Training Industry Magazine - Winter 2022 - 63

the call and note opportunities for
improvement, with everything recorded
in the software by competency. Reps
now enjoyed instantaneous access
to these comments and could review
past calls over the month or quarter
and receive encouraging evidence of
progress. This tool has allowed highly
personalized feedback and eliminated
time wasted on refreshing an entire
team on a call element with which only
one or two were struggling. Managers
have regularly seen competency scores
rise because of this coaching.
In one example, the exercise highlighted
a need for deeper questioning during
the call. While intimidated at first, the rep
took progressive steps to competency,
aided by software and managerial
coaching. Another manager highlighted
a sales rep who continually refined his
pitch using this coaching framework and
has met his quota ever since.
completion. Sales performance reports
provide an ultimate assessment of
skills attainment.
For example, after
product-specific
training, L&D can monitor the rep's
sales success with that product over
the following six months. Sales-stagebased
reporting pinpoints deficiencies,
prompting spot trainings, coaching or
additional role-play as appropriate. Sales
reps also rate their learning experience
and their trainers, helping ensure
continuous iterative improvement in
the program.
THE RESULTS
The
repetition and increased
engagement that come with blended
learning yield greater retention of the
information conveyed, as evidenced by
measurable results. Pax8 went from a
basic, live classroom training program
with limited role-play two years ago to
the robust blended learning approach
described, with excellent
outcomes.
IT'S ONE THING TO
HEAR ABOUT BLENDED
LEARNING AND TO
ACKNOWLEDGE ITS
POTENTIAL - AND
QUITE ANOTHER TO
TAKE ACTION.
In addition to recorded and live call
scoring, sales readiness assessment
includes new-hire confidence surveys.
These solicit reps' sense of job
preparedness, exposing any need for
reinforcement. The LMS scores and
records completed courses, charting
overall progress toward program
Sales new-hire ramp time decreased
in the assessment period not by one
month, but two, for a 29% reduction.
A year ago, the company documented
a strong correlation between eLearning
training completion and sales
performance. Sales reps who had
completed the highest percentage
of their assigned courses were not only
meeting but exceeding quota, while those
who had the lowest training completion
rate also lagged in quota attainment.
Sales managers also provided qualitative
evidence of improvement - reporting
reps had refined their talk tracks and were
now asking better discovery questions.
" Now, when new hires begin their
sales careers with Pax8, they are much
TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - WINTER 2022 I WWW.TRAININGINDUSTRY.COM/MAGAZINE
better prepared and begin producing
revenue sooner, " said Jared Pangretic,
senior vice president of sales at Pax8.
" Pax8 University's
innovations have
been critical to this improvement and
a big win for the company overall. "
L&D's success with this new approach
was not limited to the sales department.
New-hire ramp time in technical support
decreased from six weeks to only four
using blended learning techniques,
demonstrating their combined efficacy
across learning domains.
For organizations wishing to take
advantage of blended learning in their
training, Lynn Leadley suggests they
start with an objective assessment
of how they are doing things now.
From there, they should gradually add
complementary elements one at a time
instead of attempting to implement
too much change at once. Sometimes
there may be a need for enabling
technologies requiring time, budget and
planning (such as an LMS, a telephony
system allowing monitoring and realtime
feedback or a separate coaching
platform). Simpler modalities, such as
role play and shadowing, might be
added easily at no expense.
It's one thing to hear about blended
learning and to acknowledge its potential
- and quite another to take action.
Pax8's experience offers evidence of
blended learning's effectiveness and,
hopefully, the encouragement readers
need to take the first step.
J.B. McKoy has held roles at Pax8,
ranging from sales training to managing
the company's LMS and eLearning
development teams. He currently
serves as Pax8's L&D strategy manager.
Email J.B.
| 63
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Training Industry Magazine - Winter 2022

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