I have interview déjà vu. When you’re in my line of work you’ll get this from time to time. Start working on a story and it stands to reason that at some point you’ll have to ask the same question a couple times. After a while, you get used to it.
But that’s not what’s happening to me. I’m dealing with a new feeling. I’m conducting interviews on different topics with different professionals from all corners of our industry. We’re discussing technician recruitment, data integration, customer service, branding, parts procurement. The talking points go on and on. Yet, somehow, all of those conversations seem to continue to flow in the same direction.
Like streams to a river, every time I get on the phone, I eventually find myself talking about training.
For what it’s worth, it makes sense. This is an industry of rapid change. Get up right now (or after finishing this column) and take a five-minute walk around your business. Identify all the products, services and equipment found in your business that didn’t exist a decade ago — from the computers at your front counters with their enhanced management systems to the widgets and sensors on your shelves. How much of your business is new?
Yet when it comes to training, I get the impression those scores of new products and systems are not what’s keeping you up at night. Because as advanced as they are, at least they come with support. Most new tech and software companies provide onboard training for new users and feature customer hotlines that can answer important questions 24 hours a day.
Additionally, the supplier community is building massive online training portals to supplement its longtime on-site training courses. On that note, I also know those training resources are being collected and cataloged within even larger libraries by the independent buying groups and OEMs.
As daunting as all that product training may be, at least the resources are out there. If you can find the time to make it happen you can educate your people about your new bells and whistles.
The problem comes with the other training. How to answer the phone. How to deal with an angry customer. How to control a sales conversation. How to communicate across departments. How to mentor a young associate or cultivate your next generation of leaders. That’s the training everyone wants and no one can find.
That’s where we (as an industry) have to remember our buzz words and be willing to think outside of the box.
What does that mean? With training, we need to accept all education doesn’t have to come from our industry. You don’t need to learn from another distributor or your OEM how to lead a sales call. If you have connections in our industry that can provide you that knowledge that’s wonderful, but it’s not a necessity.
Like any other aspect of your business, the best training comes from the experts. The people who live the material every day.
Take Bill’s feature this month on phone systems and employee phone use as an example. Bill did a great job researching that piece and found trainers who specialize in educating businesses on how their associates should act when answering and speaking on the phone. That’s their niche and they’re great at it.
Businesses like that can never be overlooked, especially in our industry. It’s your job to be an expert on your products and services and provide that expertise to your customers. But you don’t have to be an expert in everything. It’s OK to rely on others to fill in the gaps.
