Too many sales conversations from trainers come down to three points:

❌ What sets you apart from other trainers?
❌ How happy do you make the participants?
❌ How much is your time worth?

It would be much smarter if we looked in a different direction:

✓ Why are you the right business partner?
✓ What can the participants do after their training?
✓ Is it worth it to me?

You can create such a shift through clear positioning. You get a quick insight through three short videos of 90 seconds each from a trainer who has already achieved this goal - Zach Davis:

Transfer, Support, and Offer

Sales and Positioning with a Unique Selling Proposition as a Trainer

In the past, many trainers offered products like books, CDs, or DVDs during their training sessions. Today, there are more ways to connect with participants before or after an event. These products include personal coaching, online courses, or online support as an extended offer. The good thing is, if you have books or CDs, you can enhance and repurpose these contents through online support. Zach Davis has focused on unique selling propositions and positioning when he looked for new offerings for his training sessions. His existing offer remains the same: He provides his clients with seminars that have good ratings. To introduce his new offers into sales, he asks his clients: "What should happen after the training?".

Transfer, Sustainability, and Support as USP

When Zach shifts the conversation to the long-term development of training participants, the question is no longer about the pure service. It’s about application in practice, sustainability, and transfer. This is where his online support comes into play as a product, as training transfer can be supported with the help of online support.
The term "sustainability" has already reached buzzword status. That’s not a problem. When you bring up the term in conversation, provide substantial arguments or describe the term (e.g., applying what has been learned in practice). A small demonstration is, of course, very convincing, because "seeing is believing." Show your potential client directly how you implement sustainability through online support in a pedagogical way. This aids the client’s understanding. If the client only tests the online support in a test account, then they don’t understand how the application of the exercise is intended or that contents are gradually released to distribute learning and practice over a longer period while keeping the time commitment of the training per session low. In the conversation during the contract clarification, you can respond directly to the client’s questions.

Setting the Right Offer Price

Zach is very transparent with his clients and explains the makeup of the price for his product. For him, the following factors are important for price determination: The number of in-person days, the price per access, and the group size. Attractive offers can be created here. For example, if the in-person event (the daily rate) is reduced by 50% when online support is booked for more than 12 participants. Inclusion can be from 20 participants. This depends on the scope of the online support and the content.

An Example Calculation:

Perspective daily rate: 2 groups of up to 12 people, two training days per group, 4 x €2,500 and 4 days on-site. Whether there are 6, 8, or 12 in the group is irrelevant for the trainer, as he must be on-site anyway.

Perspective online support: Price per access: €500 per participant. The in-person event is then included. 24 x €500 and 2 days on-site plus support.

For Zach, this means fewer travel days. The expansion of his in-person training also provides added value for clients for whom a two-day seminar is unrealistic because the participants cannot be absent from the workplace for that long. Participants dread the mountain of emails and inquiries when they are away for two days.

Notes and Tips for Trainers Who Want to Expand Their Offers

Zach advises other trainers to simply write down the training topics that are covered in person and to think about how these contents can be offered to the participants afterwards. Initially, these would only be contents as repetitions in text form. In the next step, you can create contents that go beyond repetition. These can be exercise tasks, ideally kept short and regularly applicable. They can be other exciting contents that you know about the topic (for example, a great presentation, an interview, or a good comment). What is also well-received are reflection questions that prompt your participants to think, both content-wise and regarding their own behavior. Trainers, coaches, and other learning professionals can expect new roles and tasks in the field of further education in the coming years.

I presented the new role of the trainer and summarized the requirements in the article "Trainer 4.0". The new toolkit includes not only know-how in in-person seminars but also skills and competencies in the areas of learning and media. The creation of multimedia learning contents will increasingly occupy independent trainers. These include interactive presentations, videos, audio recordings, webinars, and administering online support. The trainer becomes the learning companion of the participants, and their most important task begins once the training is over and the implementation of what has been learned starts.

What would your online support look like? If you need ideas or suggestions, please feel free to send us a message or give us a call.