Booking Onsite Training

Online training is a relatively new idea for many of our customers. Some still prefer to have a trainer come in person to show employees how to operate heavy machinery. In these cases, we need to first gauge their training needs. This includes asking questions from useful macros, offering cheaper options, and planning the onsite training with the schedule of our onsite trainer. 

When a request for onsite training comes into the office, we respond to them with two macros. First, we send them the Onsite Training - Questions Macro, followed by the Onsite Training - Quote/Other Options Macro. Almost all requests for onsite training are submitted from our website, but you can also use these macros as internal notes for customers who request onsite training over the phone.

Onsite Training - Questions Macro

Whenever a customer requests onsite training, you will want to use this macro to respond. When a customer submits a Ticket through our site requesting onsite training, it often is pretty vague. To help fill in the missing pieces, we use this macro that asks key questions to help us create an estimate or quote. Here is the following information that we need from customers to accurately plan onsite training:

- Pieces of equipment
- Experience level of employees (new employees, some experience, years of experience)
- When they need training
- How long they would like the training to take (and if they would like to spend more time on the machine, or more time in the classroom portion?)
- Are they interested in online training, kits, or train the trainers? Or are they set on in-person training?

The answers to these questions should give you enough information to create an accurate quote or estimate in QuickBooks. Communicate with your team lead and manager to accurately calculate these costs before sending them to the customer.

Onsite Training - Quote/Other Options Macro

After receiving this information from the customer, you can use this macro to lay out the different price ranges for onsite training, kits, and online training. This macro will cover the following for onsite training:

- Cost: $2,100
- Logistics: 4 - 6 hours to cover classroom, exam, and practical evaluation.
- Travel Expenses: $1,200 - $2,000 depending on location and dates
- Trainees: cap at 15 with no extra charge, $50 per extra trainee
- Adding a trainer: $500 per trainer, comes with a training kit
- Structure: Explain the basic layout of our training, but also reminds them that we can focus on whatever they need (more time in the classroom or in the practical evaluation

These prices are pretty general and may be subject to change depending on the needs of the client. Some may request multiple days of training and others may qualify for discounts with extra Trainer kits. So, double-check with your supervisor if any of these exceptions apply to your estimate.

Currently, we only have one onsite trainer; his name is Karl. Karl is also a teacher, meaning that we must schedule onsite training at least two weeks before the training date, and confirm the date works for him before we finalize it with the customer.

In general, that means planning the training at least two weeks ahead of time, but don't finalize any dates until Karl confirms that it will work with his schedule.

Important: If possible we want to steer customers towards training kits and online training because we only have one onsite trainer. 

This macro will also cover kits and online training, their costs, and what is included in each. More information about kits and online training can be found in the article What Products Do We Offer?

If a company does move forward with onsite training, get all the names of the trainees to prepare certificates for Karl to take with him. Employees will receive their certificates after completing the classroom portion of their training.

While most customers will opt to choose a more economical option, we understand the desire to have onsite training. Communicating clearly with customers will help gauge their interest and their needs for onsite training. If you have questions, be sure to ask those around you, and communicate with Karl about the dates that customers request onsite training. The best way to contact Karl is through text. Contact your team lead or manager for his number.