The Fast Track to Sales Success

The Honda Fast Track program is a week-long, facilitator-led experience in which new, high-potential dealership sales consultants travel to a Honda facility, immerse themselves in vehicle technology, role-play sales techniques, and set live appointments with customers. Participation in the program boosts consultants’ new car sales numbers by an average of approximately 40 percent.

But Honda knew they could improve the program—and its results—if learners came in more prepared.

They had an existing set of online courses they used as prework for the Fast Track program. However, learners—mostly millennials—complained about the modules. They were too long, passive, and outdated, making it impossible to hold the attention of these new sales consultants. The prework was supposed to excite learners about the program, but it was having the opposite effect.

Zimmet Group climbed into the driver’s seat and created a brand-new series of eLearning modules that fueled learners’ passion for sales, improving their readiness and maximizing their productivity in class.

Zimmet Group started by attending a live Fast Track session in Marysville, Ohio to become immersed in the learner experience. There, we conducted a focus group with program participants to hear their reactions to the existing eLearning and its usefulness as prework.

After the session, we interviewed Fast Track program designers and facilitators to understand their ideal expectations for a reinvented prework curriculum and the core content it must cover.

With client and learner needs at the forefront of our minds, we designed a prework curriculum comprising three new eLearning modules. The modules cover only the content that’s essential for participants to understand going in to the live Fast Track session. By focusing on brevity and interactivity (for the mostly young, tech-savvy audience), we delivered prework that matches the excitement of the Fast Track program.

Module 1 sets the stage, introducing the eLearning prework and the facilitator-led program.

Module 2 grounds learners in a consistent sales process and terminology.

Module 3 explores the essential elements of Honda’s core, safety, and connectivity technology.

We incorporated real-world, scenario-based practice opportunities throughout the content, challenging learners to practice applying concepts before attending the Fast Track class. Wherever possible, we based the course’s look and feel on actual Honda vehicles—so learning truly feels like a hands-on experience.

We programmed the modules for responsive, cross-platform consistency, giving learners the same experience on PC, tablet, or mobile.

Zimmet Group met Honda’s business need, reducing learner seat time by more than 50% by targeting only the skills and features that participants would use during the live Fast Track class.

According to the learners, whose opinions matter most, the new eLearning series is fun, appropriately challenging, and representative of the Honda brand they love.