In the past, I don't know, 10 years, we've talked carefully about different ways that people learn. Not bad conversations. In fact recognizing things like (regardless of learning style) we can confuse learners by offering them both text and audio at the same time is really important. Understanding the power of visuals in learning (because most people are visually oriented) is important to outcomes, too.
But how do we learn best? Read all you want...watch all you want...neither will ever replace good practice.
Luckily, when it comes to enterprise elearning and performance, much of what we need to practice is good decision making.
Input--Process--Output. Each step of the sales process (or any process), provides some sort of input, results in some sort of output, and in the middle, demands thinking and decision making.
All the product information in the world doesn't make a successful salesperson. All the training in the world doesn't either. You gotta get out there and practice. But before you practice live, practice where it doesn't matter...where mistakes don't cost you a sale or a customer. That's where avatars, or computer generated characters come into play.
At w/ we create immersive learning simulations where salespeople interact with characters on-screen. We use Codebaby characters because of their body language and ability to convey emotion. Our learners overwhelmingly tell us that using these characters:
- Makes different customer types more real for them
- Brings selling demonstrations to life
- Will increase their sales more than other elearning
Not bad results, right?
As we put our simulations together, we make sure that learners have a chance to fail. When their decisions are off the mark...just a little, or a lot...that's when the real learning happens, because it gives us a chance to provide appropriate feedback. If they don't have a chance to fail, they don't really have a chance to learn.
As you might expect, there's a lot less learner stress with this kind of practice than in live role-playing (which, of course, also has its place). And because it's online, the feedback is always consistent, too.
If you go to our homepage you can see a quick demo movie that shows the use of Codebaby avatars in several different courses. You can also visit with Matt Taylor in our Virtual World Headquarters. Or give us a call. We'll take you on a personalized tour of work that will help you think of ways we can help your salespeople practice making the right decisions in a safe environment.