Today’s learning leaders are increasingly tasked to find new, better and less expensive ways to train and to accommodate the growing number of new, mobile and remote workforce learners.  Given our experiences with customers around the globe, we have seen that for many organizations the move to virtual has been overwhelmingly driven by the obvious cost and time savings of this modality.  At the same time virtual training is often viewed as inferior or not being able to offer the type of results associated with more traditional training approaches.  This is not because web-based training is an inferior training modality; it is because it has not been widely-used in an effective and compelling manner. As leaders responsible for the results of their training initiatives, is this the ROI that we are willing to live with OR is there a better way?

Top concerns that emerged during the recent were:

1. What does it take to deliver a virtual classroom experience so that it is more than a traditional webinar?
2. How can we create engagement in virtual classroom experiences?
3. How to create a blended experience and leverage assets that companies have already invested in?
4. Change management:  what is needed in terms of an overall program to gain adoption, apply learning and change behavior?

To gain the true impact of any training program the answer to a strong ROI lies in the overall organizational learning strategy and in the architectural footprint of the learning environment and NOT in tactical implementation, training technology or clever instructional design. Of course, these elements do matter but they are secondary to strategy and architectural design.  The strategy must consider the business impact that is required and then map the change management, skills, and behavior requirements necessary to enable the organization to deliver those results.  The architectural design must then accommodate who needs training and the most effective modes in which to deliver, or enable, the requisite learning to occur.

So where does live virtual training fit in?  With the learning strategy and architecture serving as the foundation, learning and development leaders can ensure that the most effective modalities are employed to support the organizational learning needs by  providing the right training to the right people at the right time.   With an emphasis on supporting the workforce in the way in which we now live and work, live virtual is worth a strong hard look for how this modality can truly transform the modern-day learning experience.

Come join us at Training 2012 and hear more about a Best-In-Practice Design to Live Virtual Training.  Find out more about the event on our website.

3g Selling Training 2012 Session Details 

Georgia World Conference Center, Atlanta

Session #VCS05
A Best-in-Practice Design for Live Virtual Training
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
8:00-9:00 a.m. Room A314

More information on our website.

Today’s workforce is increasingly mobile and in need of more effective and convenient approaches to transformational training.  As such, live instructor-led virtual training is increasingly becoming a critical component of the organizational training strategy. But this virtual world can leave the participant with a less than satisfactory experience.

Join us next week at Training 2012 in Atlanta where Martyn Lewis, principal and founder of 3g Selling and virtual training pioneer, will share the journey 3g Selling has taken in offering live virtual training that does not simply mimic the physical classroom, but offers the learner a richer experience with more immediate and impactful learning outcomes.

Workshop Giveaway
Anyone who attends the 3g Selling Training 2012 session will be eligible to win a FREE one-day, onsite consulting workshop from 3g Selling: “3 Steps to Effective Continuous Learning: Creating the Enabling Architecture.” The workshop is valued at over $5,000 and includes facilitator travel and accommodation. For anyone not attending TechKnowledge, information about purchasing this workshop can be found on our website.

Virtual Training Case Study
Adobe recently published a case study highlighting 3g Selling’s innovative, best-in-class use of the Adobe Connect platform in our live virtual training programs. To get a glimpse of some of the topics we’ll be covering in our Training 2012 session, you can download the Adobe case study on our website.

Register for the event.

Event Details
Sales Leadership Strategies in a Virtual, Mobile, and Social World
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 – 12:00 ET / 9:00 PT / 1800 GMT
Moderator: Dave Stein, CEO, ES Research Group (ESR)
Panelists:

• Dave Kurlan, CEO, Kurlan Associates
• Jim Brodo, VP Marketing, Richardson
• Beverly Lock, Principal, 3g Selling
• Donal Daly, CEO, The TAS Group

ES Research Group describes the Sales Thought-Leader Panel Series as “a panel of sales thought-leaders who will discuss and debate what works and what doesn’t. No slides, no scripts, no promotions. Live questions, via audio, from the audience.”

Find more information about the entire panel series at www.esresearch.com/thought-leaders.

3g Selling TechKnowledge 2012 Session Details 
Session #FR103
Leveraging the Internet for Successful Live Virtual Sales Training
Friday, January 27, 2012
8:15-9:30 a.m.

More information on our website.

Join us at ASTD TechKnowledge 2012 as Nicki Bouton, live virtual sales training expert, shares how 3g Selling has used the live virtual classroom to effectively train thousands of sales and business professionals around the world. In the session participants will discover how to use proven development and delivery techniques from broadcast media to overcome the three biggest barriers to successful technology-enabled sales training: engagement of participants, application of learning and getting results.

3g Selling’s session, Leveraging the Internet for Successful Live Virtual Sales Training, will expose participants to virtual training best practices, strategies and specific approaches that focus on increasing the motivation to learn and on more effective engagement of the sales audience. These techniques and approaches can then be incorporated into the participant’s own current or planned learning strategies and methods for their sales organization. The use of real-life case studies provides participants with specific examples of how these approaches have been applied in practice and demonstrates how they can be leveraged in the participant’s own environment as appropriate. In addition, participants will be introduced to a model that will help them to identify which training modalities are best-suited to common sales training requirements and objectives in support of an effective continuous learning environment.

Workshop Giveaway
Anyone who attends the 3g Selling TechKnowledge session will be eligible to win a FREE one-day, onsite consulting workshop from 3g Selling: “3 Steps to Effective Continuous Learning: Creating the Enabling Architecture.” The workshop is valued at over $5,000 and includes facilitator travel and accommodation. For anyone not attending TechKnowledge, information about purchasing this workshop can be found on our website.

Virtual Training Case Study
Adobe recently published a case study highlighting 3g Selling’s innovative, best-in-class use of the Adobe Connect platform in our live virtual training programs. To get a glimpse of some of the topics we’ll be covering in our TechKnowledge session, you can download the Adobe case study on our website.

Better for the Sales Person

Today’s Working Style

Virtual training is closely aligned with the way sales people work and learn today. Unlike physical classroom training, which is based on a relatively rigid learning model, live virtual training:

• Offers a highly adaptive, effective and continuous learning model that focuses on application, reflection, and reinforcement of new knowledge and sales skills over time
• Allows sales people to train from the field with minimal disruption to productivity
• Can include a variety of complementary online tools for disseminating training content and materials in formats that meet a diverse range of learning styles
• Allows participants to “get their hands dirty” by immediately applying what they learn to the job

Learner Engagement

Just because it’s virtual doesn’t mean learner engagement has to suffer, especially among sales people who already have dozens of factors (and iGadgets) competing for their attention in the classroom. When it comes to engaging learners who are unmotivated, think they already know everything they need to know or can’t clearly see how training will benefit them, live virtual delivery is the critical interface that elevates training from being merely informational to being truly transformational. This is especially true where training on a sales methodology is involved.

Best-in-class live virtual sales training programs will employ a number of strategies from broadcast media to engage, motivate and inspire learners. Much more than a webinar, live virtual delivery includes:

• A rich virtual learning environment with high production values
• A highly trained virtual delivery team that includes multiple “on-air” presenters engaging in dialogue rather than monologue
• Facilitated collaboration among the learning group, including formal breakouts
• Multimedia content, including dynamic video and graphics to efficiently illustrate key concepts
• Razor-sharp scripting techniques that allow for improvisation and interaction—combined with careful time management
• A variety of tools built-in to the learning platform that facilitate a multi-directional flow of information across the learning community
• Mechanisms for monitoring individual participation and ensuring learner accountability

Efficiency

A 3g Selling sales training program compresses about two full days of training material from the physical classroom into about seven hours of training material in the virtual classroom, spread out over multiple modules. And we do this not by sacrificing the meaningful content, but rather by eliminating the noise and focusing only on the meaningful content. Content compression is a pedagogical necessity—because maintaining interest for more than 90 minutes in a virtual learning environment is extremely challenging, if not impossible—but it actually works to the benefit of the program because learners get:

• Greater focus on fewer approaches and tools with the biggest impact on selling success
• Shorter modules spread out over a period of time, which translates into less disruption of day to-day selling activities and a chance to apply what they learn between modules
• Training content that’s drip-fed in small chunks rather than sprayed out of a fire hose

Application

 How many times have we seen training programs, both in the physical classroom and over the

web, fail to change behavior and produce results? Often, program participants say they’re happy just to walk away from training with 1 or 2 nuggets of wisdom. We believe they—and you—deserve more out of your training investment. An effective virtual learning program will:

• Focus on the practical application of new approaches and tools within the framework of a proven sales methodology
• Seamlessly integrate all components of the learning environment including learning, application, peer collaboration and performance coaching
• Contain applied work assignments that put learning into action
• Provide a forum for sales people to share the results of their work assignments within their learning community and receive feedback from peers and the instructor

Convenience

It probably goes without saying, but the benefits of keeping sales people in the field during training are enormous and bear repeating. With virtual training, learners are able to:

• Connect training to their jobs and remain engaged with key sales opportunities
• Better integrate training into their day-to-day sales activities
• Reduce travel-related hassles and improve quality of work life

From participating in a wide variety of training and learning conferences over the last few years one would gain the impression that just about everyone out there is engaged in a self-guided exploration of learning, connected with video to various and numerous communities via their iPads and socially, technically, and happily learning everything, anywhere at any time.  Not that this isn’t a grand vision, but – as they say – are we there yet?

Without doubt we live in a changed world where technology has impacted just about everything that we do, and how we do it.  However, over the last few years the emphasis at so many learning events have been about the technology and a variety of “hot” topics including social media, mobility, gaming, micro-learning etc.  From what I observed over the last few days, the pendulum is swinging away from a focus on the technology back to what can be done to enable the learner to learn.  Now the answer to this question involves, almost certainly, the use of technology, but the point is that it’s about the learning and the learner, not the technology itself.

Masie himself underscored this in a session he led. Certainly no luddite himself, and clearly a visionary in the learning space he used the term “chatter” to describe the phenomena we have seen.  He encouraged delegates to “look beyond the chatter.”  Starting with social learning, let’s understand that this is not only something that is not new, but the original way in which humankind learned.  He pointed out that there is 40+ years of research that states we learn better when interacting with others.  The point being, let’s not believe that social learning is new, let’s look first at where and how we can use social learning to bring value to the learner and the organization.

Masie went on to share how he, just a few years ago, was declaring the future of learning being in Second Life, or at least the Second Life environment style where we all interact in a simulated 3D world with our own personal avatars.  He invested $65,000 on an island, only to find it was a perpetually deserted island.  A great example of the “technology first” way in which it is all too easy to get caught.

If we then look at how we have such powerful technology tools for delivering training over the web. We can once again get caught up in the technology and deliver, albeit cheaply and quickly, some very poor training very poorly over the web.

For the sake of our learners and the organizations we work for, we have to look past the chatter.  We have to understand the real training needs of the communities we serve, and then enable a continuous and blended learning environment to support them using the most effective delivery methods and learning approaches – regardless of the technology.

When one of the last keynotes was given by Sharon Begley, the journalist who has just authored Brain Freeze, stated that multi-tasking is proven not to work and we need to turn off all the electronic interruptions we have from our iPhones, e-mail, and messaging, I knew that the pendulum had swung.

Martyn will be presenting with our partners at Citrix Online and during the course of this highly informative and engaging session he’ll be delving into the hot topic of how to maximize the ROI from virtual learning.

Session #514
Driving Virtual Learning ROI
Martyn Lewis, 3g Selling
Bob Lee, Citrix Online
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
8:00-9:00 a.m.
Room: Coronado G

Session Description
Join Citrix Online and Martyn Lewis, Principal and Founder of 3g Selling, as we push “beyond the spreadsheet” to explore the strategic issues that define the success of training programs in today’s technology-enabled, mobile workforce. During this session, we will share real-world examples of how to leverage the power of live virtual training for richer, more impactful and engaging learning experiences.

In This Session, You’ll Learn…

• The key elements for designing an effective learning architecture that enables a continuous learning environment
• When and why self-guided learning is optimal versus facilitated learning and how the chosen modality impacts ROI
• How the live virtual classroom can deliver greater results than the physical classroom
• Ways to truly maximize the return on investment for your organization’s training dollars

Attend the Session and Win!
One participant from the session will win a FREE one-day, onsite consulting workshop from 3g Selling.

This workshop is called “3 Steps to Effective Continuous Learning: Creating the Enabling Architecure.” The workshop takes an innovative yet pragmatic approach to defining an overall learning architecture that is required to enable a continuous learning environment for the organization. The workshop will help define the optimal training approaches, modalities and plan that are unique to your organizational learning requirements.

The workshop is valued at over $5,000 and includes facilitator travel and accommodation.

To enter, just leave a business card with Bob or Martyn during the session or sign in on the sheet we’ll have available.

For more information on this offer, please visit www.3gSelling.com/3steps/.

Click the registration links below to access full descriptions of each of the webinars. Attend one of the webinars and become eligible to win a FREE one-day, onsite consulting workshop, “3 Steps to Effective Continuous Learning,” valued at over $5,000.

THE CASE FOR LIVE VIRTUAL TRAINING: Weighing the Alternatives and Maximizing Your ROI
Joint Webinar with Citrix Online
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
11:00 a.m.-Noon PT / 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register for the webinar.

BREAKING DOWN THE WALLS OF THE PHYSICAL CLASSROOM: A Vision for Continuous Learning in a Technology-Enabled World
Joint Webinar with Adobe and the eLearning Guild
Thursday, October 27, 2011
10:00-11:00 a.m. PT / 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register for the webinar.

In a world where attention rarely extends to more than 30 seconds, where multitasking has become a survival skill, and where the plethora of distractions compete for personal attention, it’s a challenge to engage the minds of distant participants in an online training program.  Many think this is an impossible task because of the nature of the Internet: people can easily wander away from a training session to surf the web, chat with friends, or conduct email.

Against this backdrop, however, there is one communication medium that has succeeded in capturing our hearts and minds for more than half a century: television. We are “glued” to our televisions as we sit and watch sit-coms, reality shows, movies, or even cooking shows, with limited, if any interaction.  But behind each program are teams of highly skilled writers, editors, animators, videographers, sound engineers, graphic artists, editors, presenters, directors, hosts, and producers.  These kinds of professionals have been focusing their skills on how to communicate and engage with a remote audience for over 100 years!  You could even say that they have raised their skills to a high art form; it is our goal to do the same for training.

To achieve this goal, 3g Selling brought together a team of over 40 experts from the broadcast media, and then invested in months of research and testing.  We engineered a totally new model for the design, development and delivery of live virtual learning experiences that merges a variety of talent from diverse fields – including television newscasters and radio talk show hosts, web producers, and award-winning graphic artists.

During the past year, we’ve used this model to conduct over 600 live virtual training programs for our clients in a variety of topics. From this experience, we have drawn upon the science and the art of our team of 40 experts in these fields:

• Program architects to determine learning objectives and to design the most creative and expedient delivery methods
• Writers and editors to shape communication
• Graphic artists to develop meaningful and relevant supporting materials
• Producers who can manage the technology and keep the program flawlessly flowing
• Subject matter experts to bring the knowledge required for the training programs
• Video and audio experts to develop supporting audio and video materials
• Broadcast media hosts who are comfortable with managing a live spontaneous flow of conversation but also with meeting time lines and hitting on major objectives
• Communication experts to train, support, and coach the delivery teams

To learn more about what makes 3g Selling’s approach to live virtual so unique, visit us at www.3gselling.com, and while you are there check out some members of our talented delivery team.

Martyn’s panel, Today’s Successful Sales Managers, will take place on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET.

Below is the announcement from ES Research Group, with the link to reserve your seat at the table.

ES Research Group, Inc. (ESR), the leading sales training research and advisory firm will host a series of four, online panel discussions in which 16 sales industry leaders debate today’s critical sales issues. The public may listen to the unrehearsed discussions and ask questions during the live, one-hour online sessions. Free registration for any or all discussions is available at http:/www.ESResearch.com/thought-leaders

The following panel discussions will be offered:

Today’s Successful Sales Managers: Who Are They, What Do They Do, and How Do They Do It?
Wed., Oct . 12, 2011 1:00 ET

Panelists:

• Dave Kurlan, CEO, Kurlan Associates
• Martyn Lewis, Founder and Principal, 3gSelling
• Steve Johnson, President, The Next Level Sales Consulting
• Richard Lane, Partner, durhamlane ltd.

CRM and Other Technology-Enabled Selling Platforms and Applications: What Works and What Doesn’t?
Wed., Oct. 26, 2011, 1:00 ET

Panelists:

• Bruce Wedderburn, Exec VP, Huthwaite
• Rich Blakeman, SR. VP, Miller Heiman
• Joe Vance, Senior Consultant, Performance Methods, Inc.
• Donald Daly, CEO, The TAS Group

Increasing Sales Effectiveness Across a Global Sales Organization
Wed., Nov. 9, 2011, 1:00 ET

Panelists:

• Jonathan London, President, Improved Performance Group
• Henk van de Kuijt, Global Director International Business, Mercuri International
• Richard Barkey, CEO, Imparta
• David DiStefano, CEO, Richardson

Selling To and Negotiating With Today’s Tougher, Strategic Procurers/Buyers/Sourcers
Wed., Nov. 30, 2011, 1:00 ET

Panelists:

• Julie Thomas, President and CEO, ValueSelling Associates
• Brian Dietmeyer, President and CEO, Think! Inc.
• Ron D’Andrea, President, BayGroup International
• Stephanie Woods, Executive VP, Huthwaite

The Sales Thought Leader Series is sponsored by American Society of Training and Development (ASTD), Customer Think, Inside View, The Professional Society for Sales and Marketing Training (SMT), Outstart, SalesForceXP and Sales Management Association (SMA).

About ES Research Group, Inc.
ES Research Group (ESR) is the only source for independent research and advice on sales performance improvement programs and the companies that provide them. ESR offers a range of analytic and assessment reports, teleconferences and advisory services. www.esresearch.com.