subject: Selling Your Learning Initiative Internally [print this page] It isn't easy to predict how business leaders will prioritize new projects, or how certain budgetary line items receive primacy over others. When companies have unlimited options for internal investments with limited funding, ROI may not be the deciding factor in the final analysis.
When attempting to introduce the concept of a Learning Mangaement System (LMS) to your managers, one important selling point is the benefit of proper training that the technology will provide the employees. Here are some additional items that you can point to while proposing usage of an LMS:
1. What benefits would be realized by having an web-based training system with courses that could be developed and managed by non-technical employees?
2. What competitive advantage would be realized if we could cut our development time for new product/service training in half?
3. How much impact would be felt if we could reduce our training travel budget by 75% (consider the expense of airfare, hotel, car, meals, time ... the list goes on!)?
You'll want to mention scenarios that relate directly to your business or industry and its specific problem areas which can be cured by an e-learning system.
Presenting Your Ideas
When explaining the value of the project, here are some items to keep in mind:
1. Who are the stakeholders, and how will the changes impact them?
2. How will the new e-learning initiatives create value and support company objectives?
How will e-learning benefit your bottom line? Tally up the cost of the project and calculate savings in classroom time, travel and related expenses. Place a value on improved performance after training and divide the benefits by the costs. This should reinforce your proposal.
Obtaining Final Approval
To obtain approval for your project, you'll need all the decision-makers to be on board with the need for improvement to your current training plan. You'll also need an agreement that your proposed solution is the best answer to said need. With a little help from an e-learning consultant, you can prepare a sample training course and demonstrate the training your learners will experience.
Armed with an illustration of the proposed e-learning course, the anticipated organizational impact and several quantifiable points, you'll achieve success in selling your e-learning initiative.
