Explore

Programme analysis

Stakeholders

Learning Designer

Heather Wallis

Programme Director

Megan Jackson

SME(s)

TBC

Client

Milpark: Leigh-Ann Hayward

Diploma information

The training programme aims to ensure uniform proficiency levels among the Student Acquisition team through the establishment of a formal training environment. This proficiency will fall under three categories:

Product knowledge

Technical sales skills

Systems knowledge

This will standardise the Student Acquisition team's skills and knowledge, and establish an appealing career progression system within the sales department.

Course structure

Course structure

Module 1

Your Sales Career

Module 2

The Milpark Ecosystem

Module 3

Milpark’s Sales Tools

Module 4

The Milpark Catalogue

Module 5

Sales the Milpark Way

Module 1

Title

Your Sales Career

Description

The orientation module will provide an introduction to the LMS, the course and the cohort. Learners will learn how to navigate the LMS and access or submit learning materials. They will then take a higher-level look at the learning journey ahead, including the forms of assessment they will be completing and the gamified leaderboards. They will end this module with an ice breaker within their cohort and they will have the chance to set career goals relating to sales.

⁠

Course duration

Learners will not have a limit on when they need to complete the training programme.

Notional hours

Notional hours refer to the time that the average learner would need to read all course work / attend all live sessions, study for tests and do assignments and homework. (1 credit = 10 notional hours)

Total notional hours: 13

Weekly notional hours: Asynchronous methods and the lack of a time limit mean that the learner is able to decide how many to do each week.

Course credentials

There will be a Milpark completion certificate.

Cohort management

Cohorts will be based on the seasonal intake of new employees.

Course facilitation

Asynchronous learning methods will be implemented.

Learner personas

Student Acquisition Advisor

New recruit

Has a matric and may have a tertiary qualification. Likely 3-5 years of sales experience in a contact centre, some experience in the higher education sector, and may have a history in sales or a view on how to do it. There is an even split between male and female, aged 24 to 40 years. They are driven or incentivised by commission (there will be a higher base salary to commission ratio to combat this), motivated by targets (tend to lean more towards hard sales than soft sales), and are drawn to career progression, recognition and rewards. They tend to be high energy individuals with a high drive for success, proud of their achievements and personally motivated. They aren't necessarily familiar with the online learning space and may lack product knowledge. Seasonal workloads can vary (there are some periods that are busier than others).

Sales Administrator

New recruit

Has a matric. May be unemployed before being hired at Milpark, but it is not necessarily their first job after school. No sales experience but possibly some administrative experience. Generally have basic technological literacy (Microsoft Word/Excel). Mostly female, aged mid-20s to 40 years. May want to remain in the comfort zone of the admin role. Some seek career progression within Milpark (the sales administrative role is seen as a stepping stone into academic administration or PM roles). May see the role as a means to an end without a career-aligned focus.

Student Acquisition Advisor

Existing employee

Has a matric and may still be studying. May have 2-3 years of experience as a student acquisitions advisor at Milpark. Reliable employees but are often looking for other internal positions. May become lazier over time with more focus on admin than sales (soft selling). Employees in this category have not necessarily had the same training (although training on product knowledge would be the same). Tend to focus more on returning students than new prospective students (easier to achieve sales targets).

Supervisor

Existing employee

Has a matric and may have a tertiary qualification. Has 3-5 years of experience as a supervisor in a sales contact centre environment.

Student Recruitment Manager

Existing employee

LMS

Canvas

Username: TBC

Password: TBC

Project-specific terminology

Learner: The term used to refer to the cohort members.

Students: Milpark's enrollees.

Student Acquisition Advisor: Members of the sales team who recruit students to join Milpark (new and returning).

Student Recruitment Administrator: Administrative staff members who support the sales team.

Training programme: The term used to define this unit of learning.

Module: The largest segment of learning within the training programme.

Lesson: A component of a module.

Writing style

UK English with a formal register.

L&T strategies

We will be utilising the following learning and teaching strategies:

Scenario-based learning: Branching scenarios and simulations of sales will be leveraged to add a practical element.

Collaborative learning: Cohort members can engage with each other through group discussions and learn from the diverse perspectives.

Gamification: Incentivised leaderboards and badges will be used to enhance engagement and competition within the team.

Reflective learning: A skills matrix and resulting scores will be used in periodic reflective beats for learners to consider their own skills and how they can improve/have improved.

Assessment strategy

The LEAR approach

The LEAR approach involves four steps that guide how we set up learning and formative assessments. They are as follows:

Learn

The Learn step involves the learner acquiring knowledge. It is achieved through learning materials and study.

Evaluate

The Evaluate step involves testing the learner’s understanding of the content. This is a basic recall evaluation, setting it amongst the lower-order levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Apply

The Apply step involves the learner applying what they have learnt in a practical setting, setting it amongst the higher-order levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Reflect

The Reflect step involves the learner taking time to consider how they performed. How did they do well? What were their weaker points? How could they improve next time?

Formative assessments

There will be an online workbook for periodic reflections, individual assessments (MCQs) to be completed online, and group discussions.

Location

Interspersed throughout the training programme.

Completion criteria

50% passing grade for individual assessments (MCQs) with permission to retake.

50% completion criteria for reflections and group discussions.

Summative assessments

There will be one final challenge at the end of the training programme. It will be a simulation of a sales process with an AI character based on the Milpark customer personas (the prospective students at Milpark). The learner will have to apply everything they have learnt throughout the training programme to successfully complete the challenge.

The final challenge will lead to one of the following outcomes:

An angry and lost prospective student (equivalent to a fail ~ 0-40%): The final challenge goes so poorly that the prospective student no longer wishes to be a student at Milpark and they are laying a complaint online.

A lost prospective student (equivalent to a fail ~ 41-79%): The final challenge does not end in a sale or registration, but it is because they were not engaging enough or they did not help the prospective student well enough. It is more of a disinterested lost customer than an irate one.

A single sale (equivalent to a pass ~ 80-90%): The final challenge goes well enough that the learner can close the sale and the prospective student is happy with the service. However, the learner has not managed to up-sell or cross-sell.

A multiple sale (equivalent to a distinction ~ 90-100%): The final challenge goes so well that the learner closes the sale and manages to up-sell or cross-sell. The prospective student is extremely happy with the service.