Mobile gamification apps can help participants master new concepts, integrate what they’ve learned, and improve sales training outcomes Authored by Lance Tyson, President and CEO, Tyson Group and Sam Caucci, Founder and CEO, 1Huddle
In the hypercompetitive field of sales, escalating goals have become the de facto standard. We’ve never encountered an organization that says, “You know what? This year we’d be fine with flat or declining sales.” Everyone wants to see that hockey stick curve of escalating sales performance that will take their organization to unprecedented levels of success.
But achieving those sales goals is sometimes easier said than done. In many cases, the biggest struggle in driving increased sales is getting the sales person to execute. The salesperson is the single largest factor (39%) in a customer’s purchasing decision, with more impact than any other aspect, including product quality or pricing.
Most salespeople come to the table with a range of skills and characteristics that enable them to be successful in their jobs. But in this era of 24/7 connectivity, the ready availability of information right at the buyer’s fingertips is fundamentally changing how customers buy, across the board. The biggest challenge for salespeople today is having to make constant decisions on the fly as they adapt to the needs of the buyer.
That’s why it’s critical to provide the right sales training strategy, in order to enable sales reps to be effective.
The gaming generation
“A central part of learning is interrupting forgetting. A recent study of a forgetting curve showed that 70% of what we learn is forgotten immediately and the next 30% slowly over time.”
– Peter Brown, Author of Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning
By 2020, 50 % of the US workforce will consist of millennials. A recent study found that 25 percent of Millennials spend an average of five hours a day using their phone; a quarter of Millennials check their phones more than 100 times a day. This generation is mobile-native, having grown up with cell phones and other connected devices from a relatively early age. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the typical millennial has spent over 10,000 hours on a gaming platform – almost the same amount he or she has spent in school from 5 th to 12 th grade.
Unfortunately, most companies make the mistake of trying to train millennial sales reps using outdated methods like written manuals. Since millennials are more tech-obsessed than previous generations, it makes more sense to use the tools and platforms that they find compelling.
Instructor-led training play an important role in sharing best practices and new knowledge with employees, but there is often a gap in reinforcing that knowledge. Better retention leads to better integration and, ultimately, better results.
A case in point
Sales training firm Tyson Group has successfully revved the sales engines of some of the most successful professional sports organizations in the country, including the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, New York Yankees, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Lightning, San Francisco 49ers, and Legends, among others. These organizations rely on Tyson Group’s sales training programs for help with increasing sales production, shortening sales cycles, reducing the cost of sale, negotiations and closing, and sales leadership development.
Tyson Group is best known for its core program Away-Game Selling, based on the best-selling book Selling is an Away Game: Close Business and Compete in a Complex World. In order to help clients better retain and integrate the core concepts of this book, Tyson Group partnered with 1Huddle, an enterprise software platform that provides next-generation learning and development programs in the form of quick-burst mobile games. Working in collaboration, two organizations have released a new mobile application based on the 6-step selling process outlined in the book. After completing an instructor-led sales training session, participants are now offered the option to download the mobile app, which walks them through a series of questions designed to help them master new concepts and integrate what they’ve learned into their daily workflow.
The mobile gamification app developed by 1Huddle reinforces the Away-Game Selling approach and helps sales teams to achieve their desired outcomes faster. 1Huddle’s enterprise software workforce training platform uses science-backed, quick-burst mobile games built for sales and service teams, and is proven to increase revenue and 5-star reviews. It provides next-generation learning and development programs that are fast, fun and no-fluff, and it helps employees get ready to work.
People learn by observation, imitation and repetition. Supplementing instructor-led training with mobile gamification taps into skills that already exist with most of the millennial workforce and offers a better, more forward-thinking way to engage salespeople.
Training a sales rep is much like training an athlete – developing talent to its fullest potential requires a variety of tools and tactics. The most effective approach is multidisciplinary, with instructor-led training supported by a Learning Management System, and supplemented with innovative tools like gamified mobile apps to help reinforce learning. And, just like athletic training, sales training shouldn’t be too easy – if salespeople aren’t challenged through the training process, the information isn’t retained and is quickly forgotten.
Tyson Group’s mobile app combines a tiered level of difficulty on topics such as how to connect, evaluate, diagnose, prescribe, dialogue and close deals with clients. A Sales Manager can easily build a customized game using 1Huddle and update the content to reflect specific campaigns or topics. Clients who use 1Huddle have experienced up to 99.1% voluntary participation, with an average completion time of 2 minutes, 54 seconds for game. After 30 days, employees who use 1Huddle to complement on online training course retain 76% more of the training content than those who simply take the course.
As explained by Greg Kish, VP Sales & Service, Legends @Los Angeles Rams, “We know that our employees are changing how they learn and interact with technology, which means that we need to stay ahead of the curve with how we train. Most learning tools are not compelling or engaging. It is important to our leadership team to make training not just important but something that actually improves employee performance.
“Using a game platform helped us to create an environment where employees not only have access to training anytime, anywhere – but, that they can now consume training in a format that is fun, engaging and competitive. Our adoption has been tremendous and the game platform has empowered our employees to take a more active role in their own self development.”
Great sales training is essential, and gamification makes the content stick. By helping trainees to better retain the material, mobile gamification enables Tyson Group’s clients to shorten their sales cycles, reduce the cost of sale, and develop their talent more quickly and effectively.
About Lance Tyson
Lance Tyson, President and CEO of Tyson Group, is a seasoned entrepreneur known for training sales talent for some of the biggest names in professional sports and entertainment, including Topgolf, The Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and the National Basketball Association, among others. As the author of the best-selling book, Selling is an Away Game: Close Business and Compete in a Complex World, Lance is a leading authority and recognized speaker and trainer who draws on more than two decades of sales experience to educate others on how to succeed in sales.
About Sam Caucci
Sam Caucci, Founder & CEO of 1Huddle, a technology-based employee training platform that helps companies onboard employees faster, upskill them better, and fire them up for work using games. With a mobile-first approach to preparing the modern worker, a library of quick burst employee skill games, and the option for personalized content, 1HUDDLE is changing the way organizations think about their training – from a one-time boring onboarding experience to a continuously used motivation tool. Key clients include Audible (an Amazon company), Madison Square Garden, ESPN, Guardian Life Insurance, FASTSIGNS and Loews Hotels.
