electronics + training program

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ELECTRONICS + PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE AND CUSTOMER

Electronics + Product Knowledge and Customer

Service Training Program

Prepared by:

Eda Talushllari, Supervisor

Kizzie Carter, Instructional Designer

Ruben Ochoa, Training Specialist

Shameka Loye, Facilitator

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Contents

I. Introduction Pg. 3

a. Company Overview Pgs. 3-4

II. Business Need and Needs Analysis Pg. 4

III. Performance Gap Pg. 4

IV. Learner Analysis Pgs. 4-5

V. Training Goal Pg. 5

A. Objectives Pg. 5

i. Objective 1

ii. Objective 2

iii. Objective 3

VI. Evaluation plan and tools Pgs. 6-7

VII. Conclusion Pg. 7

VIII. Lesson Plan Pgs. 8-10

IX. Transfer Matrix Pg. 11

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Introduction

Circuit City Stores, Inc. was an American multinational consumer electronics business. They were the

second largest U.S. electronic retailer and in 2009, after 60 years, went out of business (“Circuit City,” 2014).

CompUSA went out of business in 2012 (“Compusa,” 2014). In that same year, Best Buy underwent a

“transformation” to fix their revenue decline (“Best Buy,” 2014). Even though some of our big name

competitors collapsed during the recession, our own company, Electronics + prevailed. We believe that our

customers and employees were and are a vital part to our sustainment.

Company Overview

Electronics + has always been committed to customer service; in fact our company, which specializes in

various electronics like laptops, computers, and smartphones, was started by the great Langston Williams in

1991. He created this business in his parent’s garage at the age of 21. Williams believed in treating customers

with the utmost respect and answered any questions they would have regarding the various electronics.

Williams was known around the community for his fantastic deals and outstanding customer service; his

success led him to move his business to a strip mall in Houston, TX six months after startup. As of today, the

company has expanded to 10 Houston locations and has plans to open a few more stores in Texas. Williams is

now the CEO of Electronics + and he has an incredible vision, which is for Electronics + to be the best

electronic retailer in the United States.

Recently, we have been experiencing a steady decline in sales. According to our customer satisfaction

surveys, our employees are not effectively trained. Our goal is to revamp the training program so that it focuses

on providing outstanding customer service, ensuring that the employees have extensive product knowledge,

and providing the employees with helpful tips on how to close a sale. We believe that we will accomplish this

by providing various training that appeals to each different type of learner. Finally, the areas that we will focus

on to develop an effective lesson plan are as follows: business need/needs analysis, performance gap, learner

analysis, training goal, objectives, evaluation plan/tools, conclusion, lesson plan, and transfer matrix. We want

to stress that this is not just a regular employee training program; everyone, including the managers and the top

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shareholders, will do their part not only to ensure that transfer of training occurs, but also to restore the

customer experience and thus increasing revenue.

Business Need and Needs Analysis

In order for Electronics + to succeed, we must first determine the business need. Our team of instruction

designers spent roughly six months doing just that. They decided to focus on the store that brought in the least

revenue and had the worst customer satisfaction surveys. We decided to focus only on one store because the

rest of the stores were doing pretty good, but this one was underperforming tremendously. After that they

delved deep and started observing not only the sales associates, but also upper management. What they did

next was ask the sales associates to complete anonymous questionnaires to get an idea of what the employees

needed help in. Afterwards, the instructional designers started interviewing the sales associates and upper

management. What they found in all that research was that the employees are not skilled at greeting,

interacting, and offering assistance to the customers, not skilled at suggesting products and do not have a clear

idea of how to close the deal; the combinations of all of this is why sales transactions are so low. The needs

analysis determined that training is the most appropriate mean to meet the business need.

Performance Gap

In order to keep up with the big shots, we would like to increase our revenue. After doing a needs analysis

we realized that the employees are not skilled in customer service, introducing the new products that the store

has and they don’t have a clear idea of how to close the deal. All of this is impacting our revenue and our sales

per transaction. Currently our sales per transaction is $40, but we would like to increase this to $48 per

transaction or 20% higher.

Learner Analysis

After performing the needs analysis, we conducted the learner analysis to understand the trainees a little

bit better. We did this by looking at the job description and determining what the qualifications were at the job;

in addition to this we anonymously surveyed the individuals prior to the training to get a basic idea of their

age, their experience with technology, etc. The purpose of the learner analysis was to ensure that we design an

instruction that would motivate the employees, exhibit the majority of the learning styles (e.g., visual, auditory,

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kinesthetic), and consider the trainee’s characteristics (e.g., age, socioeconomic status.) (Brown & Green,

2012, p. 74-78.) This training is mostly focused on people that are the front end sales associates of the store;

the ones that are interacting with the customers the most, and the ones that are suggesting products to the

customers. In the learner analysis, we determined from the job qualifications, that the front end sales associates

have to be high school graduates and have a minimum of one year of customer service experience, one year of

selling experience, and they need to have a general knowledge of how technology works, i.e., how to turn it on,

the special features it has, etc.

Training Goal

Our goal for this training program is to increase the revenues, particularly the sales per transaction from

$40 per transaction to $48 per transaction or 20% higher and we would do that by the three following training

objectives that deal with customer service skills, product knowledge skills, and closing the deal techniques.

Training Objectives

Training Objective 1:

After the training program, employees will acknowledge every customer within 10 feet of them by

smiling, introducing themselves, discussing their shopping needs and offering assistance.

Training Objectives 2:

After the training program, employees will demonstrate the ability to offer the customers a choice of two

to three items that have features that the customer values, with an 80% customer satisfaction rate.

Training Objective 3

After the training program, employees will determine the top 3 ways to close the deal according to the

closing the deal techniques with an 80% customer satisfaction rate.

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Evaluation plan and tools

In order to determine if the training was effective or not, there needs to be an evaluation that will take

place. The way we devised our evaluation is by using the idea of 360 degree feedback. We also decided to

include the three levels of the Kirkpatrick model: reaction, learning, and behavior. We thought not to include

the fourth level, reaction, because that will be determined whenever we look at our quarterly data and

determine if we met our goal of the sales per transaction (from $40/transaction to $48/transaction).

For the reaction survey, we included it in the lesson plan because the training will be fresh in the

participant’s minds; they can decide if they liked the training, if it was beneficial, etc. We created the reaction

survey in the form of a pencil and paper survey. Next, we have the pre and posttest, which also are paper and

pencil form. We included the pretest in the training program to get the participants thinking about the training

program and also to measure their prior knowledge of the training program. For the post test, we scheduled the

evaluation 1 week after the training program because that way the information would still be fresh in their

minds and they would have utilized some of the skills they learned in the training program. Both the reaction

and the pre and posttest will deal with the participant's views of their opinions on the training program hence

they will evaluate themselves.

We also decided that some participants will be very lenient whenever it comes to grading themselves

so this would not be a very accurate measure and that is why we decided to also conduct customer surveys and

manager evaluations of the participants. Both the customer surveys and the manager evaluations of the

participants will take place two weeks after the training program; we think this is ideal because the participants

would have already started using some of the techniques that was taught in the training program. The customer

surveys will be done online and in order for the trainee to have mastered the training program, the customer

surveys must have an 80% satisfaction rate. We decided on 80% because we thought that was ideal for our

company and we realize that there are some customers that actually put thought into the satisfaction surveys

and there are some that do not. For the manager’s evaluations of the training program, the manager will

observe the participants for a full week and then decide how well the participants have implemented the

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training programs; this will be done through paper and pencil. The manager and the customers will have

similar surveys because they are both watching the participants from an outsider’s perspectives.

Conclusion

By designing an effective training plan to fix the identified problems, providing effective training, and

involving the employees, managers, and shareholders will ensure the participant’s training transfer. We will

ensure that Electronic + restores the customer experience, which will increase revenue. Electronics + will

follow in the vision that Williams has and we will challenge our employees to maximize their performance,

which will help us be the best electronic retailer in the United States. We will see how well the employees have

utilized the training program and see how the sales have changed; through this we will determine how

successful the training program was and if it needs to be changed.

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Training Instructional Plan

3 hour program

Timeframe

Objectives/Content

Content Presentation/ALP

Materials

20 Minutes - Welcome/Introduction

- Question

- Training objectives are

passed

Gagne’s:

- Gain attention

- Inform learners of

objectives.

(10 mins) Introduce yourself; ask

participants “What is your goal at the

end of the training program?” and ask

the participants to write it down.

Pass out our training objectives and

emphasize the goals of the training

program.

(10 mins) Take the 10 question pre-test

to determine how well they know

about the organization, their job duties,

and product knowledge.

Emphasize a casual tone for asking

questions; there are no dumb questions,

and reassure participants that it’s okay

if they don’t know all the answers to

the pretest.

Motivation component

Visual Aid 1 – PowerPoint

Presentation

Visual Aid 2 – Copies of

training objectives

Visual Aid 3 – Copies of pre-

test

Materials -

Note paper and pens

Computer, projector and

screen

20 Minutes - Discussion of awful

customer service

experience

Gagne’s:

- Stimulate recall of prior

(5 mins) Watch the two short videos

about an uninterested salesperson, and

one of a great salesperson.

(5 minutes) Talk about a time

whenever you had awful customer

service experience

Visual Aid 4 – Find a video

that show’s a clueless,

uninterested, salesperson.

Visual Aid 5 - Find a video of

a salesperson that does a great

job at helping the customer

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learning

● Emphasize a similar tone to the

video; say you asked a clerk about

a product and they had no idea

what the product was, where it

was located, and what it’s features

were.

(10 mins) Ask the participants to share

a time whenever they had awful

customer service.

Information component

40 Minutes Objective 1 -

Acknowledge every

customer within 10 feet of

them by smiling,

introducing themselves,

discussing their shopping

needs and offering

assistance.

Gagne’s:

-Present the content

-Provide “learning

guidance”

-Elicit performance

-Provide feedback

-Assess performance

-Enhance retention and

transfer to the job

(10 mins) Review the slides about

ways to introduce yourself to

customers, discuss their shopping

needs, and how to offer assistance.

(10 mins) Practice by dividing the

room in half and decide who will play

as the customer, and who will play as

the employee.

(10 mins) Then they will alternate.

(10 mins) Towards the end, the

“employees” and the “customers” will

talk about what they did right and what

could be improved.

Information, Practice, and

Application Components

Visual Aid 6 – Slides on ways

to introduce yourself to

customers, discuss their

shopping needs, and how to

offer assistance.

10 minutes Break People can use the restroom, get a

drink of water, eat a quick snack, etc.

N/A

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35 minutes Objective 2-

Demonstrate the

ability to offer the

customers a choice of two

to three items that have

features that the customer

values, with an 80%

customer satisfaction rate.

Gagne’s:

- Present the content

- Elicit performance

- Assess performance

- Provide feedback

- Enhance retention and

transfer to the job

(10 mins) Review the slides on why it’s

important to know the features of the

items, and how knowing the

customer’s needs enables us to provide

great recommendations.

Pass out a paper that has the features of

our top 10 most popular products.

(15 mins) Pass out an open ended quiz

about 3 different customer’s needs, and

it’s the participant’s duty to write the

best products for the customer and

why.

(10 mins) Exchange papers and see

which ones people got correct, and

which ones could be improved.

i.e. What are some of the features of i-

pads?

-They are light, take great pictures

(8 megapixel camera)

i.e. I’m looking for a light tablet that

will take great pictures for my myself.

Did you have something in mind?

-Yes I think the _________ would

be a great choice for you because....

Information, and Practice

Components

Visual Aid 7: Slides on why

it’s important to know the

features of the items, and how

knowing the customer’s needs

enables us to provide great

recommendations

Visual Aid 8: Paper that

features the top 10 most

popular products

Visual Aid 9: Paper about

customer’s needs.

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35 minutes Objective 3-

Determine the top 3 ways

to close the deal according

to the closing the deal

techniques with an 80%

customer satisfaction rate.

Gagne’s:

- Elicit performance


- Provide feedback


transfer to the job

(10 mins) Present the video about the

best way to close the deal and pass out

paper about closing the deal

techniques.

(15 mins) Complete a open-ended quiz

that has three scenarios and the

participants pick the best closing

techniques depending on the scenario.

(10 mins) Review/discuss what was

learned

Information and Practice

Components

Visual Aid 10: Watch a video

about the 3 best way to close

the deal.

Visual Aid 11: Paper about

closing the deal techniques

Visual Aid 12: Open-ended

quiz

20 minutes Wrap up

Discuss if goals were met

Reaction survey

Gagne’s:


- Provide feedback


transfer to the job

(5 mins): Did the employees complete

their goals?

(10 mins) Discuss what were things

that people had learned from the

training program? I.e. It’s important to

greet the customer, and figure out their

wants and needs in order to satisfy

them better and keep them coming

longer.

(5 mins) Complete the reaction survey

Thank you for your time, it has been a

pleasure.

If anybody has any questions please let

me know.

Visual Aid 13: Reaction

Survey

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Transfer of Training Matrix

What actions can be taken to involve each party in the transfer of training?

Before During After

Trainer Asses styles of trainee group

Set expectations

Communicate with trainee

about reasons for training

Ensure a proper environment

for trainees

Use Ice-Breakers

Maintain a positive environment

Encourage trainees to ask questions

Summarize key information

Offer coaching

Pass out reaction survey

Evaluate objectives

Provide refresher of key objectives

Be available and in sight of trainees

Trainee Come up with questions for

trainer

Make personal goals for

oneself

Understand purpose of the

training

Review objectives

Ensure a good night’s rest,

eat a healthy breakfast, and

come to training

Attend as scheduled

Take notes during training

Actively participate by asking questions

and engaging in role play

Have fun

Give feedback to trainer and supervisor

Accept any feedback given by trainer and ways one

can improve

Have a clear understanding of objectives

Communicate questions/concerns to trainer

Review new information with supervisor

Supervisor Work with trainers to create

evaluation tools

Involve trainees in planning

Go over training content

Discuss trainees needs

Emphasize certain parts of

the training program

Promote and encourage the

training program and

trainers

Develop an action plan with

trainees

Monitor trainees attendance and

satisfaction

Available for questions and concerns

that the

trainees or trainer might have

Critique and provide feedback with trainees/trainer

Evaluate results of the training program

Develop action plan with trainees

Evaluate measurable objectives and go over

expectations

Reward Performance improvement

Conduct quarterly assessments

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References

Brown, A., & Green, T. D. (2012). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles

with process and practice (2nd ed). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Circuit City. (2014, March 21). Wikipedia website. Retrieved April 6, 2014, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_City

Compusa. (2014, February 11). Wikipedia website. Retrieved April 6, 2014, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompUSA

Corporate responsibility & sustainability report. (2010, May 5). Best buy website. Retrieved April 6, 2014,

from http://www.bby.com/sustainability/

Reaction Survey

http://www.bby.com/sustainability/

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1. What is your overall reaction to the training course?

o Very Poor

o Poor

o Average

o Good

o Very Good

2. How does this training course compare to other training courses of ours you have taken?

o Very Poor

o Poor

o Average

o Good

o Very good

o Haven't taken any other training courses of yours

3. The instructor's contribution to the training process was valuable.

o Strongly Disagree

o Disagree

o Agree

o Strongly Agree

4. Were the materials, hand-outs and/or activities useful? If no, explain.

o Yes

o No

o Explain:____________________________________________________________

5. Were the teaching methods effective? If no, explain.

o Yes

o No

o Explain:____________________________________________________________

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6. Would you recommend this training course to others? If no, explain.

o Yes

o No

o Explain:______________________________________________________________

7. I intend to use the training material on the job.

o Strongly Disagree

o Disagree

o Agree

o Strongly Agree

8. What did you like best in this training course?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

9. What did you like least in this training course?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

10. How could the training course be improved? (Please list up to 3 ways)

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

11. Additional Comments:

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Pre Test

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1. When a customer walks in the door, what is your first reaction?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

2. Within how many feet do we need to acknowledge the customer?

a) 5 feet

b) 10 feet

c) 15 feet

d) 20 feet

3. When you do not know the specifics on a product what do you generally do?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What is one way that you use to “close the deal” on a sale:

_________________________________________________________________________________________

5. When a customer seems confused about a product how do you offer to better explain the capabilities of the

product?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

6. If a customer does not want any help what do you say?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

7. How should a sale representative handle a difficult customer?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Post Test Questions

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1. What should you do when a customer enters into the door at Electronics +?

a. Acknowledge the Customer within 10 feet.

b. Smile and introduce yourself

c. Offer assistance and discuss their shopping needs

d. All of the above

2. According to the closing the deal techniques, name the top three ways to close a deal?

a. ___________________________________________________________________________________

b.____________________________________________________________________________________

c.____________________________________________________________________________________

3. What percentage of customers does Electronics + strives to be satisfied with their experience and purchase?

a. 30%

b. 60%

c. 80%

d. None of the above

4. A customer enters Electronics + inquiring about the purchase of an IPad mini. Describe how you would

handle the scenario.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

5. We should offer the customers a choice of how many items based on their need?

a) 1-2 items

b) 2-3 items

c) 3-4 items

d) 4+ items

6. If we want to provide great recommendations to a customer, what do we need to know?

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________________________________________________________________________________________

7. List 2 out of the 10 most popular products that was addressed in the training program and list their features

(Note: you may not use the iPad mini because it was already addressed in question 4).

_________________________ and ____________________________

Features of #1:

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Features of #2

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Customer Survey

1. Overall, I am completely satisfied with Electronic + service.

o Strongly Disagree

o Disagree

o Agree

o Strongly Agree

2. Electronic + Salesman are knowledgeable and professional.

o Strongly Disagree

o Disagree

o Agree

o Strongly Agree

o N/A

3. Electronic + Salesman act in my best interest.

o Strongly Disagree

o Disagree

o Agree

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o Strongly Agree

o N/A

4. Electronic + Salesman greeted me promptly as I walked in the door.

o Strongly Disagree

o Disagree

o Agree

o Strongly Agree

o N/A

5. Considering your complete experience with our company, how likely would you be to recommend our

company to a friend or colleague? (0 is not at all likely, 5 is extremely likely)

o Not at All Likely (0)

o (1)

o (2)

o (3)

o (4)

o Extremely Likely (5)

6. Please list any additional comments:

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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Manager/Supervisor Survey

Employee:_______________________________

Date:___________________________________

The employee greets all

customers within 10 feet of

him/her.

Strongly

Agree

Agree Have not seen Disagree Strongly

Disagree

Comments:

The employee always smiles

and introduces themselves.

Strongly

Agree


Disagree

Comments:

If a customer needs help, the

employee is always willing

to help.

Strongly

Agree


Disagree

Comments:

The employee always takes

the customer’s needs into

consideration.

Strongly

Agree


Disagree

Comments:

The employee does a great

job at closing the sale with

the customers.

Strongly

Agree


Disagree

Comments:

The employee always

discusses the customer’s

shopping needs and offers

assistance.

Strongly

Agree


Disagree

Comments:

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I believe the employee

gained a great deal of

knowledge due to the

training program.

Strongly

Agree

Agree Indifferent Disagree Strongly

Disagree

Comments:

electronics + training program

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