Real World Simulations help improve Sales & Marketing skills

Airline pilots spend many hours in flight simulators before being giv en the controls to fly a plane. Medical students practice on programmed plastic dummies that simulate symptoms in rapid succession. Yet many of us are given the controls of the business (or part thereof) with limited experience. We go on to learn and practice in the real world with real consequences. As a result, we sometimes survive but may ‘crash and burn'...

Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline, explained how human beings learn best from experience, particularly when feedback from actions is rapid and unambiguous. Business simulations can provide a realistic environment to learn under a variety of conditions and see the consequences of our decisions. Business simulations can effectively change mindsets in the shortest possible timeframe.

Deep learning

We've all been there, stuck in a room with your colleagues listening to a presenter discussing a subject that you might well find interesting. Increasing amounts of information are transferred to you as your notebook swiftly fills up as you frantically try to capture these little nuggets of information. You may even be sufficiently energised to want to transfer the knowledge across into your day job or even to become an evangelist about the subject.

This lasts right up until you arrive back in your office and try to put everything you learned in the course, all the theory and examples, into practice. Suddenly the gaps in knowledge start to surface as you battle to implement the concepts and find, to your frustration, that you have to reinvent the wheel, as it were, with nobody to help you. [Actando white paper]

Instructional simulations provide deep learning opportunities. ‘Learning by doing’ in a safe simulated environment of a real-life scenario empowers learners to experiment, compete and see the results of their decisions quickly.

Scientists use modelling and simulations as a way of progressing towards new discoveries. It is the same methodology that enables learners to move towards a greater understanding of the relationships between variables, testing their hypotheses in real time. Simulation-based learning experiences by nature are not passive – there is a lot of engagement between learners, and between learners and facilitators.

The best simulations build in complexity, challenging the learners to use what they have already done in to solve new challenges as they appear. The experience can enable the learner to experience 5 years of business experiences in just 5 hours.

Facilitating Using Simulations

Like most learning methods, simulations are usually not a standalone tool. When combined with other learning experiences like face-to-face classroom training, quizzes, coaching sessions, and more, they will be much more effective.

 Learners will learn more efficiently through their active engagement. Facilitators will want to kick off the session with an explanation of how the software works and keep the instructional part as short and informative as possible. It is important to get them going on the experience quickly to set the pace.

 Working in teams provides the opportunity for pooling knowledge and challenging each other. Making the analysis and decision-making time restrictive mitigates the risk of the learners becoming passive.

 At the end of each step in the simulation, facilitators will review the decisions and rationales along with the results, especially helpful if the simulation-based learning is competitive. At the end of the session, allowing enough time for a deep review promotes learning through both failures and successes.

LEARN ABOUT ACTANDO SIMULATIONS FOR PHARMA:

• BRAND MANAGEMENT SIMULATION
  
• LAUNCH EXCELLENCE SIMULATION
  
• STRATEGIC MARKETING SIMULATION
  
• SEGMENTATION & TARGETING SIMULATION
  
• SEGMENTATION & TARGETING (LEVEL 2) SIMULATION
  
• MULTICHANNEL MARKETING SIMULATION