In our previous post, we touched base on the various business strategies that you should take note of to propel your business to the next level. Today, we will be sharing more on employee development and the training program you can enforce.
Your employees are the faces of your business and they can relay the message that you want to convey to your customers. Various marketing promotions can be done, but without a representative to execute them, the success of these initiatives may be limited. The points mentioned below can be tailored to suit your business and target respective employees based on their background and personalities.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
An SOP is required to streamline your operations and provide consistency among all staffs. This will eliminate the possibility of service disparity due to miscommunication or differing training. An SOP in place will ensure that the staff are aware of their roles and responsibility and things are organised.
A place that does this really well would be Hai Di Lao, they enforce the uniformity in service to ensure that customers feel welcome at all their outlets.
If you are currently running a chain of stores, observe the reviews of the various stores to see if there is a contrast between them. A huge contrast will require immediate action and often points to a lack of SOP implemented.
Business Terminology and Active Vocabulary
An active vocabulary are words that one can actively use in a conversation; on the contrary, passive vocabulary are words that you understand but would not readily use in writing or speaking.
Imagine being in a new environment and you have a hard time understanding the conversations that are happening around you. You turn around to look for help, you are now standing eye to eye with a stranger, they start speaking to you and you can barely understand what they are saying. Scary, isn’t it?
Therefore, the first step in your training program would be to empower your staff with knowledge of the industry terms and jargons. This will give them the passive vocabulary to understand their peers and customers so that they have the confidence working in the setting.
Next, the passive vocabulary that employees have acquired needs to be converted into active vocabulary. Employees have to engage customers in a conversation using the words and phrases that they have learned. With repetitive use of the words, they will be able to commit those phrases into long-term memory – ready at your service.
Product and Service Knowledge
This comes hand in hand with the point mentioned above. While educating your staff with the various business terminology, it is important that they associate the terms with your products and services. Knowledge about your business and products is essential for the staff to confidently express themselves and convince the consumer.
A staff that is hemming and hawing would definitely not give you the confidence in the product that they are introducing. With knowledge of the various products, the staff is able to effectively pair various products or services that will better suit your clientele’s needs. The confidence exuded will also capture the audience attention and trust of the staff’s opinion. This will in turn bring up your average check (AC) as the amount spent on average is higher.
Sales Training
To achieve a higher Average Cheque (AC) amount, sales training is required to encourage your customers to spend more per visit. This can be done through cross selling or upselling.
Cross selling is a technique where items that are complementary is suggested. E.g. Suggesting conditioner and hair serum when the customer purchased a bottle of shampoo.
Upselling is done to encourage the purchase of a product that costs more than the initial choice of purchase. The recommended product would essentially be better than the initial choice with more benefits or advantages. E.g. Instead of a laptop with an i5 processor and 4gb ram, why not opt for the newer version with a i7 processor and 8gb ram. Upselling will require the staff to spot the customers’ needs and not excessively force their view upon the customer.
Once again, to have effective sales technique, staff would have to understand the various product that the business offers. Cross selling techniques would also have to be imparted to them. Not everyone is born with a glib tongue. By advising them the recommended pairing and products, they can better convince the customer and build their knowledge base.
Motivational Tools
Following the various points mentioned above, motivational tools can be implemented to keep employees’ morale high and encourage them to achieve the higher sales or better service. Some examples of motivational tools are cash tips, monetary incentives and incentive trips. This gives the employees a clear goal to work towards for themselves.
Evaluation of Training Program
At the end of the training, an evaluation of the program should be done to ensure that objectives are met. Evaluations can be done quantitatively or qualitatively to represent the results of the program.
| Quantitative | Qualitative |
| KPI | Surveys |
| ROI | Mystery Shoppers |
| Revenue Generated | Periodic Tests |
Contact Us
These are some of the points that we have gathered for your training program. For a more detailed training program that is tailored for your business, contact us now at sales@weebo.com.sg!