As the field marketing manager, I’m responsible for the training of the field teams. I was down at Hoover head office a few weeks ago training the field team on the ‘built in’ range. The team had little experience with this product range, so it was back to basics.

I find if you train on the basics, so that the trainers have a good understanding of the product range and the differences within the range, the features and benefits are more easily understood. For example when explaining the features and benefits of the ovens, the trainers need the background knowledge of the different types of cooking modes, how the different ovens work, what type of food is best cooked in which oven and who would find this type of cooking method useful.

All the trainers said that they found the training beneficial and that they enjoyed the 2 days. It has given them the confidence to ‘go out there’ and train the staff in store on the new product range.

Share This

I visited the Beyond The Box stand at the Business North West Exhibition today to take some photos and video the team in action.

We’ll be adding some videos to the blog with great advice from Christine on how to manage an exhibition stand and some examples of effective training techniques from Dawn.

Christine had arranged for an artist to be there for the two days, and I was roped into having my caricature done while I was there!

Here are some photos from the day, and of the before & after caricatures.

Share This

We have received the photographs of the Snr. Management team recently taken for the website. We were on the set for approx. 2 hours.

During that time one would expect to find a good set of photos to use…

No - not the case, on the group shots someone was always laughing or looking in the wrong direction.

It highlighted how everyone is different and that is exactly what it is like when we train. No two people are the same so when we design and deliver a programme we always ensure it reflects the different learning styles.

Here is a brief explanation of the four Honey and Mumford learning styles:

Activist - They like to learn by doing things so we engage them during the course with activities.

Pragmatist - They also like to learn by being involved but only if the activities reflect techniques that they can use and put into practice and has a clear reference to what they are learning.

Reflector - Enjoys observing others and reflecting on ideas and new information. Videos are great tools for training this group of people.

Theorist - Need to understand the theory behind actions and concepts. They like to find solutions in a step by step manner and learn from any opportunity to question.

If people are not the same as this brief explanation of learning styles demonstrates, we can conclude that we need to be stimulated in different ways if we are to learn effectively and that is what we do well at Beyond The Box.

Share This

For successful brand promotion, you need passionate staff who will promote the brand consistently and achieve sales and loyalty for the client.

Building a strong relationship with retail stores and sorting issues out will also help achieve confidence in selling the brand.

It’s important to put the right people in the right job, and to have good communication processes in place.

It’s also vital to have comprehensive training about the brand and product line. Your product line may not be suggested by a customer advisor because they don’t know enough about it.

Share This

• Awareness - The most important part of the Product Training role is to make sure staff are aware of any new and existing product. If they don’t know the product is there - they can’t possibly sell it.

• Confidence - If sales staff have had training on a product they will feel more confident in selling it to the customer. By letting staff try, touch and feel the product it also gives them more confidence to sell.

• Knowledge - Training staff on features and benefits help them to understand the products and helps them to find the best possible product for the customer. Customers will be much more satisfied if they received informed advice from an advisor, and this is particularly important in retail for technical purchases such as computers, mobile phones, washing machines and vacuum cleaners where the average customer knows what they need it for but not what specification.

• Up-Selling - Training staff on the differences between product can also achieve best possible sales for the client and store and sell top of the range products instead of entry range products. This helps the sales person to sell up the range.

Share This

Being able to collect information and send to the client instantly allows the client to get a feel for what is going on in the field without having to go out themselves.

Information on new products or offers from competitors can be fed back to the client with product features, benefits and prices.

This helps the client compare their products with the competition and makes them aware of potential threats. If a threat is established, the client can evaluate and make an informed decision of how best to maintain a competitive advantage, achieving the best possible results without affecting profit margins.

It’s important that competitor information is accurate and is kept up to date, so our preferred method is to send competitor feedback reports from in store using mobile technology.

This speeds up the process for the client, but it also helps staff because they don’t need to go back to the office and type up notes and figures from a store visit.

Share This

Training staff on new and current products is a must to maximise sales. But to enable the trainer and customer advisor to demonstrate products in store, stock must be checked before hand.

If the product is not on display we check the system in store and request that it is placed out asap. We also make a note of this and input this information onto our pda so that the client has a record of missing stock within store.

Stores miss sales opportunities when stock is not on display, so along with allowing product trainers to get on with their work, checking stock levels when first in store also helps avoid missing sales.

Share This

Merchandising acts as a silent sales man.  So if there are no sales staff around, the merchandise explains about the features and benefits of the product.

Retail merchandising staff make sure that the products looks clean, it is in the right place and the correct sales tickets are on the correct products.

They may also put out promotional material such as leaflets, stands and shelf wobblers to draw attention.

Share This

We had a really lovely email through from Bob Gregitis, the Sales Operations Manager at DSGI. It was to thank us for the work we produced for Currys recent communications launch. They have entered the contract mobile phone market with some fantastic offers and Currys approached us to help them train the store staff in readiness.

The training was in two stages and the final pack was posted to each store a few weeks ago. We beat our best lead times with this project because the research, plus the design of the training programme and artwork for the package was all turned round in about a 2 week period! A few candles were burnt at midnight as you can imagine, but we met the deadline!

Share This

It’s fast approaching 21st November when we will be exhibiting at Business North West in GMex Manchester. We have visited the exhibition many times but this year we decided to take the plunge with a stand. You will be able to find us at stand 331 so come along and say ‘hello’!

Time passes quickly and though we planned to attend a few weeks ago we still have a few items to put together to make it a great day for us and our visitors. We are really excited about Steve joining us, a carricaturist who will be swiftly producing some portraits for visitors to take home.

Having your carricature drawn should be really good fun but if your not into having your face on the office wall why not come along and enter your details for our prize draw. We have put up £500 worth of branded promotional gift items for the company that wins. It could be YOU!

Some of you may be aware that we have a brand In Front Gifts which provides branded corporate gifts to ensure that companies stay in front of their clients at the times they matter most. ie. when they want to buy! We take time to consider what items your target customers would keep near to them so they have your details to hand. As you would expect branded pens are still the most purchased item. So come and visit us at 331 you could be a winner!

Share This