Online accompaniment: Entering the sales conversation with a tablet

March 1, 2016

Online accompaniment: Entering the sales conversation with a tablet

Sell

Trainer

A client is interested in your seminar offerings. You have already talked on the phone, and now you have an appointment to finalize the upcoming training plans within the company. On the phone, you already mentioned that you will now sustainably support your seminars with online accompaniment. Your client was curious but could not really imagine what that means. To introduce your online accompaniment, it is best to bring a tablet to the sales conversation.

On the tablet, you demonstrate to your client which online content your participants will have access to in the online accompaniment. This includes, for example, weekly action prompts and exercises that support practical transfer. You package your online content in so-called “blinks.” A blink includes a unit of knowledge or a motivating instruction related to a seminar content or method that you presented in the seminar. Therefore, your participants receive support from you in all learning and transfer phases. In the seminar, the participants experience you live. You build a good relationship, ensure a positive atmosphere in the group, and convey the significance of your content. During the transfer phase after the seminar concludes, you accompany your participants online.

Presenting the Online Accompaniment on Tablet

A presentation of your online accompaniment on tablet offers several advantages:

You have the chance to visually present the training process and the follow-up. This way, your client understands step-by-step which content you provide in support of the in-person appointments.
Additionally, your client can understand how you support the transfer process. For this, you can show them a video that you have prepared for a specific method. What advantages do these video messages offer? Through video, you can motivate your participants once again with your persuasive power and a personal touch to practice. You have another chance to capture the good mood from your seminar appointment and use it as a transfer catalyst.
We place great value on blink.it App for an appealing design and intuitive operation. This is important for you as a trainer because you want to quickly and easily bring your online content to the platform. At the same time, your seminar participants are more motivated to engage with appealing and easy-to-use e-learning offerings.
If you are sitting across from your client in conversation, simply hand them the tablet, and they can directly try out your online accompaniment. Discussing a concept is nice. A tangible test has the greatest persuasive power!

From the Client's Perspective: Why is Online Accompaniment Important?

Your client might ask you why an online accompaniment is even necessary. The short answer: To support the practical transfer. The practical transfer is a process and must be supported sustainably. As a trainer, you have a significant influence on certain areas. This includes defining clear learning objectives in your seminar, providing your participants with the best information for learning, and offering long-term support for questions or suggestions. You have somewhat less influence on the internal company structures and the general “transfer climate.” Here, the company's leaders are called upon. They must ensure, for example, that your participants have the opportunity to apply the new skills during their work.

From the Trainer's Perspective: Why is Online Accompaniment Important?

You want your participants to develop further and learn new things. In doing so, you want to make it as easy as possible for the learners. You want to provide your participants with information that helps them. Your in-person appointment should stimulate your participants to think, be exciting, and entertaining. It is important to you that the skills you impart can also be successfully applied by your participants. Satisfied participants secure you follow-up assignments. An online accompaniment helps you achieve these goals because you can provide your online content through the blink.it platform. This way, you stay in contact with your participants during and after the seminar and offer support. You handle communication through a single platform. This way, you do not need to worry about different providers for quizzes, video hosting, and reminders.

A bonus for you, you only need to create the online content for your seminar once. You then use your online accompaniment for various seminar groups (and different clients). Your online content is reusable and can be applied repeatedly. Additionally, you can still address the wishes of your clients. Does your client want videos on a specific topic or content? No problem! You create the desired online content (for example, videos) for your client. Only the participants of this client will see these videos in their online accompaniment. If you want to learn more about video production and "studio quality in your own four walls," then get in touch with us! We are happy to assist you.

Online Accompaniment as an Additional Offering to Your Seminar

The online accompaniment can be an addition to your existing offerings. This way, you distinguish yourself from other trainers and provide a solution for practical transfer. On the other hand, you can offer your online accompaniment as a standalone product. This means you sell your seminar as before. In addition, you offer the option to book your online accompaniment for your seminar. Your selling point is the sustainable support of the seminar participants and the guidance of practical transfer. Behavioral changes do not happen overnight; your clients know this. If you present a coherent concept for how you will support the practical transfer, you have a good chance of selling your online accompaniment as a product. If you wait for the “OK” and still negotiate with your client about the online accompaniment, then you can convince with templates. This means you create blinks in the platform but do not yet fill them with online content. It’s about providing your client with a picture of the platform and showing what content the participants will have access to in your online accompaniment. Your offering includes, for example, action prompts via video, knowledge checks, and support via a comment function. Ask whether the leaders (e.g., the team leader) can be involved in the online accompaniment. Support from the leaders is one of the most important factors for practical transfer. How can this happen? For example, you create a short video with the leader. In this video, the benefits and practical relevance of the seminar for the participants are illustrated.