Sales Training

Background

For this project, I develop an auto sales eLearning course for the National Automobile Dealers Association. The course was part of an effort to make their premium content more engaging and modern.

Challenges

1) Finishing a large project in a short time frame.

2) Getting the agreement of all stakeholders on the specific sales approach to feature in the training.

3) Condensing a 2week instructor-led course into a 2 hour online course.

4) Acting as project coordinator to ensure that several external vendors including multimedia developers, audio engineers, a talent agency for actors, all met their deliverables in a timely fashion.

Common Mistake

Teach the process without giving the learner a chance to apply it.

Sales Process Lesson 1

Approach

I researched existing courses, webinars, and other instructional material to ensure we weren’t repeating information that was already available. I worked closely with SMEs to understand the audience and develop content. We created a learner persona that matched a typical new car salesman. After content was determined, I storyboarded the course, worked with the lead SME to write the audio and video scripts, then I created a couple prototypes.

We designed the GUI to look like a car’s infotainment center and chose a car’s navigation system to depict the course outline.

I used Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction to guide me in content development; each lesson started with a video or animation to grab the learner’s attention before presenting the content. Concepts were explained using a mix of scenarios, where the learner played the role of a new salesman, and visual storytelling accompanied by a narrator.

Because the end users of the course are often short on time, each lesson was designed to be completed within 10-15 minutes, except for one.

I also developed a pocket reference guide that salespeople could refer to during the process. The pocket guide could also be made into a mobile app.

I suggested that the course could be turned into game where learners have a money meter that either increases or decreases based on the choices they make. Another suggestion that I made was to develop an augmented reality app that would display tips based on where the salesperson was within the sales process.

My Role

Instructional Design Consultant, eLearning Developer, Vendor Manager, Video Editor, Audio Recorder and Editor, Graphic Designer, Video Co-director.