Simplify Employee Training And Development

www.BlueVolt.com(503) 223-2583sales@bluevolt.com
Does Online Learning
Increase Your Sales?
Industry Insiders opinions on the value of
an online learning and marketing platform

www.BlueVolt.com(503) 223-2583
2
sales@bluevolt.com
of survey
respondents
say their customers rely
on them to recommend
products or manufacturers
94%
Using an online platform to market a product and teach people how it works seems like a great idea. Many
companies have adopted online solutions to tackle their training needs, but there isn’t a lot of data about how
much success they are having.
BlueVolt currently works with a large base of cross-industry customers who are taking advantage of online
platforms to market products and train people in their products’ use. We approached those partners with a
set of surveys designed to find out if an online training and marketing approach is helping sell their products.
Additionally, a number of questions were designed to gauge the experience level of the survey respondents
and to better understand how often they recommend products to customers.
Is it worth your time to look at online training as an option? In the surveys, 94% of respondents say their
customers rely on them to recommend products or manufacturers. And 92% of those same respondents say
they learned valuable information from their online training and that they would recommend their online
university.
Making a product and getting it in the hands of those who can use it is usually a collaborative effort, requiring
cooperation amongst a series of partners. Not many companies own and manage the entire process of design,
testing, manufacturing, and distributing through to the end users. The few industry leaders, such as Dell, who
do manage every stage in the complex process of getting their product in the hands of their customers, are
exceptions. Most companies rely on some combination of distributors, resellers, representative firms and agents
to bridge the gaps. In many cases, success depends heavily on winning the battle of mindshare and finding a
way to stand out from the ever-increasing clutter of alternatives. Conversely, from the channel’s point of view,
winning the battle means finding a way to sell more while keeping a cap on time and effort. As such, distributors
concerns are focused on ensuring their staffs are supported in the effort to sell more products.
PARTNERING TO GET A PRODUCT TO MARKET
From the manufacturer’s perspective, getting the word out about a new product is the key to product adoption
and, ultimately, the success of the product. Just as important is the ongoing support of existing product lines;
THE MANUFACTERER’S VIEW

Distributors have a similar concern as manufacturers, with regard to the exchange between their point-of-sale
representative and their customers. However, distributors goals are less centered on individual products, or
product lines. The key to the success of the distributors’ process is building relationships with their customers.
Providing expert product knowledge at the point-of-sale is one of the most important ways a distributor can a)
strengthen the link to the customer and b) create opportunities for increased sales, including not only correct
product recommendations, but also add-on sales. Products are easily and often recommended at the point-of-
sale; it’s critical that product knowledge be strongest at this point.
EXPERT PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE AT THE POINT-OF-SALE
Training is particularly good
for line expansion.
“
”
increasing sales for existing products is an easy way to
raise capital while keeping expenses down.
A product that ‘sells itself’ often does so because of the
story that buyers of that product tell each other about
the value of the product. The exchange between the
sellers and buyers of a product is the touch point that
manufacturers are most focused on, as this is often the
BLUEVOLT SURVEY QUESTION
make-or-break event in a product sale. With this in mind, manufacturers are concerned with ensuring the
message being delivered at this point is as accurate and as strong as possible.
The manufacturer works to strengthen the message about their product, directly linking features of the latest
tool, part, or process to concrete benefits that resonate with the buyer’s desire to save effort, or money.
How frequently do you discuss or recommend
products and their applications?
?
At least once a day – 63%
Two or more times a day – 57%
5+ times per day
2-4 times per day
1 time per day
A few times per week
A few times per month
Other
3

In the building and trades industries, manufacturers and distributors supply tools and parts that are designed to
meet specific needs. With changing applications and evolving solutions, purchasers are likely to hear many
opinions and recommendations regarding what works best.
The discussions that take place at the point-of-sale are where decisions are most likely to be made. What is the
source of the content of the recommendations that are made at the point-of-sale? Who is talking about a
product, what are they saying, and where did they get their information?
After a product has been developed to either meet a need, or maybe take advantage of a new technology, a
sales representative is hired to go knock on doors and tell the product story. This is the way things have been
done for decades and most suppliers take new products to market through product representatives.
TRADITIONAL INDUSTRY APPROACHES VS. THE ONLINE SOLUTION
Probably the key difference to note between the two approaches to marketing a product, the traditional sales
guy, going out and spreading the word versus an online approach, is the delivery of the message and subse-
quent access to the content of the message.
THE PRODUCT REPRESENTATIVE VS. THE PRODUCT
BLUEVOLT SURVEY RESPONSE
?
4
Strongly Agree
Somewhat Agree
Neither Agree nor Disagree
Somewhat Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Agree – 55%
A BlueVolt University is a great replacement
for in-person rep training or lunch and learns.

The approach of an online course, designed to market the
same product, will still highlight the features and link them
to benefits, integrated with the practical application of
where and how the product is used. The key difference in
the online approach is that the learners choose when and
where to participate in the learning process.
Rather than having to drop what they are doing and attend
a scheduled event, at the convenience of co-workers,
management, and the person leading the session, online
learners login and get the information they need at the
time they choose.
They train when they are ready and they set their own
pace, clicking through the materials to learn the things they
need to know, skipping through what they already know.
Learners build expertise that is more closely linked to
practical product knowledge and less about the personality
of the brand or sales person. The training session is
focused on the product, rather than the needs of the
group. As a bonus, learners are left with easy, fingertip
access to the course for future reference. A refresher on
the features and benefits of new or existing products is
available online when needed.
MAXIMUM RETURN ON TRAINING TIME
In the series of surveys BlueVolt commissioned to better
understand the effectiveness of online platforms, each
survey targeted a different group of users, performing
similar functions. Each survey was also structured differ-
ently, so as to capture as broad a picture as possible.
According to a BlueVolt representative, “Prior to launching
INDUSTRY INSIDERS WITH LONG EXPERIENCE VOICE
THEIR OPINIONS
The standard ‘lunch and learn’ approach has the frontline
sales folks sit down for a sandwich and a sales pitch, in
which the product representative describes the product
from a competitive angle, focusing on features/benefits.
This approach requires that everyone be in the same place,
at the same time, to receive the training and benefit from
the discussion.
The Training Center has helped
me grow in this company. I
manage a store by myself and I
am unable to get to the shows
and the demonstrations. The
training center keeps me
up-to-date on almost everything.
It has been a big help.
“
”
Online training keeps me up to date
on the newest materials and their
applications; I pass this on to my
customers. When I recommend a
product that will save them time
and money they appreciate it.
Without online training, I would
neither know about the product nor
understand its use.
“
”
5

The heavily-experienced group who participated in the surveys responded overwhelmingly in favor of an online
training solution for marketing products and increasing sales. Across all surveys, better than 81% of
respondents affirmed that they ‘sell more with online training.’
Additionally, eight out of ten respondents affirmed that at least 80% of sales presented add-on opportunities.
Selling a ladder presents a range of add-on opportunities. The properly prepared sales representative that
recognizes this will ask the questions that elicit what the buyer is doing with the ladder. The sales representative
can then run through a checklist with the buyer to ensure they have the supplies they need to tackle the job
they are undertaking.
DOES ONLINE TRAINING INCREASE SALES?
these surveys, we knew that we were working with a
market that is long on industry experience, but low
on exposure to technological solutions. The average
industry experience of over a third of respondents
was 25 years and nearly 75% of respondents have
over ten years experience. Our assumption was that
these industry-savvy respondents would be the
hardest to convince that an online solution is a
worthwhile approach, and they would also be less
likely to see a benefit from a new approach to
marketing products and training staff.”
I’ve been in the industry 35 years.
There are things I take for granted,
and I am reminded through online
training how important these details
are to the customer.
“
”
6
Strongly Agree
Somewhat Agree
Neither Agree nor Disagree
Somewhat Disagree
Strongly Disagree
81% – Agree
The information I learn in a BlueVolt University
helps me sell more products.
BLUEVOLT SURVEY RESPONSE
?

There is no denying the power of a personal interaction
when it comes to sharing the value of a tool, a part, or a
process, which is why the traditional field representative
approach has endured, and why face-to-face interaction at
the point-of-sale will probably remain a staple of the product
marketing process.
However, the average counter person working in a
distributor’s warehouse is much less reliant on a product
expert to teach them the features and benefits of a product,
or the relative merits of competing products.
In today’s workforce, employers encourage and reward their
employees’ autonomy. Online training platforms offer a
self-directed workforce the opportunity to educate them-
selves on competing products at the time and place they
need, without having to attend an in-person session with a
product representative.
An online approach to training can provide animated 3-D
graphics that take the product out of the box and bring it to
life, making it possible for learners to see exactly where and
how a product is designed to work. This is as close to
real-life as possible, and makes the product--and its use-
-more memorable than just watching someone standing in
front of you explaining how it works.
WHY DOES ONLINE TRAINING WORK?
Sometimes a customer will come in
and ask for something that we don’t
stock but I remember where I saw it
in the online training and I know
where to get it.
“
”
For more information, please contact
BlueVolt at sales@bluevolt.com
or (503) 223-2583
7

Simplify Employee Training And Development

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