HOW TO RUN A POST-SHOW TRAINING SESSION.

As travel costs escalate, getting users to attend training sessions has become tougher than ever. Granite Bear Software's Mark Riffey says he's found a simple answer: He hosts training events in conjunction with the five or six regional trade shows his company attends. "We do these on the day after the show, and attendance varies from 15 to 40 people," he says. "Ninety-nine percent of the time, it works great for customers and for us."

Typically, Riffey says, these training sessions are fairly informal. Customers are encouraged to bring their own laptops, and sometimes a "very experienced user" helps with the presentation. "We ask people to call us if they plan to attend, but we never really know who's going to show up," he adds. "Sometimes the room is half-empty, and other times we're scrambling for chairs."

Riffey says he's learned a few useful tips about post-show training:

* Don't get sidetracked: The one risk about running training events at trade shows, Riffey warns, is that sometimes a "long-time, averse-to- training user shows up and rants about not getting help with things they never called you about." To deal with such distractions, Riffey or another "pointy head" is usually present to deal offline with questions that might otherwise sidetrack the session.

* Invite sales prospects: Training sessions are open to potential customers, "which gets them in touch with a fairly nice-sized group of people who still like us after giving us their money," says Riffey. "It's usually worth at least two closed sales that day, with more once they've had a few days to Othink about it.'"

* Look for product feedback: Since most attendees have just come from the trade show floor, post-show training sessions often generate useful suggestions about market trends and features that need improvement. "People bounce ideas off each other about how the product should work," Riffey says. "Having a few of your programmers in the room during these discussions can be eye-opening for them."

Mark Riffey, president, Granite Bear Software, Box 1489, Columbia Falls, Mont. 59912; 406/892-0087. E-mail: mr@granitebear.com.

High Utilization, Low Turnover That's the winning formula for application development consultants

Print Get the Mag Weekly Updates