Today on the Cloud Stories podcast I’m talking with the Lisa Martin owner and manager at GoFi8ure. The business offers one-on-one or one-to-many training at your doorstep or in-house. The tagline is ‘get training and become a Xero Hero’.

You'll recall I interviewed Lisa in episode 20 of Cloud Stories. In that episode we explored her Xero journey. I asked her to come back on the show - so we could discuss how a business could offer Xero training. Lisa and I both have a gazillion years of Xero training experience between us. We are passionate about delivering high quality training and helping people who want to DIY Bookkeeping. We have a candid discussion about all aspects of offering Xero training. You'll hear about what works and what doesn't work for us, and how we can bring real world experience into Xero training. I personally think what’s great about the interview – is we do things differently – so you get to hear different options – and perhaps decide what’s best for you in your business.

If you've ever thought of offering Xero training as an additional service in your business - then you must listen to this episode.  Please note - we're independent of Xero - and all opinions (and we have a lot of them) are our own.

In this episode I talk to Lisa about:

• Why we offer Xero training
• Qualities of a good trainer – what to look for in a good trainer
• Importance of communication, plain English and common sense skills
• Difficulties of introductory training
• Find out where students are at prior to training
• Icebreakers to use before running a training session
• Understanding what the student hopes to get out of training
• Asking open ended questions
• The importance of monitoring other people presenting – and understanding how people learn
• How to improve your training skills
• How to structure training classes
• How to use Xero as a training platform
• What contents covered in a Xero training class
• Online vs In person vs Classroom Training
• How to make a room conducive to training
• Business tools used to help run training classes
• How to promote Xero training classes
• Always ask students for a testimonial and ask them to tell their own colleagues about the training they had with you
• Thoughts around what Xero’s stipulations should be around Xero trainers. Please note - we're independent of Xero
• Surveys and feedback following training courses
• Education empowers

Don’t be afraid that you’ll train you out of a client for you – Lisa Martin

Today’s episode is sponsored by Spotlight Reporting. One of the tools that you can use within Spotlight Reporting is Spotlight Forecasting. Spotlight Forecasting enables you to look ahead with clarity. You can find out more information by visiting http://www.spotlightreporting.com/future. It includes a budget creator, a three-way forecasting tool and a scenario builder. It seamlessly integrates with Xero so you can have it up and running very fast.  Please visit the show sponsors.

At the end of the show I call-out to Phil Burnell who left a 5 star review for Spotlight Reporting at the Xero community. He says about Spotlight Reporting “Great reporting tool that provides a high quality range of additional reporting that really will make a difference to any business that uses it!”

 

Resources mentioned in this interview

• Xero
• Spotlight Reporting

Connect with Lisa Martin

 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamartingofi8ure
• https://twitter.com/GoFi8ure
• http://www.gofi8ure.co.nz/xero-training-centre
• http://www.sayitlikeitis.co.nz/
• [email protected]

 

Thanks for listening! What’s been your biggest learning from today’s episode? Share in the comments below.

 

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P.S. Loved this episode? You’re going to love hearing about Lisa’s Xero journey on episode 20.