Instructional Design for Sales Enablement Success (Part 2)

Sabine, the host and producer of the "Selling with Sabine" podcast, a consumer-to-business sales expert with a wealth of experience working for tech companies, including telecommunications and cybersecurity. She holds an Adult Learning Graduate certificate and utilizes her Instructional Design Graduate program knowledge to design and develop sales training assets such as job aids, and micro e-learning courses for her clients.

Podcast Script:

Hi, I'm Sabine Taylor, the host of "Selling with Sabine," and welcome to Episode 9, the second installment of a three-part series on sales enablement. Today, I'll be discussing how enrolling in a master of instructional design graduate program has streamlined my efforts in sales enablement.

First, let's define Instructional Design: It is the science of how adults learn and which training materials and methods are most effective in helping individuals achieve their learning goals.

Now that we have the definition, allow me to describe the process of creating training materials before I embarked on my graduate journey in Instructional Design. Back then, I would develop numerous training assets with minimal user input. However, this approach was not ideal because while it may have worked for some, it did not resonate with all, resulting in frustration among certain learners.

My approach transformed once I started the Instructional Design program. I began to follow project management workflows and learning principles, such as ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation). With this knowledge, I spent more time engaging with the end users, including them in various meetings to understand their needs and share the design drafts of the work I was creating for them.

Another advantage of following instructional design principles is that, when collaborating with a curriculum design vendor, I could effectively convey my requirements and preferences. This helped to streamline the communication process leading to quicker completion of job aids and e-learning courses I was creating, ultimately making the client or partner satisfied with my work.

Now I've noticed a growing trend where  Sales Enablement teams are now hiring more Instructional Designers to assist with client training. However, many companies are still relying on PowerPoint presentations, where a marketing head delivers a presentation to investors about their product and uses the same material for partner-facing training. If this scenario applies to your situation, consider hiring a Learning and Design professional to apply Instructional Design principles to repurpose that content. This will enable you to deliver more effective partner training.

For small businesses, I recommend contracting with a Learning and Development professional to repurpose the materials you currently have. This can help bridge knowledge gaps, allowing your sales representatives to better understand the products they are selling. Ultimately, this can improve your customers' knowledge about the products, potentially reducing returns and churn.

As I prepare to wrap up, make sure you listen to Episode 8, where I talk about using artifical intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT, to determine which sales frameworks are being used by your partners. If you found this information useful, I kindly ask for your support by liking and sharing this podcast. Your support will help me become more discoverable by business owners, sales leaders, and professionals who want to access valuable sales coaching tips.

With that said if you're interested in contacting me or working with me, visit LinkedIn.com when you land on that site you can type in the name, Sabine Taylor in the search field. In the search results, you should find Sabine Taylor “The Sales Training Architect.” I respond to those messages faster. Have a wonderful day and thank you for listening.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesalestrainingarchitect