Hello and welcome! I’m Chris, “The Bulldog,” Collins, and I’m glad you stopped in. I’d like to share a little insight into why sales training systems that use gamification blow other training methods out of the water! But first, let’s get a clear idea of what gamification is. Simply put, gamification is the application of game theory to things other than games; sales training systems for example. It uses the same techniques that make video games so compelling and hard to put down, to make sales training exciting, fun, morale-boosting events to drive learning and improvement.

WHY ORDINARY SALES TRAINING SYSTEMS FAIL

We’ve all been there … sitting in a dim room with a PowerPoint presentation up on a projector, and some “expert” you’ve never heard of, or worse still, your own boss, droning on, stumbling through a presentation, while everyone around you daydreams or dozes off. With most sales training methodologies, there’s no real reason for the trainees to stay interested and involved. Just imagine for a moment, a room full of sales associates listening to a lecture; picture it in your mind. Are they really paying attention? Or, is their attention drifting more and more as time goes on?

WHY GAMIFICATION WORKS

Now, picture those same daydreaming sales associates playing some dumb little video game, like Candy Crush, or Cut the Rope, in that same room. They could play for hours, paying perfect attention every single second, couldn’t they? Why? Is lining up colored candy more inherently interesting than detailed sales strategies that can make a real impact on your business and their income? Of course not; it’s because game mechanics work. They work so well that games about nothing, whose play involves endlessly repetitive tasks, are not only not-boring, they can be addictive!

SO WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES GAME MECHANICS SO COMPELLING?

GOALS AND MILESTONES

What’s the first thing you expect any sort of motivational guru to talk about … setting goals, right? Goals are the first step toward motivating ourselves to do whatever it is we want to do. But, goals tend to be fairly distant, even abstract things that are hard to stay motivated about hour by hour, day by day. In Candy Crush, the goal is to beat the game … but that’s hundreds of levels away. So, in between goals, are milestones; the sub-groupings of ten or so levels along the way to the end of the game. Along the way to those milestones, we offer visual feedback, the progress along individual levels, with an icon moving through the path getting closer and closer to each milestone.

INCREASING DIFFICULTY AND GROUP INTERACTION

Good games also offer a gradually increasing level of difficulty. This learning curve makes it easy for players to get involved, but then keeps them challenged and engaged over time. The best games also include group participation or social interaction. Candy Crush does this through Facebook, allowing players to see how their friends are doing, and to share their victories. You can do it through direct, live, face-to-face collaboration or competition, which is infinitely more powerful!

REWARDS FOR SUCCESS

And, finally, games reward players for achieving the desired results. In a game like Candy Crush, this reward is fairly simple, such as a cheerful sound or a congratulatory message, along with the right to see what comes next. How much more powerful then, could your sales training system be if you can offer cash, gift cards or merchandise as rewards for successfully learning and demonstrating the behaviors that drive profits in your business?

LET US HELP YOU DESIGN SALES TRAINING THAT WORKS!

Here at Chris Collins Inc., we specialize in sales training systems that use gamification to keep your sales staff interested, motivated and inspired while teaching them more than they’d learn in any other system all while boosting morale. But, that’s not the end of the story! The best part is, that in any business with a product or service to sell, and people to sell it, we can apply the same principles of gamification to the business’s day to day operation! This consistently provides results that absolutely transform businesses. My clients have shown millions of dollars in increased revenue year-over-year after hiring me. Are you ready for that kind of impact? Come inside and find out!