Using the Internet For Training: A Mixed Blessing

hile everyone agrees that good training is a prerequisite to productive partnerships, its delivery is also fraught with difficulty. More than $60 billion was spent on training programs last year in the United States, yet partner needs were, in many cases, unmet. Resellers who have attended training sessions that were not partner-specific, were held in inconvenient locations, or were led by unqualified people have become skeptical of their high-tech vendors' ongoing call to the classroom.

In response to this lack of reseller enthusiasm, progressive high-tech vendors are moving their training classes to the Internet. Whether it is called e-learning, online education, distance learning, automated knowledge transfer or simply Internet training, most serious channel players are quickly adapting their reseller training for virtual delivery. Fifty-one percent already offer some online technical training to the channel, and 57 percent of vendors have moved some sales training online,with much success. Usually, vendors simply include their resellers in corporatewide projects that are bringing Internet training to end users, employees and resellers alike. The channel, however, is already starting to see some automated channel training programs,geared solely to the partner community.

Big Brother Is Watching

What makes partner training different from end-user training is the opportunity to link partner learning investments with vendor marketing resources. In other words, vendors can identify which of their partners have actually taken an online course, downloaded a white paper, reviewed a competitive analysis, or otherwise invested in becoming more capable at selling their products. These "trained" partners can then be rewarded by their vendors with more or better leads, additional soft dollars, better access to direct sales support or some other perk.

Some resellers who participate in online programs may bristle at the new discipline that has been introduced into a system that's been historically very lax. With online training, partners must work harder and actually demonstrate competency in order to receive the leads and marketing assistance they used to get automatically. In addition, channel sales and technical employees can be prompted periodically by their vendors to demonstrate their ongoing competence by retesting,an activity that may be viewed as a waste of time by some reseller managers. This will make it easier for vendors to identify those resellers that are not living up to their training commitments. Untrained and uncommitted resellers will become visible to vendors looking to streamline their channel operations.

Electronic knowledge transfer, however, provides a number of benefits to the channel. Online learning can be personalized to the individual, partner or channel that has access to it. Locating desired courses and registering students may prove easier with online offerings than with traditional classes. It is interactive, self-paced and available 24/7 for any sales rep or support technician who needs just-in-time information before visiting an end user. And, if the vendor is diligent, its information is up-to-date and always relevant. Online training can focus on the needs and abilities of the channel in closing new business, not the limitations and biases of the instructor employed by the vendor.

Hardware manufacturers are leading software vendors in providing this new level of electronic training. Registration (including record-keeping of the classes attended) has been put online by 73 percent of hardware manufacturers, but only 37 percent of software suppliers. Moreover, two-thirds (68 percent) of hardware manufacturers are in the process of automating sales training for partners, compared with only 55 percent of software vendors. Nevertheless, software vendors are on board. The percentage of software companies that offer some of their technical training courses over the Internet has grown from 18 percent to 58 percent within the past three years. The percentage of those offering sales training has jumped from 30 percent to 55 percent during the same period.

While many electronic training suppliers tout the revenue opportunities, high-tech vendors are rejecting the concept of charging partners. Only 22 percent are now asking resellers to pay for access to their online course material. If this trend toward free training over the Internet holds, it will make training more available with fewer hassles to partners who have long been forced to pay for training by vendor profit centers.

While partner training over the Internet is clearly the way most knowledge transfer will occur in the future, it does not mean the end of classroom instruction. The bulk of sales training can eventually be repurposed for online delivery,keeping sales resources in the field. Technical training, however, usually requires too much hands-on experience for cyberspace. As a result, resellers will soon have to adapt to a blended instructional strategy with a heavy emphasis on Internet knowledge transfer and comprehensive testing requirements.

Michael Dubrall is a principal with the Technology Channels Group, Pleasanton, Calif. He has 20 years experience in setting up and maintaining successful channels of distribution, including channel-plan development, research on emerging channel trends and reseller-program development. Contact him at miked@tc-group.com.