GE 278: How Trainual Grows at 35% MoM Simply by Communicating Their Goals and Achievements! (podcast)

Hey everyone! In today’s episode, I share the mic with Trainual CEO Chris Ronzio. Trainual is a simple and effective tool you can use for small- and medium-sized businesses to onboard or train employees.

Tune in to hear why it’s crucial to organize your process, what processes have made Chris so successful, and how they manage to grow at 35% MoM simply by communicating their goals and achievements!

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

• [00:53] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast!
• [01:52] Chris got an early start and had a video production business in High School.
• [02:00] They would tape live youth sporting events across his home state.
• [02:18] He then transitioned into management consulting, which evolved into Trainual, his software product.
• [02:55] Trainual started as a tool for consulting clients to track their progress.
• [03:30] As soon as you have multiple people trained to do the same thing and you want to maintain consistency, the next step is to use Trainual.
• [05:54] Documenting your processes for onboarding talent is very difficult.
• [06:28] Trainual is a monthly subscription service.
• [06:55] Trainual serves as a living online, interactive manual for how you run your company.
• [07:28] They sell licenses in big chunks for one, flat monthly price.
• [07:52] They have pre-set pricing, but beyond 1000 licences, they work with companies to tailor Trainual to their needs.
• [08:25] Trainual has been growing at 35% month over month.
• [09:00] This product is about getting the doing the actual work of documenting your business.
• [09:55] They have a “custom terminology” feature.
• [10:08] GrowSumo has been a great affiliate program for Trainual.
• [10:54] Initially, non-scalable things helped them scale their business.
• [11:10] Trainual held a launch party in Scottsdale, AZ and invited influencers, press, and business owners. This helped to kick-start things for them.
• [11:35] Affiliates were the next wave of reaching out.
• [11:45] Speaking events and podcasts followed.
• [12:12] It was about finding their audience where it already existed.
• [14:04] It wasn’t about pitching, but consistently communicating about Trainuals goals and achievements.
• [15:23] “Hiring great people is so important to the growth of a business.”
• [15:30] Challenges he can point to are usually regarding not hiring the right people.
• [17:48] Once he realized he wasn’t invested in his business, Chris handed over his video production company to the Operations Director.
• [18:15] He then began consulting.
• [18:30] After a couple of years, he branded the consulting business and started hiring employees.
• [21:00] Even though they stopped doing consulting work, it helped them build up a nice portfolio.
• [21:22] A new tool that Chris has added in the last year is Strava. He thinks it’s the KPI’s for your personal fitness.
• [21:57] Trainual has also been using Bonjoro to send personalized videos to people who come through your funnel.
• [23:05] Chris recommends the book Design Yourself.

Resources from the interview:

• Trainual
• Chris’ Website
• Chris on Instagram
• GrowSumo
• Strava
• Bonjoro
• Must-read book: Design Yourself