How to Sell e-Learning to Senior Management

Regardless of what your idea is, if you want senior management to take you seriously, you need to be prepared before presenting your ideas. That means when it comes to incorporating e-learning, or any other new idea into your company culture, you need support from upper management.

Before you do that, you need to know what you’re getting into. According to the article, “14 Things CEOs Should Know About e-Learning”:
Before you even think about e-learning, make sure you understand whether your organization values and supports learning at all. If your company has a culture in which people hoard knowledge, cover up their mistakes, operate in silos, and have no time to reflect, then you don’t have a learning organization. No e-learning program will make up for that.

Once you have determined you work in a learning organization, the next step is to demonstrate to senior management the benefit of e-learning.
Start with the end in mind. This concept comes from Stephen Covey and his famous book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. In this instance, it means you need to present your conclusion. Explain the research you have conducted, what you have discovered, and how it affects your findings.
Present your recommendations. Now that management knows what you discovered, tell them what you want to do with this information. Explain the programs you recommend, where they are available, and the associated cost.

Tell them WIIFM (What’s In It For Me). Here’s where it is important to provide numbers – dollars, percent, dates. Senior managers are all about ROI (return on investment). Help them understand how e-learning benefits the organization for a reasonable cost and without the overhead of keeping an entire training department on hand. Talk about the benefit to organizational goals as well as improved employee morale, productivity, and performance.
End your presentation gracefully. Once you are done, close with a statement of how you want to proceed and a word of thanks.

Selling e-learning to mangement is about being prepared in advance. That includes having a great source of online training courses (e-learning) and software programs to help you manage employee training and development. That’s where Vast Talent comes in. We offer training opportunities and solutions.

Contact us today for more information.