4 Ways to Make Your Sales Training Videos Work Harder

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More than 1.7 million Internet posts today offer ways to leverage video for more effective sales enablement, according to Google. Yet simply video-enabling the training process has become table stakes for learning and development teams facing heightened performance demands such as these:

More than 1.7 million Internet posts today offer ways to leverage video for more effective sales enablement, according to Google. Yet simply video-enabling the training process has become table stakes for learning and development teams facing heightened performance demands such as these:

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  Millennials are driving a push toward on-demand learning, including short video and presentation formats online.

  Millennials are driving a push toward on-demand learning, including short video and presentation formats online.

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  E-learning portals with a rich complement of videos are becoming the norm, particularly as video becomes increasingly easier to create and manage.

  E-learning portals with a rich complement of videos are becoming the norm, particularly as video becomes increasingly easier to create and manage.

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  Flat training budgets propel a relentless focus on doing more, more effectively, with existing resources.

  Flat training budgets propel a relentless focus on doing more, more effectively, with existing resources.

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  Engagement metrics beyond the number of video “plays” is required to prove efficacy, with the added requirement that data can be readily integrated with learning management systems and corporate software systems.

  Engagement metrics beyond the number of video “plays” is required to prove efficacy, with the added requirement that data can be readily integrated with learning management systems and corporate software systems.

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Interactive video is among 2018’s transformative trends in learning technology, delivering particularly strong results in sales enablement. With the realization that video should be more like the web—clickable, trackable, and data-rich—interactive video platforms apply an invisible HTML5 overlay across the entire screen of an otherwise passive video experience. This layer enables instructional designers to add interactive elements such as quizzes, links to online resources, chapters, and branching features to any video. Tracked at the user level as individual clicks, each interaction helps build a rich picture of sales rep engagement, interest, and proficiency in ways not previously possible.

Interactive video is among 2018’s transformative trends in learning technology, delivering particularly strong results in sales enablement. With the realization that video should be more like the web—clickable, trackable, and data-rich—interactive video platforms apply an invisible HTML5 overlay across the entire screen of an otherwise passive video experience. This layer enables instructional designers to add interactive elements such as quizzes, links to online resources, chapters, and branching features to any video. Tracked at the user level as individual clicks, each interaction helps build a rich picture of sales rep engagement, interest, and proficiency in ways not previously possible.

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Here are four ways that L&D departments have made their sales enablement video work harder against the most challenging KPIs.

Here are four ways that L&D departments have made their sales enablement video work harder against the most challenging KPIs.

1. Branching or “choose your own adventure” options

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Enabling sales professionals to determine more of their desired journey toward subject mastery is a Millennial-friendly way to drive greater content relevancy and personalization of the sales enablement experience. For example, in its customer service module for authorized support partners, Nutanix employs video branching to allow users to select from among the five simple steps to save time and help personalize the training journey. (See video for details.)

Enabling sales professionals to determine more of their desired journey toward subject mastery is a Millennial-friendly way to drive greater content relevancy and personalization of the sales enablement experience. For example, in its customer service module for authorized support partners, Nutanix employs video branching to allow users to select from among the five simple steps to save time and help personalize the training journey. (See video for details.)

2. Templates for faster repurposing and globalization

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Organizations needing multiple versions of the same content (for third-party partners or multiple geographies) typically require instructional designers to handle customizations on a time-consuming, one-off basis. Many interactive video platforms allow users to create the necessary versions as a one-click process.

Organizations needing multiple versions of the same content (for third-party partners or multiple geographies) typically require instructional designers to handle customizations on a time-consuming, one-off basis. Many interactive video platforms allow users to create the necessary versions as a one-click process.

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For example, Clover Imaging Group was able to leverage its investment in MPS Axess SalesPro Training , a 13-module e-learning MPS sales training curriculum that CIG created for its own reps, with more than 60 partners—many of whom host the series on their own websites. Clover’s marketing team used templates from their interactive video platform ( HapYak ) to add the partners’ logos on top of the Axess SalesPro courses, applying the change across the entire inventory in just minutes.

For example, Clover Imaging Group was able to leverage its investment in MPS Axess SalesPro Training, a 13-module e-learning MPS sales training curriculum that CIG created for its own reps, with more than 60 partners—many of whom host the series on their own websites. Clover’s marketing team used templates from their interactive video platform (HapYak) to add the partners’ logos on top of the Axess SalesPro courses, applying the change across the entire inventory in just minutes.

3. Audience insights and behavior change metrics

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Audience insights derived from interactive elements provide access to individual, group, and departmental engagement and proficiency metrics for fine-tuned management reporting, compliance, and content strategy improvements. Enterprises such as LinkedIn place interactive, in-video “check-in” and “check out” quizzes at the beginning and end of an online learning program to ask questions about behaviors that align to learning objectives. Participants can use this as a gauge to see how they’ve grown, and the learning and development team can track effectiveness of the program to drive behavior change.

Audience insights derived from interactive elements provide access to individual, group, and departmental engagement and proficiency metrics for fine-tuned management reporting, compliance, and content strategy improvements. Enterprises such as LinkedIn place interactive, in-video “check-in” and “check out” quizzes at the beginning and end of an online learning program to ask questions about behaviors that align to learning objectives. Participants can use this as a gauge to see how they’ve grown, and the learning and development team can track effectiveness of the program to drive behavior change.

4. Hot-spots, PDF downloads, email registration, and other time-savers

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Kony’s Customer Success University uses links to corporate documentation resources, examples, and the company’s external learning portal’s forum discussions that help learners advance their understanding and implementation of the Kony solutions, all without leaving the video experience. Kony also links to other online content from within the video environment, enabling users to reference a Wikipedia article, download a PDF, or peruse TED Talks to enrich themselves with deeper context.

Kony’s Customer Success University uses links to corporate documentation resources, examples, and the company’s external learning portal’s forum discussions that help learners advance their understanding and implementation of the Kony solutions, all without leaving the video experience. Kony also links to other online content from within the video environment, enabling users to reference a Wikipedia article, download a PDF, or peruse TED Talks to enrich themselves with deeper context.

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Chaptering and other annotations to divide courses into manageable segments that are easily included in a table of contents can save users time as they navigate to the exact content they need.

Chaptering and other annotations to divide courses into manageable segments that are easily included in a table of contents can save users time as they navigate to the exact content they need.

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Other enterprises like Nutranix have users sign their name in an email field at the start of its sales training modules—providing a record of who participated in the training—and include links to a full-text review of a module near the video’s end for review and recall.

Other enterprises like Nutranix have users sign their name in an email field at the start of its sales training modules—providing a record of who participated in the training—and include links to a full-text review of a module near the video’s end for review and recall.

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Effective selling is all about reaching the buyer where they are and moving them along a funnel to an optimal business decision. Interactive video enables learning and development teams to do the same for their organization’s sales teams—more efficiently, effectively, and demonstrably—by making video work more like the web.

Effective selling is all about reaching the buyer where they are and moving them along a funnel to an optimal business decision. Interactive video enables learning and development teams to do the same for their organization’s sales teams—more efficiently, effectively, and demonstrably—by making video work more like the web.