Your learning and development team is critical to your company’s success. Research shows that employees are more likely to be engaged when they can access reliable and valuable training and development opportunities. Employee engagement and retention will likely improve if your L&D team offers these opportunities.

However, to maximize the return on investment of your L&D efforts, your team needs to familiarize themselves with the most effective learning strategies and methods.

One such learning method they could experiment with is associative learning. Keep reading to learn more about associative learning and how it can improve your company’s learning and development programs.

Understanding Associative Learning

Associative learning is essentially a biological process that occurs in the brain. When an organism acquires a certain piece of knowledge, it might associate it with a particular memory or idea depending on when and where it acquires it.

A classic example is Pavlovian conditioning. Ivan Pavlov studied this by ringing a bell every time he prepared to feed the dogs he was studying. Eventually, he would ring the bell but wouldn’t provide food.

The dogs salivated anyway. By this point, they had unconsciously learned to associate the sound of the ringing bell with the anticipation of a meal.

The brain forges connections between various experiences and ideas in its neural pathways when two stimuli are presented together in a memorable and effective way. This is the essence of associative learning. Your learning and development team may leverage its power to achieve impressive employee training results.

The Link Between Associative Learning and L&D ROI

Research from Harvard has recently shown that active learning strategies (such as associative learning) can boost the retention of information among students. Thus, by designing learning content and training programs around associative learning and associative memory, your learning and development team can increase the odds that your employees will retain what they learn during training sessions via online learning courses, etc.

The implications for your ROI are significant. If employees retain what they learn via training programs, they will simply be more skilled, resulting in a major competitive edge for your company.

Effective Strategies for Implementing Associative Learning in L&D

There are many ways your L&D team can potentially develop training and development programs that effectively leverage the power of associative learning. The following are several key examples to consider:

Use of Metaphors and Analogies

Metaphors and analogies are ideal for associative learning because they may help employees tie new knowledge to concepts with which they are already familiar. In general, metaphors and analogies can also allow learning and development specialists to simplify what may otherwise be complex ideas.

For example, perhaps you’re teaching your employees how to identify potential phishing attacks. You could do so by using a metaphor of a fish spotting what appears to be an attractive meal, not realizing it is bait. In this metaphor, the employee is the fish, the phisher is the fisher, and the email they send is the bait.

This type of metaphor-based learning may also be enhanced through animated video. Research shows that animated video content can help educators more effectively convey information and boost retention when a topic is somewhat complicated.

Visual Aids and Mind Mapping

Associative learning is all about forging mental connections between ideas. Visual aids can help in this capacity by illustrating these connections. 

Mind mapping in particular, may prove effective at visually strengthening the power of an associative learning-based training program. With mind mapping, workers visually brainstorm ideas by writing or drawing representations of them and seeking connections between said ideas. 

Interactive Learning Activities

Again, as Harvard research suggests, one of the reasons associative learning may boost retention is that it is often active in nature. When a person actively engages with their learning experience, it’s natural that they may be more likely to retain what they’ve learned than if they simply passively consume a piece of learning and development content.

For instance, you could teach employees to identify hazardous conditions in the workplace by having them spend time at various work sites, some of which may contain hidden hazards. Employees will develop a mental association between certain workplace conditions and danger by directly learning to spot these hazards.

Regular Assessments and Quizzes for Reinforcement

Researchers who study associative learning tend to find that it doesn’t happen immediately. To return to a previous example, Pavlov didn’t train the dogs to salivate immediately at the sound of a bell. He had to solidify the mental association between the sound of the bell and the presentation of food through consistent training.

Humans are no different from dogs in this respect. Regular testing and assessment should be part of the programs to ensure your employees fully benefit from associative learning programs.

Group or Peer Work

Group or peer work boosts the effectiveness of associative learning programs by adding to their interactive nature. Once more, if employees actively engage with learning content, they may retain it better. On top of that, when employees work together during training sessions, they can assist one another, with employees explaining key concepts to one another when certain group members need extra clarification.

Increase Employee Knowledge Retention With Engaging Learning Experiences 

Experimenting with associative learning-based programs can help your learning and development team achieve goals that optimize their ROI. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that no learning program can be truly effective without strong content.

Powtoon can help. Designed for amateurs and professionals, Powtoon allows users to easily and affordably create dynamic videos and slideshows, even if they lack video production experience. The videos you create with Powtoon can offer your employees the type of training content that drives retention when combined with associative learning strategies. Get started by signing up today to learn more.

The post Boosting L&D ROI with Associative Learning: 5 Effective Strategies and Best Practices appeared first on Powtoon Blog.

According to Gallup, employee engagement levels throughout all industries are relatively low. Luckily, this same research has also yielded insights regarding how companies can boost engagement among the workforce.

For example, surveys indicate that employees are more likely to be engaged with their work if they feel their employers provide them opportunities to develop their skills and expand their knowledge. By offering both supervised and unsupervised learning programs for employees, you could improve engagement among your workers, guarding against the high costs of employee turnover.

Artificial intelligence can strengthen your efforts. Through AI, you can personalize these learning opportunities for your workers, ensuring they provide maximum value. 

What Does Personalized Learning Content Look Like?

Every employee plays a different role within the company. A “one size fits all” learning content strategy doesn’t address the specific needs, strengths, and weaknesses of individual workers.

AI-based personalized learning content is different. Examples of such employee learning and development content may include:

• “Playlists” of videos, podcasts, and other forms of learning content, with different playlists offering different combinations of content based on each employee’s needs. 
• Personalized learning paths, in which all workers learn the same skills and knowledge but through differing means.
• Various types of interactive learning content, as interactivity naturally involves a degree of personalization.
• Online learning content that adapts to the learning pace of each user.

Challenges of Creating Personalized Learning Content

Creating personalized learning content without the help of artificial intelligence has historically been challenging. The following are key reasons why:

• Convincing decision-makers at your company that switching to personalized training is worth their time and money may be difficult if you already have established training and development programs.
• Gathering information about employees to develop personalized content can be a time-consuming process.
• By implementing a new approach to training and education, your company may also need to implement a new approach to measuring the effectiveness of a learning program.

AI’s Role in Crafting Personalized Learning Experiences

All of the above points should encourage you to work to tailor learning content to the goals and abilities of individual workers. Developing personalized learning content used to be challenging, but AI is changing that.

Personalized learning with AI leverages AI’s ability to monitor and measure various data about your workers constantly. For example, AI can monitor the habits of a user watching videos on a particular streaming service. The AI could “learn” from this data, suggesting other content users may enjoy.

AI can play a similar role in unsupervised learning programs for your employees. For instance, you may have a resource through which your workers can access all training materials, such as videos, slideshows, etc. This resource could monitor an employee’s behavior through AI-based personalized learning and suggest learning content that may best serve them.

You could also use AI to analyze data regarding the effectiveness and results of your training and learning programs. Doing so may provide information about the types of learning content that are most valuable for certain employees. You could then develop more such content for individual workers who may benefit from it.

The Benefits of AI-Infused Personalized Learning

Along with the points above, other benefits of personalized learning with AI include:

• Improving engagement with learning content.
• Boosting knowledge retention by aligning content with the learning styles of different employees.
• Adapting learning programs to the learning pace of each worker can guard against overload and burnout.
• More effectively addressing skill gaps.

In addition, your workers may understand that switching to AI-based personalized learning requires a significant investment on the company’s part. They may thus be more engaged, thanks to the knowledge that their employer cares enough about their professional development to make such an investment.

Tackling AI-Personalized Learning Challenges

Although artificial intelligence can help your company develop more personalized learning content and opportunities for your workers, you should also be aware of the challenges you might face when implementing this approach to learning and development. Preparing for these challenges ahead of time will allow for a smooth rollout.

Examples of challenges you may face (and solutions you may leverage) include:

• Because AI must analyze user data to develop personalized content and recommendations, employees may have valid concerns regarding privacy and the usage of this data. The simple fix for this issue is to prioritize establishing ethical data usage guidelines from the start.
• If you focus too much on developing personalized content, you may forget to ensure the content is of high quality. Guard against this by setting clear learning objectives and using data-driven insights to determine whether a piece of learning content serves its intended purpose.
• Integrating personalized learning content with your existing systems can involve basic technical challenges. Thus, you should involve IT specialists immediately as you switch to AI-based personalized learning.

The main point to remember is that embracing personalized learning will lead to significant rewards for your company. Through effective custom learning programs, you won’t just boost employee engagement—you’ll also build on the strengths of your workforce, giving your company a unique competitive edge.

Create Personalized Learning Experiences with Powtoon

Your personalized learning content needs to be dynamic to ensure proper retention. Thanks to Powtoon, creating this type of content is easier than ever.

Powtoon allows users to create live-action videos, animated videos, impressive slideshows, and more, even if they lack video production experience and large budgets. Sign up today to learn more about what Powtoon can do for your learning content.

The post How AI-Infused Personalized Learning Content Can Enhance Employee Knowledge Retention  appeared first on Powtoon Blog.

An emphasis on solid learning and development programs can yield significant rewards for your company. According to surveys and studies, employees are more likely to be engaged on the job if they feel their employers offer them opportunities to develop new skills and acquire new knowledge consistently. By boosting engagement with strong learning and development content, you could also increase retention, saving your company a lot of money in the long run.

Learning and development teams are most effective when equipped with the right tools. For example, it’s becoming increasingly common for L&D departments to leverage artificial intelligence. AI tools can analyze data to yield insights about the effectiveness of learning content. In addition, with AI, Learning and Development teams can personalize content to serve the individual needs of each worker.

What AI tools should your L&D team experiment with? The following are a few options to consider:

ChatGPT

ChatGPT Is the type of AI tool that can serve various purposes depending on how members of your L&D team decide to use it.

Some use this tool simply for brainstorming purposes. If you’re having difficulty developing learning and development content ideas, ask ChatGPT for suggestions.

You can also use this tool to ask questions about topics your employees may need to learn. Although you do need to confirm the accuracy of the answers you receive, using ChatGPT in this capacity could save you a lot of time during the research phase of developing learning content.

EdApp

EdApp Is an AI tool that simplifies creating an online course for your workers. With this tool’s AI content creation feature, you could instantly generate learning content based on something as simple as an individual keyword.

Odds are that you will need to edit and modify the content that the AI tool generates for you. However, it can provide a reliable foundation for building your content and save your learning and development team a lot of time on basic practical content creation tasks. That allows them to devote more attention to tasks such as customizing learning content for each worker. 

That’s a key benefit of virtually any AI tool your learning and development team might use. Although different AI tools may serve different purposes, all can help your team operate more efficiently than ever before.

Cegid

Most learning and development specialists understand that only some learn at the same pace. However, up until recently, modifying learning programs to serve specific workers’ needs has proven very time-consuming for L&D teams.

AI tools like Cegid are changing that. Like many AI tools, this one harnesses the power of constant data analysis and algorithms to identify individual users’ learning styles and learning paces. Through AI analysis, Cegid can generate personalized learning structures, suggest different learning content ideas for your users, and even create evaluations to ensure employees derive genuine practical value from training programs.

It’s worth noting that surveys show consumers are increasingly interested in personalized marketing content. Because marketers have already embraced AI’s power to develop customized content, many now expect marketing material to be tailored to their specific tastes, needs, etc.

These same individuals also wish their employers could provide personalized learning content. As AI becomes more ubiquitous, employee demand for personalization may become increasingly widespread. An AI tool such as this one allows you to satisfy that demand.

Adaptemy

Your learning and development team members may appreciate the potential long-term value of implementing personalized learning and employee training approaches. Regardless, they may nevertheless be reluctant to transition for various reasons.

One such reason may be that your company already has entrenched learning solutions. Integrating your new approach with existing solutions and programs might seem prohibitively challenging.

Adaptemy serves to address this difficulty. Like the above example, this AI tool aims to generate custom learning paths for individual users. It stands out compared to other tools because it’s also designed to integrate with your existing systems. This may allow you to switch to AI-based personalized learning more efficiently than your L&D team otherwise could.

It’s worth noting that Adaptemy doesn’t just use data to suggest personalized learning paths for individual employees. It can also suggest customized learning content, helping your L&D team generate new content ideas.

NovoEd

NovoEd is similar to the above two entries on this list in that it allows your learning and development team members to customize learning paths to suit the paces and needs of individual workers. However, it earns its spot on this list because it specifically serves those looking for an AI tool with collaborative and social learning features.

Entire teams and departments at your company may need to cultivate certain skills and knowledge to thrive in their roles. With NovoEd, instead of merely serving one employee at a time, you can develop personalized learning programs for teams, potentially boosting the efficiency of your learning programs.

Use Powtoon to Create Strong Learning Content

Embracing AI tools can help your learning and development team better serve your workforce while streamlining key processes. That said, it’s important to remember that you still need to generate dynamic and impressive learning content to optimize retention among your workers.

Powtoon can help. Powtoon allows users to create stunning videos and slideshows affordably and easily. Even someone with virtually no video production experience can use Powtoon to generate educational videos that allow workers to develop their skills and thrive in their roles. Sign up today to learn more about what Powtoon can do for you and your company.

The post The Top 5 AI Tools for L&D Teams appeared first on Powtoon Blog.

Your learning and development efforts can play a significant role in your company’s success. Naturally, if your Training Models are effective, your employees will possess greater skills and knowledge. This can give your company a unique competitive edge.

Research has also shown that employees tend to be more engaged at work when their employers provide them with growth and development opportunities. By investing in learning and development, you’ll demonstrate to your workers that you want to equip them with the skills needed to climb the ladder and further their careers. If engagement increases as a result, retention may also benefit, potentially saving your company a lot of money.

All that said, it’s important to understand that learning and development programs and training models that may have yielded positive results in the past might not necessarily be as effective now. As more and more members of Generation Z join your workforce, you might need to adapt your L&D programs to the expectations and learning methods of Gen Z.

The following suggestions will help. To modify your approach to learning and development so that it properly suits Gen Z workforce expectations, keep these points in mind:

Gen Z Wants Personalized Learning

Today’s young workers grew up with certain innovations that the older generations did not benefit from. Specifically, developments in machine learning have resulted in numerous personalized experiences for members of Generation Z.

For example, many popular streaming services use machine learning (a subset of artificial intelligence) to monitor and analyze the viewing habits of users. By analyzing this data, a machine learning program suggests content that a particular viewer might enjoy.

That’s just one example. The main point to understand is that in regard to Gen Z workforce expectations, your younger employees may anticipate a certain degree of personalization from learning and development programs. Additionally, recent studies have shown that students do tend to learn more effectively when learning content is personalized and tailored to their specific needs. It’s highly likely the same is true of employees at a company undergoing training.

Your learning and development team may thus wish to experiment with machine learning programs for the purposes of developing learning paths and training content that serves individual workers. Incorporating such an approach into your training models may yield greater long-term advantages than a “one size fits all” approach. One such advantage would be making the right impression on Generation Z employees.

Generation Z Learns Actively

Research into the ways that members of Generation Z learn most effectively indicates that young people today tend to retain what they’ve learned more consistently when learning experiences involve a certain degree of interactivity. Instead of passively listening while someone merely states information, members of Gen Z prefer to learn in ways that allow them to apply said information.

Your learning and development team members can thus review your current training programs to determine whether they allow participants to play an active role in their own training. If a particular training program is lacking in this capacity, they can modify it so that it’s more interactive.

Specific ways to make a training program interactive can vary depending on the exact nature of the program itself. For example, if a training session involves teaching employees how to perform a certain task or complete a certain process, naturally, you could make that session interactive by allowing employees to actually do the work after being provided with instructions. Other ways to make learning interactive involve:

• Asking employees to play characters in educational skits
• Tasking employees with teaching their own training sessions, forcing them to engage deeply with the subject matter
• Turning training sessions into games, in which employees are awarded points for answering questions right, performing certain tasks correctly, etc.

Generation Z Learns Collaboratively

Popular wisdom holds that members of Generation Z are far more isolated from one another than members of previous generations. To some extent, this may be true. Some surveys and studies do indicate that younger people don’t spend as much time in each other’s physical presence as young people in the past may have.

However, it’s also critical to remember that today’s young people have grown up in an age when their digital devices allow them to remain connected far more than young people in the past. Whether this type of connection is a substitute for in-person relationships is up for debate. Regardless, researchers have found that this degree of constant connectivity has influenced the way members of Gen Z learn. 

Today’s young people appear to learn more effectively when learning is something that happens collaboratively. Ways to facilitate collaborative learning in your company’s learning and development programs include:

• Having teams analyze and present case studies together so that they all learn from said case studies as a group
• Asking employees to discuss what they learned in training programs via any communication platforms or tools you use, allowing workers to reflect on a learning and development program’s effectiveness collectively
• Creating teams with members from different departments and asking them to complete certain work-related problems together, facilitating cross-learning

Of course, as you modify your approach to learning and development to better fulfill Gen Z workforce expectations, you need to assess outcomes to ensure these training programs are as effective as necessary. By accounting for the learning methods of Generation Z and prioritizing constant improvement, you’ll optimize the return on investment of your learning and development efforts.

Generate Effective Training Models With Powtoon

Research has also shown that members of Generation Z often benefit from learning complex topics through educational video content. Luckily, you don’t need to have a film school degree to create effective training videos. Powtoon simplifies the process, ensuring generating video content for your learning and development programs is easy and affordable. Sign up today to get started.

The post Adapting to a Changing Workforce: How to Create Effective Training Models for Gen Z Professionals appeared first on Powtoon Blog.

Machine learning has revolutionized various fields and disciplines in a relatively short period of time. Across a range of industries, many learning and development teams have begun experimenting with this innovation to maximize return on investment, streamline processes, develop personalized learning and training content for employees, and more.

The following overview will cover some of the ways machine learning is changing L&D for the better. It may inspire you to embrace this powerful tech development at your own company.

What is Machine Learning?

Before understanding how machine learning is changing L&D, you need to understand what machine learning essentially is.

Machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence involving training methods that allow computers to “learn” without being directly programmed by a person. Instead, with machine learning, a computer typically analyzes large amounts of data to develop the ability to identify patterns naturally. In essence, machine learning involves a computer’s “brain” learning in much the same way as a human brain.

A basic example of machine learning may involve a computer analyzing many pictures of apples. Over time, the computer will theoretically learn to identify what an apple is without being programmed to do so. The computer will simply develop the ability to identify the shared visual characteristics of apples.

This is very similar to the way a person learns. After all, many baby books also involve teaching young children to identify certain types of objects by showing them repeated images of those objects.

That’s just one example. As the following points demonstrate, more sophisticated machine learning systems can play a critical role in a company’s learning and development efforts.

Machine Learning Can Facilitate Personalized Learning

Research indicates that students tend to perform better in various subject areas when learning content is tailored to their specific abilities and needs. Thus, it’s probably safe to conclude that employees are also more likely to develop new skills and knowledge if L&D training programs are personalized.

Machine learning can facilitate such personalization. It may do so by analyzing data related to an employee’s learning experiences, such as their scores on tests and similar assessments, the speed at which they complete certain online training programs, and more. The machine learning program can then generate personalized content and learning paths for individual workers based on its analysis of this data.

It’s worth noting that surveys indicate employees are more engaged at work when they feel their employers have put forth an effort to offer them access to training and development opportunities. If your employees know you’ve taken the extra step of leveraging new technology to ensure their learning experiences are personalized, engagement may increase to an even greater degree.

Measuring the Effectiveness of L&D Programs

You want to be confident the money and time you’re investing into learning and development programs for your employees is well-spent. As such, it’s wise to require employees to complete quizzes, tests, and other such assessments when they complete various training programs.

Doing so can serve multiple purposes. True, assessments can help you better understand the strengths and weaknesses of individual employees, letting you know when a particular worker may need extra time to focus on developing a new skill or acquiring new knowledge.

However, if the results of an assessment indicate that many employees have not developed the skills they were meant to develop through a training program, you could safely conclude that this program isn’t as effective as it should be, and may thus need to be improved upon.

Reviewing the data from tests and other such assessments can be a time-consuming process. Luckily, machine learning systems can analyze large quantities of data virtually nonstop, helping you efficiently determine whether an L&D program is delivering results, or whether it needs to be refined.

Generating Learning and Development Content

To some extent, a sophisticated machine learning system could even help you develop new training content for your employees. Remember, through data analysis, a machine learning program can help you better determine whether a given training program is serving its intended purpose effectively.

This means a machine learning system can not only identify training programs that need to be improved upon—but it can also identify training programs that are already strong and effective. Furthermore, it may be able to identify the shared characteristics of these programs, potentially using this information to generate new content that possesses the same basic strengths.

Odds are good you’ll have to build upon and modify this content yourself to ensure it thoroughly serves your needs. It’s unlikely a machine learning program can simply generate a perfect training course for your employees automatically. Nevertheless, it can theoretically provide you with a foundation upon which your L&D team may be able to begin developing stronger content than they’ve produced in the past.

All that said, it’s, of course, important to exercise a certain degree of caution when using a technology such as this one. For instance, because a machine learning program may be analyzing large quantities of employee data, you need to be confident the program will use said data safely and ethically.

Generally, though, it’s already clear that machine learning has the potential to revolutionize the way L&D teams generate content, personalize learning programs, and assess outcomes. Its usefulness is likely to grow as the technology improves.

Use Powtoon to Create Dynamic Learning and Development Content

Although machine learning can certainly improve the ROI of your L&D department, humans still need to primarily handle content generation, developing training content that’s impressive and dynamic enough to yield real improvements in employee performance.

Research has shown that video content can result in more efficient and effective learning. Luckily, you don’t need much video production experience (or even a large video production budget) to create strong video-based L&D content. With Powtoon, creating high-quality training videos is easy, even for an amateur. Sign up today to learn more!

The post The Future of L&D: How Machine Learning is Redefining Learning Experiences appeared first on Powtoon Blog.

The global sales training software market size was valued at USD 1.92 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.0% from 2022 to 2030. With the business landscape constantly changing and corporate competition rising, leaders worldwide are increasingly inclined to invest in their sales teams. 

Here are the top 6 training topics that will empower your sales professionals to succeed in today’s competitive landscape. 

AI Training 

Artificial Intelligence has been making waves in most industries, including sales. 

AI for sales can help manage and predict customer behavior, identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities, automate repetitive tasks, and improve forecasting accuracy.

Teaching your sales reps to leverage advanced analytics and predictive modeling can help streamline their performance, increase efficiency, reduce costs, and avoid bad leads. 

Lead Qualification Training 

Not all leads are created equal, and sales teams must know how to qualify them effectively. Lead qualification training allows reps to create a framework of questions and answers to identify promising leads and recognize lost leads effectively. These skills will help sales professionals prioritize and manage their time and efforts more efficiently. 

Prospecting and Outreach Training 

Effective prospecting is hard work without adequate training. Sales professionals must know how to effectively read and apply data, conduct thorough market research, and perform cold outreach. 

Various techniques, like researching customers, email marketing, LinkedIn outreach, cold-calling potential customers, and objection handling, are required to efficiently identify, engage, and convert potential leads into loyal customers.

Moreover, knowing how to use and navigate sales tools, such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator, can significantly amplify their prospecting endeavors.

Communication Skills Training 

A big part of selling is knowing how to communicate with the various potential clients and understanding their needs and pain points. Good sales communication not only includes proper writing and presentation skills but also means sales professionals know how to read between the lines, identify hidden pain points, provide solutions, and adress concerns. By possessing skills such as active listening and a deep understanding of customer needs, sales professionals can provide customized solutions to their customers’ needs. 

Pipeline Management Training 

For consistent sales success, the sales team needs to be able to seamlessly juggle all of their prospects in different parts of the sales cycle. A well-managed sales pipeline is the backbone of sales operations and requires a range of critical skills. 

Sales managers need to be able to strategically oversee and optimize the entire sales process, effectively allocate resources, provide guidance and mentorship to their teams, analyze sales data to make informed decisions, and adapt strategies in response to market shifts. 

Proper pipeline management training will keep sales leaders and managers updated on the best practices in pipeline management. 

Online Presentations & Webinars

As remote work and virtual events become more prevalent, online presentations and webinars have become invaluable sales tools. Training on preparing and delivering compelling online presentations will help sales teams engage prospects and convert them effectively.

Enhance Your Sales Training With Powtoon

Sales training is a crucial investment for any business looking to thrive in today’s competitive market. By empowering sales teams with the right skills and knowledge, companies can ensure their sales force becomes a driving force for success. 

With Powtoon’s online video maker, you can equip your sales team with effective and engaging training resources. Our hundreds of customizable and ready-to-edit templates are the perfect solution for when you need to explain intricate sales strategies or demonstrate effective communication techniques. Sign up today and enhance your sales training with Powtoon!

The post The Top 6 Training Topics for Sales Teams in 2023  appeared first on Powtoon Blog.

Sales enablement in 2023 is taking center stage as organizations shift their focus from simply hiring more reps for sales coverage to investing in their sales reps’ training, tools, and resources. Every sales leader’s question this year is: “ How can I boost seller productivity and achieve greater production while adopting a more streamlined coverage model?”  This blog post will cover mind-blowing sales statistics that offer valuable insights and data-driven trends to enhance your team’s sales performance and help you drive exceptional business growth.

Sales Statistics for Cold Calling 

Cold calling is still a thing in 2023. It will, however, be taking on a more sophisticated and personalized approach thanks to new technology and ever-changing consumer preferences. Sales teams are expected to use advanced analytics and data mining techniques to identify potential prospects who are more likely to convert. 

• Organizations that incorporate cold calling into their sales strategies experience a remarkable 42% higher growth than those that do not.
• Cold-calling prospects for booking meetings between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. is 71% more effective than calling between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. 
• The worst workdays to call prospects are Mondays and the second half of Fridays. 
• 69% of buyers have accepted cold calls from new providers, and 57% of C-level buyers prefer to be contacted via phone. 

Response Time Sales Statistics

The ability to respond promptly to customer inquiries can be the difference between winning a sale and losing a potential customer to a competitor. Response time is a critical factor in making or breaking a deal. Let’s have a look at these 2023 statistics. 

• Only 7% of companies respond within five minutes of a prospect’s form submission, while 50%  don’t respond until five business days later.
• 82% of clients want a response to their inquiry within ten minutes.
• 35% to 50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first
• 95% of customers complete a purchase with a business that provides them with relevant resources to help them at each stage of the purchase process. (SlideShare)

Social Selling Sales Stats

In 2023, the average user has been shown to spend 2 hours and 31 minutes daily on social media. Teens are spending a staggering 8 hours and 39 minutes. So, it is no surprise that businesses leverage these powerful digital spaces to connect with their target audience. And in 2023, social selling will only increase. 

• 78% of social sellers outsell peers who don’t use social media.
• Sales professionals who excel in social selling are 51% more likely to achieve their sales quotas than their counterparts who do not prioritize social selling. 
• According to HubSpot, a remarkable 67% of sales professionals say Facebook is the most powerful and effective platform for finding prospects.
• 63% of sales professionals who use social media to find new prospects say LinkedIn is one of the most effective platforms.

Sales Statistics for Emails

According to a HubSpot study, an impressive 43% of sales professionals consider email to be the most effective channel for selling. As we head into the second half of 2023, sales emails continue to be a driving force to successful outreach and meaningful connections with prospects. 

• The best time to send emails is between 1 PM and 4 PM.
• Cold email campaigns with 30-50 characters in their subject lines get a 24.6% higher response rate. 
• Reaching out to multiple contacts from the same account boosts the response rate by 93%.
• Personalized subject lines boost response rate by 30.5%.
• A single additional follow-up message can lead to 65.8% more replies.

Lead Qualification Stats

Everyone has unique preferences, and that includes buyers. That’s why lead qualification is so crucial before reaching out to prospects. With proper qualifications, reaching out to prospects can save valuable time and money and decrease missed opportunities. 

• Effective lead qualification can improve the quality of leads by up to 200%, according to a study by MarketingSherpa. 
• 34% of salespeople regard lead qualification as their primary challenge.
• According to Sales Insight Lab, at least 50% of your prospects aren’t a good fit for what you sell. 
• 79% of leads never convert to sales.
• 55% of respondents identified budget constraints as one of the top reasons for stronger sales opportunities falling apart.

Sale Referral Statistics 

Without a referral, you’re a stranger, and potential buyers can be more hesitant to trust you. Sales referrals are the first building blocks to a trusting relationship and help bridge the gap between you and a potential prospect. A study by Nielsen revealed that people are four times more likely to buy when referred by a friend – and 92% of us trust referrals from acquaintances. Let’s have a look at how impactful sales referrals are: 

• According to Hubspot, 56% of sales professionals get leads from existing customer referrals.
• Referral hires stay with their company an average of 70% longer than non-referral hires. 
• 66.5% of sales professionals consider leads from customer referrals the highest quality. 
• Consumers discuss specific brands in conversations 90 times per week. 
• 86% of B2B buyers say word-of-mouth is the most influential factor in purchasing decisions.

Sales Technology Stats

Sales teams increasingly rely on technology to optimize processes, enhance productivity, and drive revenue growth. Let’s look at how sales leaders view technology and its role in transforming their sales strategies for success.

• In 2022, 22% percent of sales leaders said leveraging their CRM to its fullest potential was one of their top goals.
• 32% of sales professionals who use a CRM stated that one of its most significant benefits is “helping them keep track of their leads.”
• 76% of sales professionals say using sales analytics has significantly or somewhat improved their ability to provide customers with a consistent experience across every channel. 
• 50% of teams use data to create timely, accurate forecasts. 

Enhance Your Sales Enablement Strategy With Powtoon. 

2023 calls for a more streamlined approach. Organizations worldwide have recognized the importance of investing in their current sales teams rather than hiring more reps. The above sales statistics provide valuable insights and opportunities for sales leaders to support their agents to excel and thrive in the competitive market of 2023 and beyond. 

Visual communication is a valuable solution, driving meaningful engagements with prospects and customers. With Powtoon, sales leaders can create engaging video content that captivates prospects, elevates the sales process, and sets the stage for remarkable success. Find out how Powtoon can enhance your sales enablement strategy by signing up today!

The post Sales Enablement in 2023: Key Statistics and Insights appeared first on Powtoon Blog.

Offering quality learning and development programs to employees naturally gives your company an edge over the competition. Additionally, it allows you to foster engagement by providing your workers with the chance to grow and thrive.

You simply need to consider how adults learn when developing and implementing L&D content. One way to achieve your development and training goals more effectively is to account for adult learning theory when teaching employees new skills.

What is Adult Learning Theory?

“Adult learning theory” is a bit of a misnomer. According to experts, it would be more accurate to refer to the set of knowledge regarding how adults learn as “adult learning theories.”

Research indicates that there isn’t one particular learning method that’s ideal for all adults. What is clear, however, is that adults learn differently from children. Adult learning theories highlight these differences, covering the various ways in which adults may acquire new knowledge and develop new skills.

Adult Learning Theory 1: Andragogy

Andragogy is an adult learning theory involving the following beliefs about adult learners:

• Unlike children, adult learners often have the desire to manage or direct their own learning experiences
• Adult learners leverage past life experience to increase the effectiveness and applicability of learning experiences
• Adults decide they are ready to develop new skills or knowledge when they assume new roles that require new learning
• Adults strongly desire to apply what they learn to real-world problems
• Adults are more eager to learn when internal reasons motivate them rather than external factors (such as a teacher telling them they need to learn to pass a class)

Andragogy essentially assumes that adults need to understand the purpose of learning in order to feel enthusiastic about it. This corresponds with findings regarding employee engagement. Surveys and studies indicate that workers are more likely to be engaged on the job when they feel they’re made to understand the value and importance of their work.

Applying Andragogy to L&D

When developing and implementing training and learning programs for your workers, it’s essential that you frame the content by explaining the practical purpose a lesson or training session serves. Whenever possible, instead of requiring employees to listen to lectures and memorize facts, allow them to participate in practice tasks that will prepare them for real-world tasks they might later encounter in their jobs.

It’s also wise to highlight how acquiring certain new skills can boost an employee’s value to the company. Research shows employee engagement increases when workers feel they have opportunities to grow within organizations.

Adult Learning Theory 2: Self-Directed Learning

Professionals who study adult learning theory have found that approximately 70% of all adult learning is self-directed. This means that adults don’t typically learn by participating in experiences that others have planned and implemented for them. Instead, adults are more likely to organize and implement their own learning experiences.

An example of this would be an adult deciding they want to take up a new hobby. They might research what types of learning content would allow them to pursue this interest and develop the necessary skills. Additionally, they may develop their own methods for assessing their progress.

Applying Self-Directed Learning to L&D

Even though, by its very nature, self-directed learning involves employees taking the initiative to plan and act on their own learning experiences and goals, there are nevertheless ways that you can facilitate more self-directed learning in the workplace. They include the following:

• Provide employees with access to self-assessment tools that allow them to evaluate their skills, helping them understand what areas they may need to focus on when developing new skills and knowledge
• Upload learning content (such as training videos) to your intranet so that employees can access said content at any time
• Assign employees the task of setting their own self-directed learning goals

You may also have to cultivate a positive attitude toward self-directed learning. Letting go of the reins and allowing employees to take the lead can be a challenge, but sometimes, it can also yield significant rewards for both individual workers and the company as a whole.

Adult Learning Theory 3: Transformational Learning

Transformational learning is quite dramatic, but when it occurs, its effects can be substantial. When an adult undergoes a transformational learning experience, their entire perspective on a certain subject shifts or expands.

For example, perhaps an individual holds a particular view about a social issue or political topic. A transformational learning experience could result in that individual permanently viewing the topic through a new lens.

Applying Transformational Learning to L&D

Transformational learning can absolutely play a valuable role in the workplace. For example, through transformational learning, employees may be taught to reject previously-held perspectives that limited their creative thinking. This may help them develop novel solutions to common problems.

Transformational learning could also help to promote greater acceptance of diversity within an organization. According to research, companies that embrace diversity enjoy a competitive advantage.

Ways to potentially facilitate transformational learning in your company include:

• Promote the idea that asking questions and challenging conventional wisdom is one of your company’s core values
• Survey your workers to determine what types of learning experiences and activities appeal to them most
• Focus on developing learning content that exposes your workers to points of view they may not have previously considered

Most importantly, no matter what type of learning theory you apply to your L&D efforts, make a point of continuing to experiment. The more you explore new ways to approach learning among your workforce, the more you’ll understand what does and doesn’t yield the strongest outcomes.

Develop L&D Video Content With Powtoon

Video content is ideal for learning and development because it allows a company to consistently offer the same learning experience to new employees every time a training session is held. Thanks to Powtoon, you can easily create video-based L&D content, even if you lack video production experience or a major video production budget. Get started by signing up today!

The post How To Use Adult Learning Theory To Boost L&D Engagement  appeared first on Powtoon Blog.

Online learning is on the rise! According to data from the World Economic Forum, due to factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the increased availability of online courses, online education has been growing massively popular at a very fast rate.

It’s easy to understand why. Once dismissed as an inferior substitute to in-person learning, online learning actually delivers a range of potential benefits that rival those of other learning methods. Examples of said benefits include:

Accessibility

This is likely the most widely-understood and accepted benefit of online learning. Some individuals may not be able to attend in-person classes on subjects that interest them due to not living near a college or university that offers such classes.

Such a common barrier to learning isn’t an issue when a student takes online classes. As long as they have a reliable internet connection, they can “attend” class.

Pacing

Many online courses give learners the opportunity to complete lessons and assignments at their own pace. This degree of flexibility may be ideal for those who have busy lifestyles.

Additionally, with an online class, you may have the option to complete a lesson multiple times if you feel you didn’t thoroughly absorb all the information the first time around. That’s typically not an option with traditional classes.

Catering to Different Learning Styles

The materials for an online learning course can take many forms. Examples include (but aren’t necessarily limited to):

• Recorded lectures
• Reading materials
• Videos (with animated videos being particularly ideal for education)
• Slideshows
• Podcasts

Research indicates that different segments of people have different learning styles. Online courses may serve students of all major learning styles, allowing numerous students to take full advantage of all a class has to offer.

Savings

Online learning eliminates many of the expenses that are usually associated with traditional in-person classes. When designing and offering an online class, an educator doesn’t need to pay for physical space, books, and other such features. 

At the very least, this decreases expenses for teachers and educational institutions. Ideally, they will pass these savings along to students, making online learning a more affordable alternative to attending in-person classes.

Environmental Benefits

No one needs to travel anywhere to participate in an online class. Additionally, online classes usually don’t require any shipping of materials, such as textbooks.

Thus, online learning can substantially decrease a class’ environmental impact. 

Educational institutions and brands should take note. According to surveys, consumers are now increasingly likely to support brands that attempt to promote sustainability. If an educational institution reduces its carbon footprint by offering online learning options, students may be more inclined to support it.

Networking

Some online classes encourage students to collaborate with one another on assignments and projects. Because the students who participate in an online course may be dispersed throughout the globe, collaboration gives students the chance to network with individuals across the planet.

Relevance

Updating content for an in-person course (and, when necessary, designing a new course entirely) can be a time-consuming and costly process. That’s not the case with designing and releasing a new or updated online course.

Again, the basic physical demands of online courses can be fairly minimal. Among other benefits, this makes it easy for educators to update their classes and release new ones quite rapidly. 

The result? Online courses on timely and relevant topics are easier to come by than in-person courses.

The advantages this may yield for students can range from the practical to the merely appealing. For example, an online course teaching students how to use new technology is likely to be available sooner than an in-person course on the same subject. Online courses may also be more likely to touch on recent news stories, pop culture trends, and other topics.

Variety of Options

The fact that developing and releasing online learning courses is fairly easy when compared to traditional learning courses means that there is a wide variety of options from which to choose when deciding what course to take. On the other hand, a student’s options might be somewhat limited if they are only taking courses available through their nearest college or university.

Opportunities to Research Courses and Instructors

The wide variety of options a student can choose from when looking into online courses also provides them with access to numerous potential instructors. That means students have greater opportunities to research instructors, helping them identify those best equipped to serve their needs.

Customization

A traditional in-person learning experience at a university consists of a professor delivering the same lecture to an entire room of students. It doesn’t matter if not every student in a class has the same needs or learning styles—they all nevertheless receive the same information in the same manner.

This is yet another advantage of online learning. Through online learning apps, students often have the option to customize their experiences in ways that they couldn’t if they were participating in live classes.

All that said, it’s important to keep in mind that online learning options are still essentially new. Trends indicate online learning is going to continue to grow in popularity in the coming years. If it does, it’s likely additional benefits will come to light. This is merely the beginning.

Use Powtoon to Develop Video Content for Online Learning

If you design your online learning classes, Powtoon’s video maker can help you develop live-action and animated video content that brings your lessons to life. Even if you have next to no video production experience, Powtoon makes generating video content easy and affordable. Sign up today to learn more!

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