A summary of findings from up-to-date academic studies, Evidence of Improving Knowledge Retention with Interactive Video, was recently published by the developers of the free open-source interactive video tool H5P, which I’ve written about previously. Here are a few that are especially relevant to complex and enterprise sales.
- Interactive video has more impact than traditional video
- The interactive layer (HTML5 user controls added to standard online video files) allows learners to significantly extend their attention span
- More students accessed online content when it was interactive.
- Adding interactivity significantly improved completion percentage and average viewing time
- The ability to track and analyze the behavior of learners is critical to improving the effectiveness of learning environments
- The use of interactive video to enable learning through the process of experiencing failure can lead to ‘deeper learning’ and accelerate skill acquisition
- When learners have control over learning, they are more involved in the learning process, which is essential for maximizing engagement
Sales methodologies and sales enablement
Learning concepts are relevant to just about any modern sales methodology, which all aim to advance the conversation by asking the right questions. (HubSpot has a nice summary of the top 10 sales methodologies). In the Sandler Sales Methodology, for example, reps are trained to talk a lot about the obstacles that could keep the buyer from considering their solution. That helps to establish trust. Interactive video is far better suited to nuanced Q&A than linear video. (The latest H5P release adds a “Branching Scenario” authoring tool which could be used to create a “Choose Your Own Objections” learning experience).
In sales enablement programs, one goal is to get the salesperson up to speed ASAP. Interactive video can enhance this sales training — and then help champions and influencers in your target organization do a better job of explaining the benefits of your solution.
It’s not just video
The designation “interactive video” is misleading in the sense that other types of content can easily be incorporated in the experience — text from blog posts, diagrams from product sheets, use-cases from customer videos, screencasts from tutorials, etc., can all be brought into an interactive experience. This allows for re-using or repurposing existing content to enhance the buyer experience.
