What are the Types of Distributor Training

In this age of cutthroat competition, proper training is crucial to give your distributors the right edge and the know-how to survive and excel. 

Distributor training exposes them to products, company culture, best sales techniques, and whatnot. However, before designing the distributor training module, you need to understand the most commonly-used types of distributor training.

From job aids, learning games, and ILT to webinars, eLearning, and video-based learning, there are options galore to deliver top-class distributor training in your manufacturing or logistics facility.

Read on to know why distributor training is essential and what are the top types of distributor training. 

Why is Distributor Training So Vital in the Modern World?

Competition has reached a never-seen-before level in 2022. For every product in the market, there are multiple competitors. So, to survive the competition as well as beat it, not only do your products need to be high quality and affordable, but you must also have an excellent marketing team to market the product.

Today’s consumers are a lot smarter than yesteryear. They inquire about products and services through traditional channels (read: face to face) and digital mediums like social media, customer reviews, and the like. When customers wish to collect information about products or services through traditional channels, they usually contact a distributor.

Hence, distributor training is a vital part of any company’s marketing process, which helps them associate with the brand better and become strong advocates. Taking this one step ahead, you can also train them enough to upsell and cross-sell like professionals.  

Distributor training courses generally revolve around inventory management and logistics. Proper inventory management is crucial for improving the overall health of the supply chain process. It expedites order fulfillment by optimizing operations and delivery.

Distributor training also includes knowledge about the top-selling principles. As the distributors learn the do’s and don’ts of what to sell and what to not, they become your extended arm, promoting your brand for free. 

The following section discusses the various types of distributor training you may choose from.

The Top 5 Types of Distributor Training

Job Aids

Job aids are short training materials, tools, and devices that enable employees to do their jobs well. Instruction cards and memory joggers are classic examples of job aids. The primary purpose of job aids is to make distributors understand the steps required to accomplish a task. They also reduce or eliminate mistakes.

Job aids usually contain diagrams with a short summary of instructions, product comparison charts, instruction manuals, frequently asked questions, and checklists. The simplest example of job aids is a recipe book since it contains instructions in the form of a step-by-step guide. 

Online training solutions providers like Kytes provide easy and quick creation of job aids. You can conveniently develop a unified culture channel of content and load it with videos, best practices, employees’ voices, and victories across locations. When distributors find interest in what they learn, they become empowered to market your products better. 

Educational Games

Learning games are a fascinating way to boost distributors’ encouragement and engagement level. Learning games can traverse through complex topics at ease. While theoretical knowledge might be considered boring, educational games simplify a topic through easy-to-understand tasks and activities. 

You can design learning games to introduce a new topic, offer valuable insights, strengthen learning objectives, or provide a focused understanding of products or services.

For example, after delivering a training module on Inventory stacking, you can let them play a matching game to check their knowledge and brush up on the key concepts.

Kytes allows you to create fantastic educational games using 16+ formats, offering unparalleled convenience and limitless potential.  

Instructor-Led Training (ILT)

Instructor-led training is a primitive form of training that is impactful and powerful. ILT can be delivered online or offline by one or more trainers. ILT sessions may or may not be interactive. Generally, trainers use a combination of lectures, PowerPoint presentations, discussions, and demonstrations.  

ILT is typically used to train a group. It enables you to deliver a significant amount of training by investing little.

However, you can also use ILT to conduct one-to-one training. Kytes’ intuitive platform supports location-independent training delivery. You can give access keys to distributors situated nearby or in far-flung areas and conduct distributor training programs seamlessly.

Use the platform to train distributors on new equipment or machinery, culture, communication, soft skills, sales skills, etc., anytime you want. Hence, not only does training become more impactful, but it also reduces the pressure on your bottom line.  

Webinars

Webinars are short or long training sessions taking place through online meeting platforms. All you need to do is create a meeting link and share it with all the participants. Once the participants click on the link, they get redirected to the training delivery platform.

The trainer can use a wide range of training materials, such as pdf, ppt, doc, video, audio, etc., to create training packets and share them with participants. 

Webinars have emerged as an impactful training delivery method. They make distributor training extremely convenient since a digital device is all the distributors need to attend training programs.

Webinars also let you traverse the boundaries of your office to reach distributors’ palms. They also help the training provider save money otherwise spent on logistics. Moreover, webinars can be conveniently recorded and archived for future use. 

However, before choosing webinars as a distributor training method, ensure that all distributors have access to digital devices with high-speed internet connectivity. Also, before hitting the join button, check whether everybody is present in the session or not.

e-Learning 

e-Learning is the umbrella term used for everything related to online training. Webinars are thus also a part of e-Learning.

Training content delivery platforms like Kytes simplify e-Learning by allowing you to upload sixteen different content types and weave a story around them. Since distributors can quickly sift through the many different content types, they can get a holistic and comprehensive understanding of the content.

Conclusion

Distributor training is the need of the hour for all scalable companies in the manufacturing and logistics industry. A group of trained distributors is better than hordes of untrained professionals with little idea of business processes.

Hence, to take your company to the next level, consider relying on any of the five types of distributor training mentioned in this article and reap rich dividends.