Focus Magazine - Fall 2012 - 11

GUEST EDITOR Vince Peters

Integrating Motivation with Training
People learn faster and better when
training sessions are motivational
veryone knows that people learn faster and better when training sessions are motivational. So what can we do to enhance our training e orts and make them more e ective? Keep in mind while there are many things in today’s selling activities that go beyond the control of the company and the sales and training departments, you and the district managers are the critical people who touch the salespeople who are closest to our customers, and this is a very important role. You have the opportunity to impact and a ect the sales force in many ways. You as a trainer have the power to do many things to make training sessions enjoyable, and I would like to share some strategies that worked for me. Let’s start by taking a look at training-related motivation and classroom techniques that we can use. Always remember that the training environment must be above all friendly and non-threatening. So, now the question is what motivates participants to learn new skills and implement those skills a er a training session? e answer to the question can be found in the three premises of motivation.

best training experiences and list all of the points on a ip chart. is gives you a chance to better know each of your trainees and what motivates each of them speci cally. Let them know that these positive points will be our training strategy for this session, remember, they are your customers.

Motivation Premise 2
New skills and concepts that are developed by participants are more valuable than those “given” to them by an instructor. So what can we do to empower participants and give them ownership of new skills? In the facilitation process, avoid “telling” or “teaching.” Adults learn better by doing, so utilize individual and group exercises, and let them make it their thing. Remember to keep a close watch on time. You can wrap up by asking participants to share skills that have worked e ectively for them in the eld, encourage them to present “success stories,” which are always motivational.

Motivation Premise 3
People are motivated to use a new skill when they are con dent on how and when to use it. You as a trainer can help participants feel comfortable with new skills through practice sessions and role-plays to check their understanding of the new skills. I would open it up to the group and ask what suggestions they have for the new skills, and encourage feedback. Try using some of these motivational premises in your training classes, I’m sure that you’ll like them, and more so, your participants will really value them. I

Motivation Premise 1
People are motivated to do new things that they believe are bene cial to themselves and to the company. It’s simple: When people see the value in training, they embrace it. So what does all of this mean to you as a trainer? Well, you can start o by asking people about their worst training experience and its consequences. Flesh them out and ask what happened in the class that made it a bad experience. To round this exercise out, I would ask them to describe their

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Vince Peters is vice president of human resources and training at Bioview Anatomical Pathology Laboratory. A U. S. Air Force veteran and M.B.A., Vince has authored six books and has more than 35 years of experience in sales and sales management positions. Email Vince at newwaveph@aol.com.

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Focus Magazine - Fall 2012

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