Ultraframe trained us hup! to the max

Alex Hewitt, Ultraframe’s marketing director, explains about the comprehensive training package that the company has put in place to support users of its hup! system as they make the transition from traditional building methods to ‘the better way to build’.

When hup! was launched in 2022, training was always a key part of the launch strategy. The system is something completely new and unique and a totally different way of building than the bricks and mortar our customer base has been used to for years.

It was vital, therefore, to not only educate and instruct our installers in how to use the system, but also – through a comprehensive training programme – to build peace of mind about this totally new way of building.

We needed to instil the confidence to help our installer customers make the leap to this new way of working that we knew could transform their businesses in terms of speed and efficiency.

The team that developed the hup! training programme was a cross-functional team from the technical, marketing and sales departments. The programme is extremely comprehensive and covers everything that we believe our customers need to know in order to sell, survey and build hup! successfully. There are numerous elements to the programme including:

• One to one and group training sessions. These take place every other month at venues across the UK, at Ultraframe’s Clitheroe HQ, and at customer premises. We have offered so much location flexibility to make this training accessible to all – no matter where in the UK our customers are based. Topics covered include hup! surveying, sales and building and include a mix of teaching and hands-on learning. To date, 1,244 installers have been trained in one to one and group training sessions at venues across the UK.
• Sales academy programme. this ran for four months at venues across the UK and delivered results-driven sales training to 61 attendees by renowned industry sales expert, Paul Yates.
• Site support for all first hup! builds. This fantastic service is provided by the Ultraframe’s technical support team and offers huge peace of mind to installers that their first hup! build will go smoothly. Each first build is attended by several members of the tech support team who help and guide the installers through every aspect of the build, ensuring they have the necessary skills to carry out their next hup! build with confidence. So far, 487 installers have received site support for their first hup! build.
• Live interactive webinars. These are a great way for installers to learn about hup! when they don’t have the time to attend an in-person training event and have been attended by 621 installers to date. The same topics are covered as at the in-person events and the webinars are very interactive, with participants encouraged to ask questions and get involved.
• Webinar recordings are also available for busy hup! users to brush up on their hup! knowledge at any time of day. So far, 1,786 installers and builders have watched webinar recordings.
• Online training courses. Again, we developed these with industry sales expert, Paul Yates, to allow hup! installers to really hone their sales skills and learn how to increase their hup! conversion rates. Badges are awarded on completion of each module so hup! salespeople can build their hup! credentials.
• The hup! tech support team are also available by phone, email and WhatsApp and a multitude of documents are available in printed and digital form to support installers with their hup! knowledge. These include a specification guide, installation guide, sales presentations and more.
• A huge amount of digital tools have also been developed and made available free of charge to hup! customers to assist them with generating and converting hup! leads. These include free 3D digital samples, an interactive hup! configurator, a hup! website template, video content for socials and websites, an interactive brochure, and more! We also supply high quality homeowner leads to all of our hup! partners.

As you can see, the training programme for hup! is not something we have taken lightly! Ultraframe has always advocated the importance of training its customers and over the years we have trained over 40,000 customers.

One of those customers who has taken advantage of the hup! training programme is Steve Duddridge, managing director of Fortress Windows and Conservatories. Explaining how he and his team have benefitted from the wide range of hup! training on offer, Steve said:

“I just wanted to say how useful myself and my team at Fortress Windows and Conservatories have found the onsite support and training we received from Ultraframe for selling, surveying, and building the fantastic hup! system.

“I attended the training at Ultraframe HQ with two installation teams and a service engineer and this has already been a valuable exercise that I would recommend to anyone in the industry thinking of joining the hup! revolution. I found the clear information given at the training day a huge advantage when it comes to selling or surveying hup!.

“There were a number of things I found helpful from the surveying course, such as understanding the benefits of the adjustable wall abutment panel in tight situations where you are building close to a party wall or fenced boundary.

“From a sales point of view, we found so many things so helpful including the literature we received explaining all of the benefits of hup! and the planning permission checklist. We put this checklist along with all the hup! benefits in a booklet so our team can answer any questions instantly on appointments.

“Mark Bowler and his team at Ultraframe really know their stuff. Mark has attended a number of our builds for site support and been a massive help in the construction of a very difficult project, implementing his hup! skills and knowledge whilst assisting our installation team to ensure a smooth build.

I would have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending that all new hup! partners take the time to attend training days and take up Ultraframe’s site support offer.”

As you can see from Steve’s feedback, the multitude of training we offer for our hup! building system is very well used and is bringing real benefits to our installers. The best part is that access to this training is all free of charge and the flexibility means that it is accessible to all, no matter where in the country you live or the hours you work.

Of course, like anything else at Ultraframe, we will keep enhancing our hup! training offering to ensure it is the best it can be, and customer feedback is a key part of this. It’s fantastic to receive positive feedback like that from Steve at Fortress, but we are also always here to listen to suggestions for how we can make our hup! training offering even better.”

To find out more about the hup! training programme, email: marketing@ultraframe.co.uk