Halo Business Systems was founded in 2014 by Ryan Scalf in order to address the problem of Salesforce.com user adoption and certification training preparation for people and organizations interested in entering the Salesforce.com Ecosystem. Since then, we have provided best in class Salesforce.com training in online and in-person formats.
In a few short years, Halo has trained thousands of individuals from hundreds of organizations and a multitude of industries. This deep and wide knowledge of many industries and personnel are what set us apart from other firms.
Halo provides the best in Salesforce.com training through the use of innovative teaching techniques. Socratic Method, hands-on activities, discussion, and repetition are used in instructor-led training to ensure that the student fully understands the main concepts needed to become an effective Salesforce.com Admin. Certification is a huge focus in the courses available. Certification preparation is built into each course. Known fixed test questions are covered, and proper test taking techniques are emphasized. Halo has assisted many certified professionals achieve certification via the 40-hour Salesforce.com and our 48-hour Admin/App Builder course. We take pride in being the best Salesforce.com technical and user adoption training in the world.
A note from our CEO:
Ryan A. Scalf- CEO and Founder
“Receiving training in the modern business environment can be brutal. My personal early background was in industrial and technical sales supporting tier one automotive facilities. When being trained on engineered products like valves, drives and motor control devices, trainees are usually inundated with long and blistering Powerpoint presentations loaded with text. The mountain of text is usually paired with a facilitator reading the text on the slides to the class. This standard of training might achieve overall comprehension of 10% – 15% of the material covered. The truly amazing part is that this is seen as perfectly acceptable by the large multi-billion dollar companies, and pretty much accepted by those of us forced to endure such abuse. I always said to myself that if I ever was responsible for training people that I would never use this antiquated and ineffective strategy.
When I made the jump to the Salesforce.com ecosystem from the industrial sales roles that I had worked in the past, I was shocked to realize that the training being delivered used much of the same ineffective techniques as the technical sales industry. The first course I took on Salesforce was the official Salesforce.com ADM-201 onsite training class in Indianapolis, IN. On the first day of class, I was handed a project workbook with click-paths for each exercise, and the instructor began reading a Powerpoint to us word for word. Needless to say I was deeply disappointed. He could have emailed me the Powerpoint and it would have been just as effective. In addition, the class set my boss back $4200.00. I ended up telling my boss that it was “great” because I had lobbied for the training for months and I didn’t want him to feel that his money had gone to waste (sorry Chris!).
Since I took the class years ago, Salesforce has upped their game on the training front quite a bit. Salesforce Trailhead is a shining example of what “learn as you go” e-learning should be in 2021. I am sure that their instructor led classes have changed a lot in the mean time as well, so I am not trying to knock Salesforce in this article, as I think this type of training exists in every industry known to man. What I have learned since starting Halo Business Systems in 2014 is that effective training is worth its weight in gold to people and companies in all stages of org development and implementation. With this in mind, I decided to take my years of technical solution based sales presentation experience and apply it to training aspiring Admins that were interested in cracking the Salesforce.com Certified Administrator and App Builder exams. Since then, we have successfully trained 5000+ individuals in Onsite and Online formats worldwide with many of those going on to multiple certifications and successful careers in the Salesforce Ecosystem.
The Halo Learning Process
The Halo Learning Process is the way in which we use proven teaching techniques like lecture, Socratic method, and repetition, through student demonstration by passing the presenter with the goal the complete engagement of the client throughout the entire class in an online format. There is seldom a moment where our students ever have the opportunity to check their email, look at their phones, call their friends or be otherwise distracted from the concept at hand. How is this possible? The first thing that we did early on was eliminate Powerpoint from the course completely. We do not show one slide on any classes that we teach for Halo Business Systems. The value in such a choice is that it totally removes the ability of the client to disengage due to the repetitive and monotone pattern of the PowerPoint structured learning environment.
Engagement is the reason we employ Socratic method as opposed to “click-paths” and “walkthroughs” in our courses. The best teachers are highly skilled at the use of Socratic method in a classroom setting, so why not use it for the online classroom? Constantly and consistently asking questions of the class and waiting for them to answer allows for students to come to conceptual conclusions without any assistance. If a student comes to a conclusion on their own, they are vastly more likely to comprehend and remember what they are learning. By demonstrating key concepts and asking questions throughout, the student remains engaged and has context to remember and use the concepts and terminology that they have learned.
Truly engaging a student requires sending them to the chalkboard in front of their peers. Students soon realize that the instructor could at anytime pass them the presenter and ask them to complete some exercise, demo, or administration. This not only encourages them to pay attention, but the pressure of being the instructor for a few moments “sets the hook” for tactile learners. The best way to learn any subject is to teach it, and we use that to our advantage as instructors as much as possible.
Our Salesforce.com bootcamps are an absolute joy to teach, and we are sure that our clients feel the same way about attending them. If you are thinking of training people internally or externally on Salesforce.com configuration and administration. we hope that you will contact us to meet your requirements.