If you are like many sales managers directors or even HR managers, your success on the job resulted in being promoted. And a huge part of the role of a sales manager or director is training new and experienced agents. However, many a manager has not been trained on how to train and just telling your new agents what to do is not going to give you the best results.
Bayut Academy trainers are certified trainers, instructional designers and former educators. As such, we understand the different approaches to training, when to use each strategy and their strength and weaknesses.
The Instructor
The Instructor’s teaching style is often used by people with a strong knowledge of sales concepts, but who lack training skills. It is also much ‘easier’ for people to lecture ‘their way” to their colleagues than to use interactive activities.
Instructors deliver a ‘lecture’, and the agents listen. They may take notes and answer questions. In this technique, the agents are not personally involved or challenged.
What does this look like?:
- Telling your colleagues how to approach a problem from your point of view. There is no collaboration of any sort but rather a one-sided approach
- Giving a lecture or demonstration
- Instructing learners on new ways of doing things.
The Instructor Teaching Style’s Strengths:
- It is great for introducing new concepts to learners
- The Instructor is in complete control of the training and is the centre of focus
The Instructor Teaching Style’s Weaknesses:
- It is a trainer-led classroom, so learners are denied access to their own experience of learning
- There are no interactive learning activities.
When To Use
This teaching style is great for introducing concepts to newer agents. For example, our trainers at Bayut Academy use the Instructor’s teaching style to explain the laws that govern the Dubai real estate market.
The Explorer
The Explorer’s training approach involves creating an ‘open’ learning environment, where learners can share and interpret their reactions to activities (such as role-plays and group discussions). The Explorer ensures that all the agents are involved in the discussions, paying attention to both verbal and non-verbal cues. Here, a good explorer is a good listener, showing empathy for the feelings and emotions of the learners and appearing relaxed and unhurried.
They encourage self-directed learning, where learners take the initiative to learn independently.
What does this look like?:
- Hosts group discussions, with smaller groups of around 2 to 3 people
- Encourages learners to share questions or talk about their processes
- Asks for questions from the agents at the end of the session
- Asks agents to assess their progress with polls and quizzes, and obtains feedback as needed
The Explorer Teaching Style’s Strengths:
- Seen as a coach, peer or friend who helps new agents learn and develop in their career
- Agents can share their feelings without fear of judgement.
The Explorer Teaching Style’s Weaknesses
- Not all learners want to share their feelings or reactions, and a trainer may be seen as intrusive
- It can be frustrating for people who want a faster learning pace.
When To Use
We use the Explorer’s teaching style to train agents on skills such as prospecting or lead generation. In these workshops, agents role-play real-life scenarios to discover the most effective ways to work with different clients.
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The Thinker
The Thinker focuses on ideas and thoughts, rather than emotions and feelings. This training approach uses personal and learners’ experiences to discuss concepts, categorising and organising each reaction into theories, principles and ideas. For instance, while training on the best prospecting practices, you discuss your own experiences and ask your colleagues to share their thoughts.
Independent thinking based on objective information is highly encouraged, and agents develop solutions and ideas. As a trainer, you are helping agents make connections between the past and the present, while observing learning activities.
What does this look like:
- Providing reading materials and resources to the agents
- Asking for questions after a structured ‘quiet time’, where the learners can reflect and come up with these questions
- Focusing on helping agents understand theories of how a process works, and then looking at real-world applications.
The Thinker Teaching Style’s Strengths:
- Providing a strong theoretical base for an independent-thinking learner
- Encourages learners to think critically and come up with questions.
The Thinker Teaching Style’s Weaknesses:
- Practical learners can become impatient to find out how ideas and concepts can be used
- in real life
- Learners who are not used to the Thinker’s teaching approach may find it difficult to apply the new concepts they’ve learnt in real-life situations.
When To Use
We use the Thinker’s teaching style in our Multicultural Communication session at Bayut Academy. In this workshop, the trainer discusses the studies behind effective multicultural communication, and lets learners discuss ideas amongst themselves and develop new ideas.
The Guide
The Guide’s training style uses activities and problem-solving exercises, to apply what they have learned in the real world. Some activities the Guide uses include shadowing and one-on-one coaching.
They encourage learners to experiment with practical applications and learn from fellow agents. As a Guide, you’re a facilitator of learning – helping learners discover new ideas on their own.
What does this look like:
- Combining learning with large group discussions
- Assisting or coaching agents one-on-one
- Offering your observations and suggestions to learners
- Encouraging agents to plan and verbalise how they will be using their new learnings.
The Guide Teaching Style’s Strengths:
- Encourages self-learning from peers
- Helps learners get familiar with real-life scenarios .
The Guide Teaching Style’s Weaknesses:
- Makes learning less ‘academic’, since the focus is on real-world applications
- Trainers tend to rush through the other styles to get practical results.
When To Use
We use the Guide’s teaching style in our time management session. Our trainer shares various time management techniques and discusses how to prioritise tasks, after which agents are prompted to try their hand at creating a schedule for their day and identifying the time bandits.
An effective trainer does not rely solely on one training approach; rather they switch between different approaches depending on the audience and topic. There are times when the direct approach may be the best technique, but an effective trainer does not rely solely on this technique and uses it in conjunction with other techniques.
Since there is no ‘one style fits all’ approach, the first step is understanding your primary style, which can be done here. Once you know your style, you can make sure to incorporate all the styles to have a well-rounded and more effective training program.
To learn more about training and real estate for new agents, check out our Content Corner, our library of educational resources. You can also join us for our workshops at Bayut Academy, our in-house series of workshops for UAE real estate agents.