compelling lecture for one hour, your students may not be able to concentrate for more than 15-20 minutes. So keep your training sessions short and to the point. For instance, show them a five-minute video explaining your sales strategies for the next quarter. Another good idea would be ask them questions during the training program. This helps keep the audience engaged.

Share success stories

Salespersons usually have a positive mindset. They always see the glass half-full rather than half empty. They love to hear success stories. Make sure you share enough success stories to keep them motivated. If one of your sales representatives achieved a remarkable success in the recent past, share that story with your team and see how it creates a positive impact on their performance.

Make the most of technology

If you are using new software or technology in your organization, your salespeople should be made acquainted with them. For instance, CRM is a great tool to collect, organize, analyze customer data. If you are planning to implement CRM, you should train your salespeople. They should get hands-on training on how to enter customer data into the CRM system, how to access the data stored in the system, and when and how to use it to sell more.

Provide product knowledge

Your salespeople should know your products in detail. If you make any changes in your product features, you should keep your salespeople updated about it. If required, organize sales training program every month, so that you can keep your sales team in the loop about any upcoming products or any changes in your existing products. You can get hefty discounts from your training room rental company, if you rent classroom from them frequently.

Provide industry insights

It is also important for your salespeople to know about the recent trends in the industry. Make sure your sales training programs include lectures on the same. There should be sessions on competitor analysis and so on.

Another good idea would to provide your new hires firsthand training. You can send your new people with seasoned salespersons, so that they can get practical training on how to sell in the real life scenario.

How to Deliver a Seminar

Efficient public speaking is an asset, no matter if you are training new recruits or presenting a product to a client. Delivering the perfect seminar requires understanding the audience’s requirements and supplementing their knowledge well.

Backing up your claims with interactive material like presentations and providing conducive environment is the key. When you rent a training room that is fully equipped with necessary facilities, you have won half the battle. To know how to deliver a seminar, read on.

Know your listeners

Reach the venue well before time and ease the nerves. This is required to assess your audience. You will have two kinds of listeners: the organizers and the actual listeners. If you want to attract more attendees, curate the material in a way that helps listeners raise their productivity.

It is good to assume your audience to be extremely ignorant but extremely intelligent at the same time. Never cut out an informative background just because you assume the audience already knows about it.

Create an outline of points

Never go into a seminar without due planning of your presentation. Write important points down in a logical sequence, highlighting keywords. Reading from a paper sounds rigid and formal and cuts off eye contact. Begin with an introduction, providing an outline of the presentation to follow.

It is interesting to put in personal details regarding your motivation behind the seminar. Provide a heading for each topic and sign off with a conclusion for the audience to act upon.

Prepare and rehearse well

Not everybody is naturally articulate, and regular practice can make you better at delivering seminars. This can de done by standing in front of a mirror and talking to yourself. You can rent seminar room a couple of days in advance and practice talking to an imaginary audience.

Work on any areas where you find incompetencies. It is also a good idea to have a colleague ask you hypothetical questions. It is also important to practice gestures and mannerisms to avoid looking awkward.

Invite responses

Even though it is the speaker that does most of the talking, involving the audience is not a bad idea. Narrate interesting and relevant stories, share a joke or two, and ask questions. If the seminar is long, consider including a break in between, where you can hand out questionnaires or introduce group activities.

Avoid monotony

Lack of enough preparation could make talk for long periods in a confused and complicated manner. To avoid such monotonous periods during a seminar, practice speaking while you time yourself. To identify speech pattern problems, record yourself as you speak. This can also help to prevent lack of modulation. Not making enough eye contact can also cause your audience to feel uninspired. Steadily transfer your gaze from left to right as you speak.

Ensure a distraction-free environment

When you rent training room, keep in mind that the audience should not feel distracted. A fidgety or distracted audience can break the speaker’s flow. Provide proper restroom facilities and a water cooler. The room should be air conditioned and the screen should not get obstructed from anyone’s line of sight. Using too many animations or putting too much information on one slide can distract.

Top 5 Employee Retention Strategies

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The biggest concern for many organizations today is how to retain their good employees. Direct replacement costs can be as high as 50% of the employee’s yearly salary. Employee retention helps cut training costs and avoid loss of organizational knowledge and talent.

The Michael Page Singapore Employee Intentions Report for 2015 holds financial rewards and efficient managers as the top reasons why employees stick to an organization. Training and workplace flexibility are other important parameters. Here are 5 effective tips on employee retention.

Get the right managers

It is often said that employees quit because of managers. Efficient managers can form healthy relationship with employees. They will need to understand every employee’s requirements and work with them accordingly. Employee grievances must be taken seriously. Put in place a system for performance management and appraisal, coordinated by an HR manager.
When you rent training room for employee training, be sure to conduct manager training as well. This should include both, technical aspects of their job and soft skills.

Give them the right metrics

Surveys and research have confirmed repeatedly that appreciation and feedback is highly important for employee retention. The argument stems from the fact that employees need to feel connected and responsible to the organization. Make sure that the feedback you give is specific and not a vague appreciation.

Employees actually want to see what positive results have come of their efforts. Managers have to be aware of their subordinates’ progress. Depending on how they are doing, due attention must be given to their learning process.

Provide a healthy work-life balance

Millennials consider a healthy work-life balance more important than anything for sticking to an organization. Employee fatigue and monotony are challenges to employee retention and hence the management has to be always on guard. Time clock software can help avoid overworked employees. Long offs are just as important.

Workplace flexibility is gaining momentum in Singapore. Organizations that allow employees flexible timings or a work-from-home arrangement, tend to retain more employees. Group activities are an interesting work to integrate life with work.

Offer different kinds of training

Employees seek expansion of their knowledge. You training sessions should not be just about increasing performance. Rent training room with the right facilities and make sure it is easily accessible. Employees, especially new hiring, should look forward to training sessions. Ask your seminar room rental company for restroom and refreshment facilities.

Offer mentorship programs and cross-departmental training. Bring in experts from outside the company to counsel employees about subjects related to aspects of their own lives. Continuous revision of the training curriculum is important.

Establish multiple compensation avenues

It could also include something not necessarily monetary, like an ‘Employee of the Month’ program. You could also be conservative and award pay raises based on performance. Money is not the reason behind employees leaving organizations.

A flexible employee benefits system can help deal with a changing workforce. Companies offer a number of modes for compensation, including stocks, childcare/eldercare, memberships of clubs, employee assistance programs, shopping discounts and so on.

How to Foster a Positive Learning Environment in Classroom

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A positive, motivating environment is a prerequisite to a place of learning. Be it your employees or students in a classroom rental, interaction and value are important. The instructor might be brilliant at a subject but the students can still feel distracted. The learners should be at ease with the training, and peers and trainers should be supportive. If you are wondering how to foster a positive learning environment in a classroom, keep reading.

Making learning relevant

Starting off with the curriculum is important. However, determining the right methods to spark students’ interest is necessary. No matter what the topic is, take up examples from daily life and engage them into the discussion. One good idea is to encourage them to write down their goals. They can work more on the idea as the lectures progress and talk about them in sessions.
Do not waste facilities of training room rental service. Curate interesting content like videos, trivia, presentations and even short documentaries to bring in an audio-visual element.

Create a comfortable ambience

You should create the right environment for learning. If you are an employer training your new hires, you should choose your training room rental very carefully. If the facilities are poor and the place is too far to travel to, learners can get distracted. Ask the classroom rental provider for internet access and facilities for audio-visual learning. The restrooms should be close. Make sure there are water coolers and a coffee vending machine.

There are certain strategies, which you can implement to help them feel energized. Reserve a board where you can put up group pictures, cards mentioning your core ideals and so on.

Strategies to create positive learning environment

Make sure learners do not feel left out. You can take a number of steps to ensure a positive and healthy environment in your classroom. Here are some ideas.

• Introduction sessions – Breaking the ice can be done by way of fun introduction sessions or team building games. This helps learners get comfortable with the instructor as well. Introduction letters are another good idea.

• Get creative by providing them your contact information – Learners should see the instructors as approachable and friendly. Give them your contact details in creative ways. For instance, you can hand out a fun card mentioning details about your social media accounts, your phone number, and email id. You could even give away creative bookmarks with your contact details.

Review creatively

Appreciation and criticism are equally welcome in a classroom atmosphere. Do it constructively by
holding evaluation sessions in groups. Quizzes are also a fun way to engage the entire class in the evaluation process. While handing out assignments, learners can be given some options to choose from.

Swap paper for digital

By replacing paper with digital platforms for note-taking, you can establish a healthy sensitivity for environment in your class. Digital platforms have other advantages too. Unlike paper, digital is cheaper in the long run, saves time, and helps the entire class bond on a single class webpage. Make use of the internet connectivity provided by training room rental and communicate digitally.

5 Common Corporate Training Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Often, companies invest a lot of time, money, and effort in employee training and yet cannot get the desired results. Studies show that millennials prefer working for a company that offer consider training opportunities. Therefore, companies should have a system in place for training their employees.

It is also essential to keep revising your training systems. When you rent training rooms, consider whether they are distraction free. It also pays to invest in a good evaluation program at the end of the course. Read here about 5 common corporate training mistakes.

Overloading on information

Information overload is worse than no information at all. It gets difficult for existing employees to clear their schedules for intensive training spread over a number of days. This could force them to put in overtime and stress. Overtraining refers also to stuffing employees with irrelevant information.
Break your training down into smaller sessions and focus on one thing at a time. Instead of making employees cram information, train them to access it using manuals, databases, and checklists.

Providing irrelevant training

Not only can irrelevant training backfire, it can prove to be monotonous and uninspiring. Heed to the requirements of your employees and try multiple training pathways, including the auditory and visual modes. This the reason why training should also be conducted on-job.
Conduct an intensive analysis for training needs. You need to define the objectives of the program beforehand. Business objectives must be linked with employee behavior. This should be followed by an evaluation of trainable competencies and so on. Get the vendors to customize the course material for your specific requirements.

Inconvenient training facilities

Distractions or inconvenience during training sessions can dilute the lesson. Make sure when you rent training room that the provider offers data projector and smart boards for presentations. It should also have 24X7 internet connectivity if your course material requires it.
Sufficient electrical outlets and air conditioning for Singapore’s humid climate are a must. Proper restroom facilities and a coffee vending machine are indispensable to ensure comfort. Make sure your training room venue is easily accessible by public transport.

Getting the wrong people to train

When you rent classroom, make sure your trainer is as good. You can either get someone from inside the organization, with prior training experience, or hire a professional. You can also ask seniors from different departments to come up for different phases of training. Make sure such trainers are technology savvy.

An inexperienced or untrained instructor might not address the problems of the employees well. Good trainers need to have strong language skills and an outgoing personality.

Forgetting to follow up

Following up should be done after training, not only for clients but also for employees. This is because skills decay is a major roadblock to corporate training. It could be that some of your employees might have had unanswered questions at the end of the program. Assessment for skills decay should be done throughout the year. During the course of the program, offer both appreciation and constructive criticism. Conduct surveys on the effectiveness of the program. Periodic assignments are also crucial.

Tips on How to Train New Employees

people-new-york-train-crowd Training new employees is never easy. If you hire experienced professionals, they may find it difficult to cope with your work process. On the other hand, fresh graduates need to be trained from the beginning. Studies say that making new employees feel at home is crucial to successfully train them. Fun socialization sessions and early appreciation is an integral part of the on-boarding process.

Training room rental should be chosen keeping in mind the skill levels and receptivity of your employees. Here are some tips on training new employees.

Provide them direct training

In order to build a solid foundation for growth of your employees’ knowledge, provide direct training. Follow it up by introducing other experts with different training approaches. This is also known as cross-training. Doing this helps to combine different experiences and reinforce what your employees have learned. This can be concluded with a mini-quiz when the program ends.

Try to optimize their strengths

Hire a general trainer and training room rental for the initial training period. Employees in this stage will be trained on general aspects of work. The subsequent sessions will be on specialized job roles. This is especially important for an emerging organization, where the ability to fit into multiple roles is required. Such an approach also instills solidarity within the group.

Employ an e-learning program

E-learning platforms have been successfully helping create employee training courses. In fact, every company should invest in e-learning, besides classroom rental for presentation-based training.

The course usually provides general industry insights, culture, vision and message of the company and role-specific information. The content types will include videos, blanks to be filled, multiple choice questions, puzzles, and so on.

Follow the program up with a task

On-job-training is a practical way to assimilate your new employees into the rest of the workforce. Firstly, it lets you have an output at the end of the program. Secondly, it lets them utilize the follow-up training in the best possible way.

Have existing employees train them

Involve seniors and colleagues in the training program. Giving every new employee attention on a one-on-one basis can get difficult. Instead, rope in trusted staff members to hold training sessions for smaller training tasks. Hire training room rental keeping this in mind. Having coworkers train new employees is also important for establishing solid peer relationships. This also empowers existing employees.

Make sure the facilities are up to the mark

Choose your classroom rental company carefully. Employees should not have to travel too much. Lack of proper restroom and convenience facilities could distract them and end up offsetting the desired result of the training program. Make sure that there are sufficient electrical outlets to plug devices. Hire a professional trainer or someone with in-house expertise. Making the program accessible is important.

Give regular feedback

Constructive criticism is as important as appreciation and praise. More importantly, feedback should be given regularly during the course of a training program. Put in place “practice sessions” where new employees should be free to fail. Encourage them to experiment with new approaches. In the process, you should also be able to gather feedback about the quality and effectiveness of the program.

5 Common Corporate Training Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Successful training programs are an indispensable indicator of an organization’s performance. Over the past few decades, interactive resources, instructional video software, and non-formal teaching methodology have been developed. However, face-to-face training sessions led by coordinators have been effective in information dissemination.

It is important to not only rent training room, but also overcome some important training hurdles. These include adapting to modes learners are comfortable with and instilling conflict management. Read on to know five such common training challenges.

1. Expansion of knowledge pool and training programs

Skill requirements and delivery methods are constantly undergoing change. This means that it is getting tougher to keep up with the demands of corporate learning. It is recommended that organizations hire an experienced and trained instructional designer.

You will need to keep procuring existing programs or develop new ones. When you rent seminar room, let the instructional designer know. This is to ensure that the programs being created are practical and compatible with the facilities at hand.

2. Improving the effectiveness of learning

Whether you are imparting quality training depends on its applicability for the employees. In order to realize the return on training investment, the training should be oriented to improvement of employees’ performance. The second step is to choose a cost-effective instructional medium suited to the learners’ needs.

To improve the effectiveness of learning, you will need to articulate outcomes you want learners to realize. You have to figure out delivery methods and locate the context were learners will be expected to perform.

3. Needs analysis to identify training goals

Organizations often have erroneous practices like sending employees to a training program when they don’t meet their targets. One should instead identify the objective of the training program itself. This can be done reviewing existing training content, reports, and strategies.

The challenge, therefore, is to gather accurate and relevant data from various departments. This can help identify the objective of a training program. Needs analyses are of different types, and address organizational, individual, performance and training suitability problems, among others.

4. Shortage of in-house expertise

When you rent training room, it is important to find an individual with the right skills to coordinate training. It is necessary to differentiate between subject matter experts and professional trainers. The former can address the queries and hypotheses that rise in a session. However, professional trainers have expertise with delivery of training and effective communication skills.
If you have a dearth of in-house experts, it is better to hire a trainer. Professional trainers can adapt quickly to your material and combine them with their strategies.

5. Conducting proper evaluation

Evaluating employees not only determines how well they have learned, but the effectiveness of your training program itself. You can begin with reviewing whether the objectives of the training were met.

Do not make the mistake of expecting reactions on a certain training scheme. Do not press for positive responses. Evaluation is also necessary to know the effectiveness of your facilities. Make sure you incorporate the suggestions when you rent seminar room for your next training program.

7 Tips on Creating an Effective Employee Training Program

More important than hiring skilled employees is effectively training them. This applies not only to entry-level employees, but for professionals at all job levels. Employee training is also an indicator of your commitment to retaining workers with marketable skills.

Creating an effective training program for your employees involves investing time and money into design and delivery. Contact a training room rental company today. Here are 7 tips on creating an effective employee training program.

1. Identify your business goals

Conduct brainstorming sessions and identify the objective of your business. The consider whether your employees have the required experience and skills to help your achieve your business goals. This is necessary to identify the kind of training they need. Businesses often require training for both soft skills and hard skills. You could need training on customer service, harassment, or specific procedures. Also, bear in mind that you cannot have the same module for diverse requirements.

2. Know the needs of your audience

Gather knowledge about the interests, education, and areas of expertise of your employees. Tailoring training programs requires using modern training methods, which a seminar room rental company can provide. You will also need to blend multiple mediums, including written notes, presentations, videos or handouts. Oral instructions and discussions are also an integral part of effective training sessions. Adult learning is all about training employees using real-life scenarios.

3. Create a training schedule

A training program can take a few days or even several weeks, depending on the complexity and length. Create a training schedule. This can be done by having a training matrix made using a spreadsheet mentioning employee details, trainings available and dates. Use this as a guide for scheduling and tracking. This also helps you book training room rental in advance.

4. Rent a training room with facilities

Do not underestimate the importance of booking a seminar room for your training program. When you contact the seminar room rental company, don’t forget to ask for proper facilities, such as, restrooms, air conditioning, video projection, and electrical outlets. It is necessary to ensure a distraction-free ambience for your employees. Make sure that the place has good connectivity.

5. Appoint the right trainers

This will require hiring an experienced professional trainer to keep your employees on track. You could ask for the service of an experienced manager from within the organization itself. The duties of a trainer include giving lectures, resolving doubts, and providing feedback. Have the trainer visit the place beforehand and acquaint themselves with the facilities of the training room rental.

6. Track progress and conduct evaluations

Metrics can help you track whatever has been covered so far. Divide the entire program into modules to easily monitor what is left. Conducting evaluations over Kirkpatrick’s four levels is equally important. Using evaluation software helps save time and energy. Rewarding employees at the end of the program is recommended. This can be done by giving away a certificate upon completion.

7. Invite feedback from employees

Hand out survey forms asking suggestions for the improvement of the training program can give you quality feedback. You could also have the HR staff seek feedback from employees, from topics ranging from subject matter to training room rental environment. Meeting each employee separately will give you more unbiased feedback. Thereon, patterns can be identified, and areas of improvement can be located.

Tips on Making the Most of Your Time in Training

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Knowledge sharing at the workplace helps enhance the skills of any individual. A focused training session can not only empower the employees, but increases productivity at the workplace. When you do a training room rental, make sure to have necessary facilities for the comfort of your attendees. Avoiding distraction and making the most of technology is important. Here are some tips on making the most of your training time.

Get the right facilities

Trainers should be familiar with any new tools that they are going to use in the session. Use your own devices or those that you have worked earlier with. This is true for both trainers and attendees. The same goes for operating systems; use one that you have been using for a long time. Have programs installed well in advance to ensure no time is wasted. If you are going to use accessories like headphones, power cords or drives, reach early and get them connected.

Take notes

Taking notes is important to mark out important concepts for later. It also helps reinforce what you learned. Physical transcription of these concepts helps remind your brain about their importance. For kinesthetic learners, interesting ways to take notes are via scribbling in a notepad, highlighting or doodling. Inform your trainer of your methods in advance.

Keep your mind off distractions

That your classroom rental company provides free Wi-Fi should not be a cause for distraction. Switch off your phones and log out of social media. Except for the necessary browser windows, close everything else, including email. You need to focus well while training. It is important to have a full breakfast so that you feel energized. Sleeping well is necessary too, because lack of sleep can hinder your attention. As a company, you should a classroom rental company that provides convenient restroom access.

Organize your things

You could have reference material around the very topic you learned about in the training session. Sort these all out and organize them under categories. Label the spine of the binder file where you’re keeping them. If you have returned from the conference with brochures, pens, sticky notes or random papers, organize them. Throw them away if you don’t need them to focus better on the subject matter of the conference.

Ask questions for clarification

No matter how visual and lucid the presentation, there could still be doubts. Classroom rental companies provide projection facilities and presentations with info-graphics and visual illustrations can complicate the discussion. Do not wait until you get home to look it up on the internet. Asking questions is the only way you can clarify any doubts. Even if you do understand certain tough concepts, it is helpful to confirm with the trainer. If you have difficulty seeing the board clearly, sit in the front.

Develop an action plan

Revising the topics afterwards is necessary for developing an action plan. Try to make relevant connections between what you learned and the nature of your work. Record your insights from the training program. You will need to account for any obstacles that you might face, too. Get back to your trainer regarding strategies to counter these obstacles.

5 Common Mistakes to Avoid when Choosing a Training Venue

The last thing you want for your next training event is the wrong kind of facilities. Many people find a training venue that is spacious, but often miss inquiring about hidden labor costs, noisiness, and other important factors. The biggest mistake is overlooking minor details.

Another mistake is ignoring the importance of getting accommodation facility nearby. You would also lose a chance to host a good training session. Whenever you rent training room facilities, watch out for these five mistakes.

Prioritizing space over other important factors

You need to think about the subject of your training sessions. Talk to your classroom rental company regarding your preferences and requirements. Size is priority for most, but it might not be the same for you.

Have a guest list ready and never go for a room that too big, as it means extra costs. If your guests/trainees are going to use private vehicles to commute to the venue, you would need sufficient parking space.

Falling for Photoshop images on the internet

It is common to shop for classroom rental online because you can contact their providers easily. However, do not make the mistake of falling for just about any training room service by looking at impressive images online. Images of these facilities and premises can be fake, to attract customers. Instead, make sure that what you see is what you get by visiting your chosen facility once.

In fact, look around for customer reviews on social media sites to get a better idea of your provider’s reputation.

Assuming that WiFi is free

Uninterrupted internet connectivity is an absolute requirement in a classroom rental facility. Avoid the mistake of assuming that WiFi in your chosen premises is complimentary. Even if the internet connectivity is offered free of cost, you need to make sure whether it is reliable and fast. It is recommended that you visit the venue and check whether the broadband connection offered can handle the requirements of your group.

Hiring a training venue away from central location

No matter whether your trainees/attendees are travelling from close by or from out of the town, the training room venue should be accessible. If you make the mistake of choosing a training venue that is too far, you could receive less registrations. If not, it could diminish the value of the training or raise transportation costs for the attendees. You should also look at factors like any probable or ongoing road construction events happening near the venue. The right thing to do is to choose a venue that is close to major train stations, roads, or airport.

Renting a place without checking facilities

One must never choose a classroom rental without checking for a few essential facilities. The most basic of these facilities is accommodation. Check whether is there is a restroom or powder room available. It is always great to ask for an open area or balcony adjoining the training room. Safety facilities are indispensable, so do check for fire escapes, smoke alarm systems and proper ventilation. Air conditioning in the summers is a must-have.