3g Selling Offers Solution to Virtual Training Challenges at ASTD TechKnowledge 2012

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.

Martyn Lewis to Speak at Elliott Masie’s Learning 2011

We’re very excited to announce that 3g Selling Principal & Founder Martyn Lewis will be speaking next week at Elliott Masie’s Learning 2011 in Orlando, Florida.

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/.

Two Webinars to Put Your Organization’s Virtual Training Strategy on the Right Track

Next week, 3g Selling is teaming up with our partners at Citrix Online, Adobe and the eLearning Guild to deliver two back-to-back webinars on how to effectively develop and deploy a virtual training strategy that will deliver superior training results and business impact.

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.

Sixteen of the World’s Top Sales Experts are Meeting. Get a Seat at the Table.

We’re excited to announce that 3g Selling founder Martyn Lewis was recently selected as a panelist for the ES Research Group Sales Thought Leader Series taking place this fall.

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.

A Pivotal Time for Developing Sales Training Standards

This week, I was selected to chair the ASTD’s 2012 Sales Training Advisory Committee, which advises the world’s leading association of workplace learning and performance professionals on new trends, practices, and techniques in learning and development. ASTD – the American Society for Training & Development – is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to this field, and its activities are broad, ranging from conferences and social networking to publishing books, whitepapers, and magazines.

For the past year, I’ve served as a committee member with ASTD’s Sales Training Advisory Committee, chaired by Brian Lambert of Forrester Research. This ongoing experience as well as the time I’ve spent working with Fortune 500 companies at 3g Selling, will help guide me in our primary committee goal, which is to set worldwide standards of excellence for sales training and development.

Most organizations have developed criteria for evaluating performance, particularly sales performance, but the same cannot be said for sales training and development. Compounding the issue are the hundreds of vendors in the marketplace for sales training solutions, each claiming that their method is superior to anyone else’s. How does an organization evaluate a sales training program? And who is setting standards for the myriad of sales training programs available today?

This is the charter of ASTD’s Sales Training Advisory Committee: to advise its thousands of members, world leaders in workplace learning and performance, on what to look for in evaluating sales training programs – including those they design themselves. As someone whose company has pioneered an innovative approach to sales training, an approach that took years to build and incurred much trial-and-error testing, I feel I can bring a deep knowledge of the criteria we need for evaluating sales training and development practices and techniques.

It is my belief that sales remains one of the last areas where we have not introduced a truly robust “method” that leads to repeatable, consistent, and optimal sales performance.  We need standards to ensure that sales training is not adding to the myth of sales being some individual craft that you are either born with or not.  Sales must be viewed as both science and art and in that order.

The art can flourish when practiced on a sound foundation of science.  It is therefore time for companies to move from tactical sales training events to creating plans for true sales transformation and performance.  We have to stop reacting to, and addressing a few symptoms.  We have to get underneath, and discover what is really happening in the market’s we sell to, with our customers, and across our sales organizations and then turn our attention to providing the training and support that our sales forces need to do their increasingly difficult job.  The answer is not to go and hire more naturally born sales people – the answer lies in equipping our sales force with the skills, strategy, process, and tools that they need to do their job well.

My experience in the field – with hundreds of clients as well as the myriad of opportunities I have to interact with sales enablement leaders and other training executives – continues to provide me the insight to help guide our ASTD committee to formulate worldwide standards for effective sales training and development. I’ll keep you posted.

3g Selling Featured in A New Adobe Connect Success Story

With the dynamic, broadcast media-style delivery of our live virtual training programs, 3g Selling knows how to put online training and collaboration platforms through their paces!

Recognizing our best-in-class use of the Adobe Connect platform, Adobe recently launched a Customer Success Story about us and how we’re pushing the platform to offer our customers a richer online learning experience.

Check out the writeup on the Adobe Connect Blog, where you can also download the Success Story.

Webinar on Sales Forecasting: The Key to Optimizing Your Sales Strategy

Sales Forecasting Webinar
Research, New Thinking and Best Practices
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
10:00-11:00 a.m. Pacific / 1:00-2:00 p.m. Eastern

All too often, sales forecasting is seen as a zero-value-add exercise in reporting.

This webinar—delivered by 3g Selling founder Martyn Lewis in partnership with Advantage Performance Group—delves into the crucial role sales forecasting plays in optimizing your selling strategy and supporting the role of the sales manager as business leader and coach.

Register for the webinar.

In this webinar you will learn:

• Why current approaches to sales forecasting yield little result while burdening sales organizations with unnecessary administration
• The 5 typical mistakes made in forecasting approaches
• An optimal approach to best practice sales forecasting
• The 7 secrets of creating an accurate sales forecast
• Why the sales forecasting process is key to effective coaching

ES Research Group Launches Virtual Sales Training Survey

ES Research Group (ESR)—the respected sales training industry analyst—recently launched a survey on virtual sales training that promises to provide unprecedented insight into industry trends that will help sales and learning leaders hone their organizational sales training strategies.

Take the survey.

3g Selling collaborated with ESR on the development of the survey and we’re supporting them in getting the word out to our own community of customers and sales training leaders.

As Dave Stein of ESR notes on his blog, the survey is fairly comprehensive so there are a number of incentives being offered for people who complete the survey. 3g Selling’s contribution is a FREE 1-hour virtual sales training consultation. ESR is also offering a generous array of resources to survey participants, including an ebook containing the survey results.

From Dave Stein’s blog post:

Sales training continues to transition from the traditional classroom modality to virtual.  This trend started back in the 1960s and 1970s, driven by Nightingale-Conant, originally publishers of sales training audiotapes. Now, the breadth of media available as learning platforms extends to nearly every electronic device at our fingertips.

Some sales trainers and sales training companies have been providing virtual learning programs and supporting reinforcement for years.

It’s ESR’s job to stay on top of trends like these for both our sales training buyer and our sales training provider audiences.  So we recruited two sales training providers with leading virtual training solutions to assist us in getting the word out about this survey.  3g Selling is a leader in live, instructor-led virtual sales training. That’s one virtual modality. We’ll also be soliciting responses from many other sources to assure that we have a broad sampling of data across many industries, regions, size companies, and learning delivery preferences.

The targeted audience for completing this survey is:

• Corporate Learning & Development and/or Training Staff and Management
• Salesreps
• Sales Management and Executives
• Sales Operations and Sales Enablement Staff or Management
• HR, Marketing, or anyone else that has a good understanding of how sales training is delivered in their company.
• (Note: This survey is not intended for third-party sales trainers to take.  The results, however, should be of significant interest.)

3g Selling Featured on the Training Magazine Blog: 7 Signs Your Live Virtual Training Didn’t Take

This week, 3g Selling principal and founder Martyn Lewis guest authored a short article on the Training magazine blog: “7 Signs Your Live Virtual Training Didn’t Take—and Solutions to Try.”

In the article, Martyn offers some tongue-in-cheek signs your live virtual training isn’t as effective as it should be, followed by more serious strategies learning and development leaders should be employing to maximize the ROI of virtual training.

The Path to Virtual Training ROI: A 6.22.11 Webinar with 3g Selling and Citrix Online

Training and development leaders are presented with a dizzying array of virtual training modalities and approaches to choose from, but not every path leads to a measurable and sustainable increase in business results.

Finally. A webinar that delves into what it really takes to maximize the ROI of virtual training.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011
11:00 a.m.-Noon (PST)
Click to register for the webinar.

Having delivered over 600 live, instructor-led virtual training sessions for our customers, 3g Selling has a wealth of experience and capability in virtual training design, development and delivery.

In this webinar, you’ll hear from Martyn Lewis—principal and founder of 3g Selling and a respected thought leader on live virtual training— as he delves into the hot topic of what it takes to maximize the ROI of virtual training.

Pushing beyond the usual discussion of travel-related cost savings and convenience, Martyn discusses the deeper issues that can make or break the success of any training program—whether physical or virtual—in today’s technology-enabled world.

Emphasizing practical application of virtual training best practices, the webinar will equip training decision-makers with:

• The ROI model for live virtual training vs. physical classroom training
• The critical difference between live and asynchronous virtual training, and how the chosen modality impacts ROI
• The optimal architecture of a total, continuous learning environment
• The factors that training executives need to measure when evaluating ROI
• The top 5 traps that inhibit virtual training ROI—and how to overcome them