Tailored channel partner training can be the difference between thriving, profitable collaborations and missed opportunities leading to dwindling revenue. High-quality training empowers partners to represent your brand confidently, sell your products successfully and offer exceptional customer experiences.
However, when training programs fall short, they can lead to stagnant sales, brand inconsistency, high support costs (whether that’s customer support or supporting partners), and ultimately, poor revenue growth.
Ineffective training isn’t just a missed opportunity; it can actively harm partner performance, erode partner loyalty and waste valuable resources.
To help you identify issues early, here we discuss five warning signs that indicate your training program may need recalibration.
1. Limited Impact on Sales Performance
If training fails to move the needle on key metrics, like sales growth or customer satisfaction, it’s a clear sign that your training program doesn’t hit the mark. If partners who have completed training are still missing sales targets, struggling with account growth, or seeing little improvement in satisfaction rates, your training may be too generic or out of touch with their needs.
To combat this, ensure partners receive training based on the needs of their role in the ecosystem. Personalised, tailored training, using role-specific learner pathways, provides partners with the specific knowledge they need to succeed.
Secondly, consider adopting a data-driven approach and creating training that connects to performance goals. Analysing this data and gathering feedback allows you to discover and focus on areas that need improvement.
Without data, it is challenging to understand how the training program is performing and where improvements are required.
Leveraging Wahoo Learning’s expertise, you can create a customised program crafted specifically to boost partner sales and maximise ROI, ensuring partners gain practical skills and strategies that yield real-world results.
Tip: Regularly update training content to reflect market changes and competitor insights. By keeping the material relevant and up-to-date, partners are better equipped to handle evolving customer needs and industry dynamics, which drives stronger performance.
2. Low Knowledge Retention and Application
A common manifestation of low retention is the presence of frequent partner errors, brand compliance issues, or inconsistent messaging during customer interactions. If your partners forget critical information or struggle to apply what they’ve learned, it may signal problems with the design of your learning materials.
Partners need to understand and retain key concepts. Issues around retention often arise when training lacks the necessary reinforcement and practical applications.
For example, including simple knowledge checks or gamification in your eLearning courses can help support learning and encourage retention. Other techniques to support knowledge retention include spaced repetition and scenario-based learning to ensure training sticks. Focussing on real-world applications that help partners apply critical information ensures they are prepared to put knowledge into practice, further reinforcing the concepts they learn.
Embedding knowledge through interactive exercises and ongoing reinforcement drives greater partner competency.
It’s also important to consider learners absorbing information differently. Applying tailored techniques can significantly improve their engagement and retention.
Do-ers (kinesthetic learners) benefit from hands-on exercises like simulations and role-plays, which let them practice real tasks.
Watchers (visual learners) grasp concepts better through infographics, videos, and visual aids.
Listeners (auditory learners) engage more with narrated content, discussions, or podcasts.
Thinkers (reflective learners) excel with self-paced, scenario-based learning that encourages problem-solving and critical thinking.
Tip: Introduce gamification elements like leaderboards, badges, and rewards for completing modules or demonstrating skills. These elements make learning more engaging and foster a sense of achievement, motivating partners to retain information and apply it effectively in their roles.
3. High Volume of Support and Troubleshooting Requests
A spike in support calls or troubleshooting requests can suggest that training is failing. If partners continually ask the same questions or require extra assistance with tasks they should know, this suggests they didn’t fully absorb or understand the training materials. These support requests cost both parties valuable time.
When training is clear and comprehensive, partners should feel confident and capable. Ensure that training materials are not only clear but also readily accessible, with a structured support system for any follow-up questions. Providing step-by-step resources and refresher training can reinforce understanding.
Using unambiguous, thorough resources minimises the need for additional support, allowing partners to resolve common issues on their own and reinforcing their confidence in their skills.
Tip: Incorporate interactive simulations in training to allow partners to practice real scenarios before they encounter them. By simulating tasks they’ll perform, partners gain hands-on experience in a low-risk setting, proactively reducing support dependency and ensuring partners feel prepared and empowered.
4. Declining Partner Engagement
A steady drop in training participation rates or course completions indicates that the training format, topics, or delivery method may need adjustment.
Engagement is a crucial metric in any training program. When partners show a lack of interest or fail to complete training modules, it may mean the content isn’t resonating with them. Partners are more likely to disengage if the training doesn’t feel tailored to their needs or is inaccessible. This is where knowing your audience and what works for them becomes key.
To re-engage partners, emphasise interactivity, break down complex information, and incorporate real-world applications. Interactive training solutions not only captivate partners but also provide practical value, driving higher completion rates and sustained engagement.
It’s also important to market the training program as an opportunity for partners to advance their expertise, unlock new benefits, or gain a competitive edge. Work together with your marketing team to develop and deliver the benefits of training to your partners.
Tip: Boost motivation by introducing incentives such as certifications, exclusive resources, or even recognition programs for completing training milestones. A program that rewards progress and highlights real-world skills encourages consistent participation and shows partners the tangible value of staying engaged.
5. Negative Partner Feedback
If partners consistently provide feedback that the training isn’t useful, relevant, or accessible, there may be deeper issues at play. Negative feedback offers valuable insights into areas of improvement that could make training more effective and aligned with partner needs.
Look for comments about confidence in handling real-world sales scenarios, ease of access, time flexibility, and usability. If partners mention difficulties in navigating a training platform, accessing resources, or finding specific modules, these are red flags.
Understanding and acting on this feedback is essential to improve the training experience and ensure partner success.
Establish feedback loops to gather partner insights on training content, accessibility, and applicability, allowing you to refine and improve the program and continuously align training with partner needs.
Tip: Use negative feedback as a guide for improvement. Address recurring issues, communicate updates based on partner input, and show that feedback directly shapes a more relevant and effective training experience.
Summary
Identifying these five warning signs early can help turn a struggling training program into a valuable asset that drives partner success. By addressing these issues, you can optimise your training to not only boost sales and reduce support costs but also to encourage stronger partner loyalty, improve brand consistency, and enhance customer satisfaction. A well-designed training program empowers partners to deliver on your brand promise with confidence and competence.
Wahoo Learning’s experts are ready to support you in developing a tailored, results-focused program that aligns with your unique partner ecosystem and long-term business goals. Contact us today to arrange an introduction and discover how we can elevate your channel partner training to drive measurable results for your business.
