Most businesses say they educate, but what I have experienced instead is they share information listing features and protocols instead. That's information, not education.
Education happens when you can explain in your own words what a product is, for example, why it matters, and why it's the best decision. There's a concept in psychology called the illusion of explanatory depth. This concept is when people believe they understand until they are asked to explain it.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Can you share it with me in your own words?"
Silence.
Once you can confidently explain using your own words, the decision stops being about the product and becomes an expression of belief in the solution and the person that taught it. That's the goal and it shouldn't happen with the sales rep or aesthetic professional only.
Everyone Should Be Teaching
Each person within your business touches the client in one way or another. Marketing, concierge, sales, aesthetic professionals should all be teaching, all the time. The question isn't whether your team is educating, hopefully they are. It's whether they are all saying the same thing consistently with one voice.
Joanie
I was in year one with a startup brand and at that time the only educator. I had just completed a class for the reps and had moved on to the concierge and HQ team including Joanie. The idea was simple: if an account called in to place an order and had a question or wanted to share feedback, the concierge team needed to be able to respond with the same message and language as the field team.
A few days later, I was privileged enough to experience if the idea and education worked. My desk was right next to Joanie's and an account called. While they were placing an order, they had a question and although I was only able to hear part of the conversation (Joanie's), what I heard warmed my heart. Joanie was responding and explaining in her own words exactly what I had taught. Now, I was able to deduce the exact moment the account understood because the questions stopped, the account had started to understand!
Later that day the sales rep called Joanie to thank her. The account had told the rep they finally believed what she had been explaining all along, not because the rep hadn't been convincing enough, but because they both were saying the same thing, Joanie and the rep! Guess what? The account placed a large order. That's what consistent education looks like across the business.
Educate With One Voice, the Standard
Education shouldn't be a separate department. It shouldn't be just a training day or an onboarding deck. It's the standard by which each person in your business should communicate. When everyone teaches with one voice, consistently, no one will feel sold to or just informed, they will feel educated. That's not a coincidence. That's The Education Effect™.