I’m Focusing On Training And The Tools I Need To Do It

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It’s not necessarily well known that my real passion is training. I did it full time some 20 years ago and loved every minute of it! I live vicariously by seeing others succeed and watching the bulbs light up in their heads. I also taught sales at the university level. What they say about that is true. Those who can sell, sell. Those who can’t, teach. However, I have successfully sold B2B since 1977 so I would like to think that I may be an exception to this rule. I had my hands on a lot of technology back then … a white board and an overhead projector. My, how times have changed!

I’ve broken my training focus down into 3 main areas: live seminars and workshops, webinars and web-based training events, and training videos. I will use each of these to promote our groups, Nimble Social CRM, and the training services themselves. Each will require it’s own unique set of skills and tools and here is what I am exploring with each …

Seminars and Workshops – I have most of the tools needed for this including a notebook, BlackBerry 9780, projector, screen, presentation mouse, flip camera, and white boards. Of course, there is always some other toy that I need to complete my stable. After a lot of hemming and hawing … I pulled the trigger the other day and ordered a new Apple iPad2. I convinced myself that I needed it when what I actually know to be true is that I have more of a want than a need. That being said, I am intrigued by it’s ability to drive a big screen monitor/t.v., and I think my projector, and I am also thinking that with a stylus pen it can be used effectively in a presentation setting. Of course, it will be great for mobile one-on-one presentations as well as credit card processing and I am considering Square for that service.

I am currently working on the materials for an 8 hour seminar that will be announced April 1. This will create the need for a landing page on this site and I will likely be using EventBrite to book and collect payment from the attendees. The landing page may feature a presentation via SlideRocket or Prezi and may also have an excerpt from the workbook that will be displayed using Scribd. SlideRocket or Prezi could also potentially become a part of any presentation.

Craig M. Jamieson has been active in B2B selling since 1977. This post is representative of just some of the materials included in his sales training workshops. All sessions are designed to be fun, energetic, and most of all … real. Examples like these don’t come from books. They come from real life experiences.

Finding a suitable place to hold these events can always be challenging. I am presently starting a discussion with the owner of a little known facility that nicely meets our needs for size, technology, parking, central location, overall services, and reasonable rates. In fact, this may be the next best thing to fulfilling my dream of having a dedicated training facility for my long-term use. Sweet! Effectively promoting these events is an entirely different animal. Let’s just say that the old dog has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Webinars and Web-Based Training – I’ve been doing these for 2.5 months now and the results have been mixed at best. I earlier invested in a web-based service called DimDim for these purposes and went into a panic when they were recently acquired by SalesForce.com and then promptly announced that they would be discontinuing DimDim as a standalone service. I am paid though the end of September. The webinars that I have been doing, and would continue to provide, have all been free. The attendance has been flat out abysmal to the point that I either need to figure out what I am doing wrong regarding their promotion or just stick a fork in the idea and move on. There are several tools available that I could use for webinars and/or web-based training sessions and those range from free (Skype) to moderately priced (Fuze Meeting), to full blown professional tools (GoToMeeting or Webex). I will cross those bridges in October.

Training Videos – I very much like the idea of instructional videos and am quite comfortable in doing them. Specifically I am referring to screencasts and not me standing in front of a camera. I love standing in front of a room but in front of a camera is an entirely different matter. I have used Jing for these purposes, and it is free but, Jing limits recordings to 5 minutes and does not have the ability to upload those to YouTube (the $14.95/year PRO verison does allow for YouTube uploads but you are still limited to 5 minute recordings). However, even something that can’t be uploaded to YouTube can be embedded on your site so I have not yet decided if that is even an issue. I am also looking at Screencast-O-Matic (free with a 15 minute recording limitation or 1 hour for the $9/year PRO version), and am beta testing GoView which is a Citrix product which pricing yet to be established. These are all web-based products and I like that. More professional p.c. based products range from Wondershare Demo Creator ($99) to Camtasia by TechSmith (up to $324) who also makes Jing. These recordings will likely be provided free to the public but may also be part of a service that I include for those who have invested in our other services. The possibilities are intriguing.

That should do it for today and thanks for visiting! For those of you who know me and wonder what Craig does with all that “free time” … now you know 🙂

Craig

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Craig M. Jamieson

Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services
Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!
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