Scaled video training 3x and improved course engagement 10x

David Landsberger is the Channel Enablement and Education Director at AppDirect. His role involves leading a team of educators who train and support external sales advisors—independent professionals who resell technology services through AppDirect’s platform.

AppDirect is a global B2B commerce platform that enables businesses to procure, manage, and sell recurring technology services from leading providers like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and top telecom and cybersecurity companies.

The Challenge

David faced several challenges producing training content for his sales advisors:

• Low Engagement from Traditional Slide-Based Training
  Training was primarily slide decks with voiceovers, which lacked excitement or strong delivery. David questioned whether this format truly translated into meaningful learning outcomes for external sales partners.
• Heavy Time Investment in Video Production
  Although they had a video studio, producing videos was time-consuming. Some presenters could do single takes, but others took all day—making output inconsistent and costly in terms of human capital.
• Costly Video Creation Process
  Even without exact figures, David noted that producing each video required significant salary costs, AV resources, and time. It was unsustainable for scaling content creation efficiently.
• Limited Control Over External Sales Learning
  Unlike internal teams, their external sales advisors (channel partners) were not obligated to take training. This meant the quality of content had to be much higher to attract and retain learner attention voluntarily.
• Inflexibility to Scale Content for Rapidly Changing Topics
  Working in tech, AppDirect needed to produce educational content quickly to keep up with evolving services and tools. Their previous process wasn’t agile enough to meet that demand.
• Lack of Interactivity and Feedback Mechanisms
  They had no way to embed knowledge checks directly into videos, which weakened their ability to maintain learner engagement and ensure comprehension throughout the video experience.

The Solution

Pictory completely transformed how David and his team at AppDirect delivered education to their external sales advisors. Previously reliant on static slide decks, time-consuming studio shoots, and costly production workflows, they found Pictory enabled them to dramatically increase content output while maintaining a high level of quality.

With its text-to-video functionality, they could quickly convert scripts into engaging videos, saving significant time and reducing the need for expensive AV resources. This speed and flexibility allowed them to keep pace with the fast-changing tech landscape and scale their training efforts efficiently.

Pictory also helped improve learner engagement—key for their external advisors who aren’t required to take training—by offering dynamic, captioned videos tailored to modern attention spans. As a result, they’ve seen learners voluntarily return for more courses, a strong indicator of the platform’s effectiveness. The team has even been able to reduce reliance on traditional studio filming, freeing up resources and encouraging wider internal adoption of the tool.

The Results

• Over 200 videos created in just 18 months
  David’s team produced more than 200 training videos using Pictory—a volume that would have taken 2 to 3 times longer using their previous video production methods.
• Increased learner retention and repeat engagement
  They observed that learners who took one course were coming back to take more, despite not being required to do so. This opt-in behaviour was a strong signal that the training content was resonating and valuable.
• Reduced reliance on expensive studio production
  Thanks to Pictory, they’ve been able to scale back investments in AV equipment and studio time, shifting focus from live shoots to streamlined, script-driven content creation.