How A Comprehensive Technology Training Solution Can Take Your Building Materials Company to the Next Level

By Andrea Bornheim, President – VantEdge E-Learning

Companies with existing learning management system (LMS) solutions and distance learning courses did not skip a beat when last year’s pandemic shifted the way we all operate. Work still needed to be completed, and organizations could not afford to put ongoing training and certifications for sales and channel teams on hold.

That is just one of the many reasons why integrated LMS platforms are vital, especially in the building materials category where sales teams are navigating the sales process with customers, channel partners, and other stakeholders that continue to work remotely.

In-person training carries a host of considerations – meals, travel expenses, a physical setting to conduct the classes, and more. Busy sales teams are often unable to dedicate multiple days to live, in-person training seminars. Costly training centers have remained empty throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Alternate training approaches are essential to building and retaining a team that continuously produces results.

Missing the Mark

There are currently few training platforms serving the building materials industry—and those that do are missing the mark. They either weren’t designed to meet the specific needs of building materials companies, or they lack the functions that provide managers with key metrics and actional feedback needed to hold employees responsible for their training. Training can become fragmented when it takes place infrequently. In addition, tracking return on investment on training is difficult, and vetting out who is absorbing the training (or not) can be challenging to assess.

Getting Integrated

Some limitations of in-person learning programs are that they typically only occur on an occasional basis, they require learners to memorize large quantities of information in a short amount of time, and attendees are immediately tested on what they have learned. Follow up assessment to measure retention rarely occurs.

Training in the building materials industry needs to be integrated, ongoing, and applicable to real-world, everyday scenarios. A comprehensive training solution that includes an LMS platform provides sales, channel partners, and seller-doers at building materials manufacturer (BMM) organizations with the right training tools and programs in one integrated, centralized place. Online training is at a learner’s fingertips and provides continuous feedback to the learner about their progress.

Good distance and hybrid learning is designed for users to absorb and comprehend the information being presented to them. Unlike a traditional presentation with an instructor at the front of the classroom, online training can be interactive and engage learners in ways that traditional training does not. Self-paced online modules have the added benefit of convenience: they can be completed at any time, from any location. LMS platforms assess learning outcomes and measure progress both individually and in aggregate, which provide companies with invaluable insights and measure their return on investment.

Below is a video example of how online training may look to the end user. This example showcases training geared toward professionals in the HVAC industry and includes video content, short-form interactive testing, and other educational components:

Ditch the Busy Work

Successful training organizations need leaders that are knowledgeable about training best practices, as well as team members that can oversee day-to-day administration of programs. Scheduling, managing instructors, conducting the training, and assessing learning outcomes can be a time-consuming endeavor, especially if training is needed for outside parties like channel partners or those within a BMM’s buyer or distribution network.

Online LMS platforms consolidate functions and data into one system, making reporting and measuring results easier and more efficient for building materials companies, and eliminate a great deal of the administrative busy work that comes with in-person training sessions.

Finding the Right Partner

The building materials industry is complex. That is why it is vital for companies in search of a comprehensive integrated training model to work with an organization that has the experience not only in sales, channel, and seller-doer training, but also possesses a firm grasp on the building materials industry and the direction it is trending.

Yellow Hat, a customizable training solution from CNVRT, is specific to the building materials industry. It utilizes the latest cognitive learning strategies to address the training needs of internal and external sales and marketing professionals within the industry. Its offerings include assessment, training resources, identification of marketing metrics, an audit of company and project pursuits, analytics usage, trusted advisement, document understanding, CRM platforms, and materials and building science training. In sum, it offers BMM training assessment, the training itself, and implementation across the organization with existing people, tools, and processes.

Through Yellow Hat, industry experts perform an assessment of a BMM’s current processes and training methods and provide a custom-designed solution for the organization. In collaboration with VantEdge E-Learning, Yellow Hat will pave the way for training of BMM resources through cognitive training seminars, in-person training alongside sales teams in the field, and virtual sessions, while utilizing the industry’s latest LMS technology.