| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 15/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 10 |
| Copyright: Other |
Letter of the week
Good training is key to sales
I READ with interest the article on agents’ educational trips and warmed to the remarks made by John Harding in his selection of top tips.His number one tip – establish the purpose of the educational – is especially important.
Educational trips are a valuable form of training, and just like any other training intervention, must have their expected outcomes clearly defined.
If the outcome is not clear in the provider’s mind, how can the success of the intervention be measured?
In my own days as a travel agent, I was sometimes sent on educational trips – rather like the 26 hotel trip recently reported by Maureen Hill – where the itinerary would have been more suited to the business trip of a hotel contracts manager than that of a retail agent. Trips that include too much learning will fail. The human brain can only absorb so much new information in a given period and trying to cram in too much will probably lead to a failure to learn anything. It’s always better to include seven pieces of learning that the delegates all remember than to include 77 that they all forget.
Those responsible for arranging educationals should set achievable objectives and not succumb to the temptation to include as much as is physically possible in order to get their money’s worth.
Their first priority should be to ensure they themselves have been trained in the skills needed.
Richard English, REtraining, Reigate, Surrey