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Mike Finnan’s Results Based Training System

I have been asked repeatedly about the Results Based Training System that I utilize when I am putting a training program together. What I do and how I think the process through when I am sitting at the key board composing.

I have decided to share the basic elements that I use and what results based training means and how to utilize the system. I spent the first three months of my employment with UDS re-writing their sales training materials using the results based training system. This system helped UDS win the award from Dealer Monthly Magazine (by the largest margin they had ever achieved) for the best F&I training program in America for 2009.

UDS was awarded this honor during my tenure as their Director of Training; I was the sole training department employee for the company during my tenure when they won this honor. UDS competed with some F&I training heavy weights like Zurich, JM&A and The Associates, in fact every other Automotive/Insurance Company with a F&I training department. As a one man training department, I authored and presented to UDS’ dealer clientele as well as their in house sales staff.

Yes, the Results Based Training System really does work!

The Preliminary Information Gathering

I meet with the Executive and Sales Teams. I engage and involve the teams and write down the goals that the team’s wants addressed. Ask the team why they want these issues addressed first. Then ask the team what the best out come would look like, what would the best results be to your new training program. The more specific they are the easier it is to aim before you shoot.

The thing to do is to always ask what the results of a totally successful training curriculum would look like. Never accept answers like “raise the sales” or “help the sales people with their closing percentage”. The more specific your goals are the easier it will be to know when you have arrived at your destination.

Ask questions like “What do you feel are some of the obstacles that are causing our closing percentages to remain low”. When you ask questions like this you will get an insight in to what the team feels are the problems and what results they would like to see from the training program.

These types of questions will give you the information you need and a great starting point. If the team feels like their input is valued everyone will get behind you and take some ownership of the training.

The focus from now on needs to be at the bull’s eye of a truly great results based training program.

What are the fast wins versus the long term objectives. The best intentions of a training department are ruined by trying to tackle only the longer term objectives and not the fast wins. Do the hardest and most complicated problems later on in the training process. These should be an ongoing solution as opposed to quick fixes.

I write down the short and long term challenges that they would like to address first. I then list the skill sets that the team thinks would help the associates to manage/handle these challenges. I place these skill sets under each challenge.

The same new skill sets will appear under several different challenges and you will soon realize that you can solve multiple challenges with the same solutions.

The time table is next, and make no mistake you need to have firm dates. If you have an approximate date you will approximately hit that date. When you delegate a team member to do a specific task always give them a date like August 11 or August 15, not the second week of August or around the middle of August, this just negates the importance of the task. Keep in mind that sometimes if an associate misses their date for completion, it may reflect badly on you!

These specific completion dates should be obtainable, and when you are starting a new training program allow you to solve some easy challenges (the low hanging fruit) and increase the company’s bottom line. When you increase the bottom line every body will notice, and to quote Martha Stewart “It’s a good thing”.

You have just learned how to identify the challenges and how to best get a collective opinion on some of the answers to these challenges. You have also learned how to get your SME’s (subject matter experts) involved and engrossed and taking responsibility for your training results.

The second part of this article will be about the 2nd step to authoring a results based training program.

Reconciled and Returned

The economy has taken it’s toll on many industries, none more than the Training and Information industry. We (Wendie, my wonderful bride, and myself) have been looking for an exciting career opportunity for me; something that would be fun, challenging and permanent. I have been offered several positions that have not fit any of those criteria but I’m not willing to settle.

I had been interviewing for a few promising jobs when I received a job offer in Sacramento, California (thanks to Pamela and Bill Frades, we love you very much). We spent many hours deliberating the pros and cons of accepting an offer 3500 miles away from home. The problem was it meant Wendie and I would be apart for long periods of time as her business is exploding here in Tampa (web site design, virtual assistant work, presentations and publishing all done in top quality and cheaply priced, but I digress and unabashedly promote) so she could not join me in California for the foreseeable future, except in small visits, and I would be unable to visit her for quite some time.

We decided to go ahead with the offer as one in the hand is always better than two in the bush and the job seemed to be something I might enjoy. I let the prospective jobs that I had been interviewing for know that I was no longer available, went online and booked my flight to Sacramento one way. I was off to sunny California.

I spend Friday, August 14 packing two suit cases to the brim with business, business casual and casual clothes, plus all the accoutrements that go along with moving 3500 miles away from home. Heavy and bulky to say the least!

I awoke on August 15 (more about this date later) at 4 am (Eastern Time) and got ready to go. We drove me to the airport and at 6:45 am I was off to Houston on the first leg of my trip. I am feeling sad and lonely but optimistic and realize I must look at the positives and not the negatives of the upcoming opportunity. Anybody who knows me well knows I am very positive and always look for the silver lining in the cloud. When Wendie dropped me off she was devastated but keeping her resolve. The poor girl’s world came to an end when she pulled away from the airport leaving me behind.

I arrived at Houston at 8:25 am and called home to check on that resolve. Wendie assured me that we made a good decision and that she would be fine with not seeing me for a while, that she was an adult and a “big girl”, she could handle our separation for a good career opportunity. (Wendie knows that, like most men, what I do for a living has a lot to do with my self esteem and is directly tied to my feeling of self worth.)

I could hear the unhappiness in her voice but she assured me she would deal with it, that our separation was only temporary. I have to say, I thought it was cool that after 20 years of marriage my wife still loves and misses me so much. I am off to Sacramento at 9:30 am and settle in for my 4 hour flight.

I arrive in Sacramento at 11:30 am (Pacific Time). While we are taxing to the terminal I call home to tell Wendie I have arrived in one piece, had reconciled with the move and was really looking forward to the new opportunity.

So much for the resolve of my “big adult girl”; the 4 hours since we had last talked had changed everything and when she answered the phone I was met with a voice filled with such sorrow and heartbreak saying you must come home, I do not want to be apart for any job. I am calling the airline and getting you back to Tampa tonight.

I get my very heavy and bulky bags and wait to hear from my wife. When the phone rings the voice on the other end is so much calmer and so relieved. The airline has a seat for me and I could be home by 11:00, she is booking it and will call me later with the particulars. Fast forward one hour later. I have my new reservations and all of the arrangements we had made In Sacramento ,car rental, hotel, and long term living arrangements (thank you Fairica and Garret, you are awesome) had been cancelled as well as the vehicle transport from Tampa to Sacramento.

I was coming home – end of discussion!

My wife is sharp and is as cunning as a spy. What she did not tell me was I would be home by 11:00 am, the next day. I would not be leaving Sacramento until 11:00 pm that night, fly through the night to Charlotte, endure a 3 hour layover and be home in Tampa by 11:00 am. Let’s face it, if I had done the math, I would have realized that between the time change and the flight time there would have been no way I would have been home by 11:oo pm Saturday… but I was being nice and accommodating instead of sharp and smart.

Oh and by the way, I mentioned I would tell you later more about “August 15”… it was my birthday (no kidding). Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, let’s get no sleep and fly back and forth across the country, Happy Birthday to me!

I am typing this from my home on Monday, Aug 17, so I have made it back to Tampa. But just for laughs and giggles let’s recap my birthday weekend:
Flying time total: 12 hours
Lay over time total: 16 hours
Airport food costs: $40.00
Sleep total for two days: 0 hours
However, being home with my wife: Priceless

And by the way, if any of you know of a great job for me in Florida, let me know, because I’m looking.
Mike

Simple Business

If you are reading this from your office in the dealership, congratulations you are still in business and you have made the first cut.

Many of your fellow dealers have not been so brave, talented and most of all lucky enough to say the same. When I talk to dealers today I find that they are talking about timing and their ability to foresee the future and react to issues before they became problems.

The one constant that every successful dealer tells me is they have a great management team that is working together, selling vehicles and making gross.

Their management team understands that what ever is going on inside or outside their dealership, personal problems or the economy, they realize that selling vehicles and making money will solve most of their problems.

The automobile business is a simple business and if in your store it is not simple something is wrong.
There is nothing in this world that is better for a dealer than having a management team that is talented, aggressive and cares about the dealership they work in as if it was theirs.

The word on the street is things are starting to ease a bit. The financing is easier to place and the terms are a little bit less stringent (we still have a long way to go).

Customers are becoming more reasonable on their monthly payment expectations. Oddly enough this is happening at a time when gas prices are starting to rise and the economy is still in the throws of a recession.

The American public still needs to buy cars and trucks and many still would like to buy from your dealership. Keep in mind that the customers can get a great deal any where today, you must give the customers reasons to buy from you dealership.

Tell your customers why they should buy from you, let them know all the things that your dealership does to make a buying and owning experience with you different. I will promise you that if you lived by beating your competitions prices in the past you will need more ammunition today, everybody is competitive today and does not want a customer to walk.

Tell the story of why you are unique and you will sell more vehicles and have more repeat customers in the future.

In closing, you need to be competitive on price and build value in your dealership to close as many car deals as possible. These are the very same things it has always taken to be successful in our business.

Remember, “This is what makes the Automobile business simple and easy”.

Results Based Training – Part 7: Final

When you are composing training materials you need to have a road map and a destination. I specialize in what I call results based training. I always figure out my destination and fill in the blanks on how to get there. The seminar that never forgets what skills the class needs to make more money and be successful will always be a well received seminar.

I will always figure out my destination first for example; accessing the decision maker. Now I will analyze what the group is currently using and how I can fill in the blanks or totally change how they do things. I will give the group a great new way to access the decision maker and we will role play it until it is engrained into the attendees psyche and vocabulary.

I start my seminars by asking the class what they would like to know better at the end of the week and what are the biggest obstacles to success they are experiencing now. I write those obstacles on a flip chart and tape each page on the wall in the front of the room. We review what we have learned as the week progresses.

We cross off the obstacles as we conquer each one. I ask that the group individually list on a legal pad as the week progresses the things they would personally like some follow up with either phone calls or webinars. What this does is make sure that the follow up webinars or phone calls will have value to the attendees because the content is theirs as is the delivery preference.

Keep in mind good training shares new ideas. A good seminar also has a follow up system to help with your attendee’s success. The only way to measure success is to do a performance review before and after your seminar to see if there has been a lift in business.

I also recommend a seminar exit questionnaire to get the immediate feedback from the class while what they have learned and how much they have enjoyed learning from you is still clear in their minds. There should be a question that reads “Can we use your responses in our advertising”? Now you can use these attendee’s responses to get you more attendees in the future.

You must be the expert on the subject you are teaching and have an answer for any question the class might ask, how ever you should also solicit other people’s opinions to get a good mix of ideas and to keep everyone engaged. If the class asks you a question that is at the core of your materials and you obviously do not know the answer the class will not believe any thing else you tell them. Be the Expert!

When you are asking for other ideas and feed back during the seminar, you should never ask for a general opinion like “Who wants to tell us about…” this allows people to zone out because they figure if they do not volunteer they are safe. The way you should ask for feedback and solicited opinions is “Joe what do you think of ” or “Mary how do you do this and that”, This way no one knows who you are going to ask and everybody pays attention.

Results Based Training – Part 6: Training Curriculum

How do you know what to train and how do you teach it to your audience. We have all sat through bad training and we know what bad materials look like. The funny thing about bad materials is you can readily spot someone else’s pile, but it is very hard to spot your own.

When I am composing training materials I automatically do two things as I am writing.

#1 A dynamic presentation – I will present the materials in my head as I am writing. This is an important skill to learn other wise you will compose boring and dry materials and not realize it until you actually give the presentation.

#2 How sexy is the material? – Where is the exciting part that every one wants to hear about and when they leave they want more of your great (sexy) stuff. Sexy materials are the fun and contain beneficial skills and closes. When I am contacted by past attendees they will ask me about composing a letter or training materials and they always say I can’t make this sexy, what is it missing?

Once you understand about writing sexy materials your pride will never allow you to compose just adequate materials. If you are up in front of a group or if you are attending a seminar with secondary quality materials, you will find yourself saying “this is boring and dry not engaging or sexy at all”.

Once you realize the materials you are presenting are not great you can always change direction if you have prepared . The best thing to do is to get off this track and change tracks before this train jumps the tracks and kills your seminar all together.

A word of caution, this does take skill and you must have alternative materials always available. I like to use a PowerPoint projector and my laptop to insure a good delivery of materials. I always keep 2-3 presentations on my laptop that I know are good just in case what I am teaching is not connecting with my class.

Results Based Training – Part 5

Constructive ideas are always good, constructive criticism never is.
Criticism is criticism. Criticism sucks.

The one thing that makes the contest and training very interactive is one simple statement I always make when I start a new class. “This seminar is the place to fail; no one here is going to buy anything from you. Failing here will not cost you money where as failing in the field will cost you. All I ask is that you try hard and take some chances. Guess what, you will not do everything perfectly because this is the first time you are doing these new skills and word tracks.”

Results Based Training – Part 4: Teammates

The forming of the teams is one of the most important things a facilitator can do to insure a successful multi day seminar. I always send a questionnaire to the participants a few days before the class and I ask them very specific questions as to their strengths and weaknesses, and their experience. I do this to get a better understanding of who I am teaching and what they need help with, it also functions as a reminder and second RSVP.

I formulate my teams with members of A-B-C qualifications. The reason I do this is so each team will have an experienced (A) and a weak/new (C) sales person. Allow each team to name their team and that will be the team name for the week.

Caution: Never allow the teams to form themselves; you will have all the better sales people joining up and the weaker ones finding each other. The contest loses its effectiveness because the weaker team will never get better with out an after hours coach and some pressure from their teammates to learn the information they have been taught. I am always pleasantly surprised how much better everyone leaves the seminar because they have a professional facilitator during the day and a coach at night.

I usually will spend 7 hours teaching a seminar and the participants will work 2-3 hours at night in their groups honing up for the next days contest, The “A” player will drive their team to become very proficient in the skills that I am testing in the contest. The “A” players hate to loose and they enjoy the recognition of being a winner.

The contest materials should have specific word tracks to memorize and be about 10 minutes long. Every team has the exact same presentation to give and the winner is determined by the entire group in a secret ballot. I pick up all the ballots after each team presents.

The most important aspect of these contests is of course the teams getting good at the materials together, but a secondary benefit I receive is I ask 3 or 4 class members about each presentation they just witnessed, and I do not allow the feedback to be gracious, None of the “it was good” stuff. What I want to know is what could have been done better, what the person needs to change to be more effective when they get back to their territories and make more money. I ask every attendee to give feedback sometime during the contest so they pay attention and are always giving good constructive feedback. I want constructive ideas not constructive criticism.

Results Based Training – Part 3: Role Playing

Role playing in class is a wonderful way to have your sales people practice and fail with each other, rather than with a customer. Role playing is disliked by most people because it is normally set up by the facilitator to be an embarrassing scenario. Never make some one demonstrate a new skill or word track in front of the class for the first time.

Role playing in class also allows you to walk around the room when they are in their groups so you can coach the teams on how to correctly utilize the new skills they have learned. If you find most participants are not doing the role play correctly, wouldn’t you like to know that in class where it is easy to fix, as opposed to the field after a participant has had no success and now has little faith in the new materials.

Hint: Never use role playing as a time for a personal break or to prepare. You should be a super coach during role plays so you can change an attendee’s interpretation of the assignment or the purpose and use of the word tracks. Walk the room and change lives!

Break the participants into teams of three, one person plays the prospect, one is the sales person and the third is the observer making notes about the presentation. Let all three take turns with each role at least twice.

If you provide a scoring check sheet with all the skills and word tracks that you want your observer to look for you will have a consistent presentation through out the group. The word tracks should also be part of your check sheet so the students have a way of observing how much better the presentation is with the word tracks and how much more professional the sales person sounds.

I always have a contest on the morning of the second day if I am doing a multi day seminar. I will have the contest on a very important new skill that will be instrumental in the student’s immediate success when they return to their territories. I pit all the groups against each other, but I never tell who from each group will be the contest participant for the next day.

What this does is makes the groups work together at night and forces the group to elevate every ones skills. A prize for the winning team is always a nice reward. I make sure that the manager directly in control of these participants comes in to hand out the rewards for that contest and for each daily contest from then on, it really turns up the heat to perform better and win the future contests.

Results Based Training – Part 2: Follow Up

When most managers finish their training classes they will immediately step into their monitoring roles. That is a misstep, coaching should be your next step. The most important thing to remember is that what you teach in class is not always an easy transition into real life.

Being able to implement new ideas when your staff returns to their territories, and very importantly, utilizing what you taught them in the way you intended it to be used, is the key to successful training and coaching.

When I am called in to review a troubled training program it is usually failing because it is too complicated and cumbersome. The things you teach should be simple, repeatable and have word tracks that are easy to remember. Your training class should include role playing all of the important new things that you have brought to your team.