Selling Training.

Selling training into a business is difficult at the best of times, and in the current financial climate the though of spending money on training fills some managers with dread. Following a few simple rules can ensure that training is effective for both the business and the employee




• Link all training to the goals of the business. It is important for the organisation to know that the training is aimed at a business solution, and it needs to be made clear to the delegates on the training that this is a business initiative. At the beginning of any training the course objectives and their alignment with the business goals should be clarified so that everyone is aware of how the training fits with business expectations.


• Get senior managment buy-in. Before you even think about developing a course, ensure that you get senior management approval, agreement and most importantly commitment. Whenever possible get them involved in the course, and have them make an appearance. This shows their commitment to the course, the trainer and the attendees.


• Hit the numbers. There is something called the "Tipping Point", whereby the number of people who are behind an idea is great enough for others to follow without question. It is important that with any training program you get enough people on board as early as possible so that you can hit the tipping point, and have the course seen as an essential rather than a luxury to the business.


• Measure the results. Everything in business has a cost, and everything has a benefit, and training is no different. If you want your training to be successful and continuing in the business ensure that you carefully measure and balance the cost of running your program with the benefits that the business and attendees receive.


• Focus on the stakeholders. Whenever you run a training program you have a number of interested parties, from the managers who want to ensure that their money is spent wisely, to the staff who attend who want to get something valuable out of the program. It is important that you meet all of these needs, and often it is this focus that will drive the content of the course more than anything else.


• Train for real life. Your training needs to meet a specific need and for that you need to ensure that your training fits in to what happens in the real world and not what happens in a text book. Unless your training is for certification purposes (where book answers are the right answer) you training should bee appliable to what you attendees will see in the real world.


• Involve the business in the development. No man is an Island, and neither is a trainer. Your course, training and delegates are all part of a wider community, and will have more knowledge about what they need and their involvement can turn a mediocre course into an outstanding one.