Microcontent Rules Our Lives
Just this morning, I checked today’s weather forecast on my mobile phone, skimmed my email subject lines to see if anything was urgent, and got a text from my daughter telling me what she did at college yesterday. What is microcontent / microlearning? It’s exactly what it sounds like – short bits of content. And it’s everywhere! While the idea has been around for a while, the use of mobile devices and social media platforms has taken the idea of microcontent to a whole new level.
Definition: Microcontent Communicates Key Messages In A Concise Form
The wonderful thing about microcontent is that it can be consumed in small, bite-sized pieces. Experts have recently decided that our attention spans are even less than that of the average goldfish: that’s about 8 seconds. That means sharing content and getting marketing and sales messages to the right person is even harder than ever.
Why Micorolearning Works
The good news is microcontent has created a whole new approach to learning – called microlearning. It uses small moments of learning to help break down content and drive performance and employee development in short bursts.
Definition: Microlearning Is A Way Of Teaching And Delivering Content To Learners In Small, Very Specific Bursts. The Learners Are In Control Of What And When They’re Learning
Microlearning operates under the premise that smaller amounts of content are delivered in shorter sessions. It’s a more effective way of learning and retaining information versus taking on information in large chunks. While an all-day training session can have it’s place for onboarding new employees or sharing huge amounts of information, microlearning delivers access to ongoing training and content, and can even deliver a refresher on previously learned content.
With microlearning, people typically learn faster, retain more information, and remember it for longer periods of time. On top of that, people can learn at their own pace and have a sense of control of what’s being learned and how they learn it.
Why Your Sales Team Needs Microlearning
Sales teams are a perfect fit for microlearning. Top sales performers are self-motived and driven to succeed. They learn and adapt quickly. They are busy and know that their time is important. From a sales enablement standpoint, it’s crucial to provide your sales team with the right content and tools, so they can deliver relevant messaging to customers and prospects and achieve their sales goals.
Sales Teams Are A Perfect Fit For Microlearning
5 ways microlearning supports your sales team:
1. Provides continued training
When you use ongoing training and continuing reinforcement of what your sales staff has already learned, as well as provide additional training for new product information or selling tips, your sales team will have the confidence to close deals.
2. Teaches new techniques
You can push training material to sales pros as they need it – based on the sales cycle they are in. Sales reps are much more likely to use it, and it’s more likely to be valuable to them.
3. Enables quick digestion
With microlearning, your sales pros have access to on-the-go training and continuing education in real-time, allowing them to tap into the available messaging, branding, and content to make the sale.
4. Hones skills
Stats show that the bulk of training is forgotten mere days after it happened. Instead, it’s significantly more effective to provide training materials to sales pros on a regular basis so they can hone their skills.
5. Engages your team
Microlearning fosters communication with your sales pros. Your salespeople can discuss the latest content and topics, practice their skills together, and even quiz each other.
Mobile Access Is Critical
Your sales team is on the go. Microlearning is great for busy employees or those who work in the field and may not even have a desk. By giving your sales team mobile access to a Sales Enablement platform, your salespeople can access content anytime and anywhere.
Technology Is King
These days, almost everything is accessed digitally. To be in the field with your sales team, your technology needs to go with them. For example, a salesperson is getting ready to meet with a client. She can pull up the relevant information on her mobile phone for a quick refresher before the meeting. Or a new product line has been launched, and the sales pro can get familiar with new products and features during a 2-hour layover at the airport.
To be in the field with your sales team, your technology needs to go with them.
Offer Customized Learning
When it comes to learning, everyone is unique. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to learning. You may need to create a customized microlearning tool in order to adapt to individual users. Your mobile platform can respond to users and provide them with information in a way that supports learning.
Salespeople are a perfect example of the ultimate busy, driven, and time-crunched worker. Microlearning and microcontent are proven as powerful tools to help you share real-time information with your them so they can close more deals.