Bandalier University is the internal training program we developed. Every team member goes through this training before being paired with a client. We’ve gotten a lot of feedback on it over the years and put a lot of work into making it as engaging as possible. We also get paid to go through training – who doesn’t love getting paid to invest in themself?
The idea came from the new rep training we did early on as a company – referred to as Sales 101 internally. The purpose of this training is to ensure every rep feels comfortable enough to begin outreach when placed on a client and so that we offer a baseline of service to our clients. As with most startups, that training started as a Google Doc with links to videos and other material. This worked for us when we were a small group, all located in our Binghamton HQ, but in 2020 we needed a more organized, more engaging training for remote employees joining the team.
This is when Matt, our Head of Office, began building what is now Bandalier University. This started with cleaning up the content in our Sales 101 doc and recording training videos for better retention of information. Next, we incorporated small quizzes and knowledge checks to increase engagement and further increase information retention.
What are some things covered in Bandalier University?
We asked some of our newest team members to comment on what stood out from their Intro Training with Bandalier University. Here’s what they had to say:
“I like how it’s formatted… the overall layout, focusing on the psychology first, then going from open to close”
“I like how it puts several tools out on the table and the various use cases for them. Specifically, I got value out of the details on dealing with gatekeepers… it’s nice to have information on a few different methods available, so I can take the tools and decide how to approach each situation with them”
What’s next for Bandalier University?
We’re currently working on implementing our leadership training in the same format, and developing a Sales 201 course for team members looking to develop their skills and move up into our leadership and sales tracks.
The leadership training is something we offer to every employee who wants to move into management, and since we exclusively promote internally it is also a prerequisite for all of our managers.
Our Sales 201 course is something we’ve been looking to develop for quite some time, and are finally ready to launch it! This course focuses on down-funnel sales and more advanced sales techniques. We take upward and lateral mobility very seriously. We are developing this for team members that want to hone their sales skills and progress their career, but don’t see themselves in management.
If you see yourself excelling in a company that takes training VERY seriously and want to build up your sales or sales management skills, we’ve got good news – we’re hiring! Apply today
