Selling in Tough Times with Nick Strober and Melanie Flores

Selling in Tough Times with Nick Strober and Melanie Flores

Nick StroberMelanie Flores and Joe Lynch discuss selling in tough times. Nick is a Senior Account Executive and Team Leader at Lean Solutions Group, and Melanie is the Director of Solutions Consulting at SymTrain.

Download podcast here: Selling in Tough Times with Nick Strober and Melanie Flores


About Nick Strober

Nick Strober is a Senior Account Executive at Lean Solutions Group, where he is known as a jack of all trades. His contributions to marketing, HR administration, operations, and sales have helped Lean Solutions land on the INC. 500 list of fastest-growing U.S. companies for three consecutive years. His time abroad has given him the tools to understand not only the U.S. and Latin American markets but also given him a global business perspective. Nick’s passion for networking and eagerness to sell has connected him with incredible businessmen and women worldwide.

About Lean Solutions Group

Lean Solutions Group (LSG) is a nearshore and offshore service provider that focuses on expanding and enhancing its client businesses. LSG’s broad offering ranges from staffing to technology, marketing, sales, and BPO services. To succeed in the transportation and logistics business, 3PLs need to be able to hire and retain the very best talent while keeping a lid on costs. Since the competition for the best talent is fierce, companies need an edge that will help them win; LSG is that edge. LSG helps its clients set up and establish satellite offices in beautiful countries like Colombia, Guatemala, and the Philippines. LSG’s team consists of qualified bilingual professionals eager to take on new challenges and become a part of your company. Since 2014, Lean has worked with over 500 satisfied U.S.-based transportation and logistics providers. Lean ensures that your satellite office is staffed with highly educated, English-speaking professionals trained in your company’s processes and systems. The Lean approach is a low cost, low risk, low hassle, and they handle the entire process with their account managers.

About Melanie Flores 

Melanie Flores blends an engineer’s mind with a teacher’s heart and a gardener’s hands. Her career path has been anything but linear, and every zigzag has blessed her with the chance to build a fun and bold idea from scratch. She graduated from MIT with a chemical engineering degree and a Theater Arts concentration. She started up Corning’s optical fiber factory in the Charlotte, NC area, founded a popular kindergarten engineering design workshop based on a famous MIT course, and led the STEM coaching team serving 48 Easter Seals teachers across metro Atlanta. In 2019, she and her teen son launched an e-commerce business, OctoGifts, that landed him customers in 25 states, two patents, and a spot on Atlanta Inno’s 25 Under 25 list. She joined SymTrain in 2021 and is excited to help businesses grow their people, impact, and bottom line through digitized role-play training and coaching. A two-time TEDx speaker, Melanie lives with her husband and two sons in Alpharetta, GA.

About SymTrain

SymTrain is an advanced AI-based training platform that is unlike any other. It simulates real-world coaching scenarios to prepare front-line agents for interactions with customers. Much more than a simulation, the platform is an immersive CX training experience that combines audio and visual elements for an all-encompassing approach to training which helps agents to better understand and retain the information. Benefits include improved quality, reduced training time and training resource costs, increased speed to efficiency, and an overall improvement in the key metrics that matter most to clients. SymTrain is emerging as an innovator in AI coaching and virtual training, and was recently awarded two International Stevie Awards for innovation in workforce readiness and corporate learning. Follow our journey at www.symtrain.ai.

Key Takeaways: Selling in Tough Times

  • In the podcast interview, Joe talks with Nick Strober and Melanie Flores about selling in tough times.
  • Nick Strober is a Senior Account Executive at Lean Solutions Group, a nearshore service provider that delivers high-quality business solutions in staffing, tech, marketing, and sales for U.S.-based companies.
  • Melanie Flores is the Director of Solutions Consulting at SymTrain, an Immersive learning technology platform that gives employees real job experience by engaging them in authentic work simulations.
  • Lean Solutions Group and Symtrain have formed a partnership that enables transportation and logistics companies to use industry specific simulation training modules that were developed by the Lean Solutions Group.
  • LSG uses Symtrain to train their 8,000 plus employees and they are big believers in the technology.
  • Lean Solutions Group is a nearshore service provider that provide back-office, operations, customer support, and technology services to over 500 logistics companies – and they are experts in check calls.
  • Symtrain engages employees in simulated work experiences that feel “real” – working at their own pace, anywhere, anytime, on any device.
  • Employees are empowered to take charge of their own learning and success. As a result, they learn faster, retain more, build confidence, and master the skills they need to deliver the best customer interactions every time.
  • Symtrain is a simulated training solution that creates a hands-on experience for sales, services, and support employees within a safe space
  • ‍By digitalizing the manual training and coaching processes, Symtrain enables companies to build employee attitudes, skills, and knowledge – faster, better, and cheaper.

Freightwave’s Interview with Melanie Flores about SymTrain

Melanie Flores joins the “What the Truck?” hosts, Dooner and The Dude from around 21:28 to 33:30 to discuss her child’s entrepreneur journey and share a SymTrain demo which explains the power of role-play learning.

EV startup bets big on Tesla Semi – What The Truck?!?

On today’s episode Dooner and The Dude are talking to a startup that’s looking to build an EV fleet and load board. We’ll find out why it is betting big on the Tesla Semi and what the market looks like for an EV load board.

Biden is battling the big boats. What’s the fallout from Friday’s speech at the Port of Los Angeles?

Frank Kenney, director of industry solutions at Cleo, says the market for FreightTech has shifted dramatically in the past five months. What are buyers onboarding now?

Melanie Flores, director of solutions consulting at SymTrain, shares some business role-playing tips with us. She also shares how her 15-year-old son launched his own business, OctoGifts.

Plus, Convoy lays off 7% of its staff; fuel thefts are on the rise; a trucker is caught with a $18 million meth load; and more idiots in four-wheelers.

Freightwaves Podcast cover image for Dan McCann episode

Does Role-playing Work in Freight?

Description: Symtrain’s CEO and Chief Learning Officer joins the Freightwaves Podcast to discuss how role-play can positively impact the Transportation and Logistics Industry. Does role playing work in freight? – What The Truck?!?

On today’s episode Dooner and The Dude are asking the question: Is this all just a simulation? They’re talking to Dan McCann, CEO and chief learning officer at SymTrain, about the company’s simulation-based role play training. They’ll find out if sim training is the new way to go for getting your employees up to speed.

The guys may be back from Ballyhack but today they’re taking another trip to the greens with Chris Douglass, president of the Nashville Transportation Club, and Christian Huffman, board member in charge of golf. They’re talking about the NTC’s 2022 charity golf tournament.

Tim Perkins, chief business development officer at Spartan 5S Solutions, talks about elevating yourself to an executive role and counting trailers on the highway.

Podcast Cover Standing Out Podcast featuring Dan McCann and Symtrain

Standing Out Podcast featuring Dan McCann and SymTrain

Trey Griggs from Standing out Podcast on Sales, Marketing and Leadership invites Dan McCann to discuss the power of SymTrain.

On Episode 73 of Standing Out, Dan McCann of SymTrain and Trey Griggs talk about continuing growth within a company, the value of partnerships, and how business is a different race for everyone.

Many thanks to our sponsor, TAFS, the good guys in freight factoring.   To learn more and get started click HERE.

Standing Out is a daily sale, marketing & leadership podcast powered by BETA Consulting Group, created to highlight best practices from industry leaders with incredible experience and insights!  The goal is to entertain, educate & inspire individuals & companies to improve their sales, marketing & leadership development outcomes.

For full episode: https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6938250696987164672/

Turn Your Frontline Agents into Customer Experience Superheroes

Turn Your Frontline Agents into Customer Experience Superheroes

Onboarding agents remotely is proving to be more difficult than in-person training. As a result, agents are less prepared, and companies have higher rates of attrition. New hires get less facetime with trainers and find it harder to ask questions or seek one-on-one help when they don’t share the same physical space. But you don’t need to accept lower standards or less desirable outcomes. Change the game now by leveraging technology to improve results instead of simply enabling content delivery.

Raising the Bar to Create Masters of the Customer Service Experience

Trainers don’t always know who needs more support or additional training. It’s hard to gauge the level of each agent’s comprehension, especially if they don’t speak up or ask for help. Quizzes and tests help trainers assess knowledge, but the best way to assess comprehension is through instructor-led role-play exercises. Unfortunately, there simply isn’t enough time to practice every scenario with each agent in class.  

However, adding SymTrain to your curriculum can increase the frequency and amount of practice each agent receives. Athletes, pilots, artists, and doctors all show us how important practice is to improve our skills.  Now, automated role-plays provide one more way to deliver situational practice, set achievement standards, and get the results you need. 

Furthermore, it creates an example of how to apply knowledge and raises the bar on performance.  And the instructor-led, guided coaching with immediate feedback ensures that each attempt is better than the last. Increasing situational practice through automated role-plays will allow your agents to develop their skills and become masters of the customer service experience.

Give Your Agents Superpowers with SymTrain

Even if you don’t have enough available human resources to provide adequate one-on-one repetition and consistent reinforcement, you don’t have to short-change your employees during their training.

SymTrain can fill the void. Our intuitive AI, Coach Sym, provides the individualized training and guided practice they need. It sets a standard, and most importantly, ensures that each agent receives the same consistent feedback on their actual performance. They can also revisit skills or scenarios whenever necessary, even when they have already successfully completed a sym. 

Additionally, automated role-play increases engagement for new hires. It enables agents to build confidence and develop skills to perform better and faster through repetition. They practice at their own pace with reinforcement and increasing complexity to achieve skill mastery. With SymTrain in your digital toolbox, your agents can become customer experience superheroes.  You improve KPIs and raise the bar, while simultaneously removing the crutch of remote training.

Imagine a World Filled with Customer Experience Superheroes

With SymTrain, you can transform your entire workforce into a team of customer experience superheroes. Not only do you have a streamlined training curriculum, but it will also improve the overall customer experience. Agents who are better trained and more confident in their abilities spend less time searching for answers, place customers on hold less frequently, and resolve issues correctly the first time. When your training and operations teams combine forces, they work together to create better learning content and drive better outcomes.

If you want to see what the power of SymTrain can do for you, contact us to schedule a demo, and let us become a part of your origin story.

The SymTrain Story with Dan McCann

The SymTrain Story with Dan McCann

Dan McCann and Joe Lynch discuss the SymTrain story. Dan is the CEO & Chief Learning Officer at SymTrain, an advanced AI-based training platform that is unlike any other.

Download podcast here: The SymTrain Story with Dan McCann

About Dan McCann

Dan McCann is the Founder and CEO of SymTrain, the maker of immersive learning technology that gives employees real job experience by engaging them in authentic work simulations. Dan is an experienced and dynamic leader. His passion for lifetime learning, growth, and innovation has led him to build SymTrain, an SaaS platform which automates the process of role-play and coaching. SymTraining allows employees to apply knowledge, build confidence, and develop skills quickly.

About SymTrain

SymTrain is an advanced AI-based training platform that is unlike any other. It simulates real-world coaching scenarios to prepare front-line agents for interactions with customers. Much more than a simulation, the platform is an immersive CX training experience that combines audio and visual elements for an all-encompassing approach to training which helps agents to better understand and retain the information. Benefits include improved quality, reduced training time and training resource costs, increased speed to efficiency, and an overall improvement in the key metrics that matter most to clients. SymTrain is emerging as an innovator in AI coaching and virtual training, and was recently awarded two International Stevie Awards for innovation in workforce readiness and corporate learning. Follow our journey at www.symtrain.ai.

Key Takeaways: The SymTrain Story

  • Dan McCann is the Founder and CEO of SymTrain, a firm that is revolutionizing the way frontline teams are trained and coach.
  • In the podcast interview, Dan and Joe discussed Dan’s entrepreneurial journey and the founding of SymTrain.
  • SymTrain is an immersive learning technology platform that gives employees real job experience by engaging them in authentic work simulations.
  • Lean Solutions Group and SymTrain have formed a partnership that enables transportation and logistics companies to use industry specific simulation training modules that were developed by the Lean Solutions Group.
  • SymTrain engages employees in simulated work experiences that feel “real” – working at their own pace, anywhere, anytime, on any device.
  • Employees are empowered to take charge of their own learning and success. As a result, they learn faster, retain more, build confidence, and master the skills they need to deliver the best customer interactions every time.
  • SymTrain is a simulated training solution that creates a hands-on experience for sales, services, and support employees within a safe space
  • By digitalizing the manual training and coaching processes, Symtrain enables companies to build employee attitudes, skills, and knowledge – faster, better, and cheaper.