3 Reasons Your Training Program Isn’t Delivering ROI

When organizations tell me their training program isn’t producing the return they expected, I know exactly where to look. After years of partnering with businesses ranging from solopreneurs to S&P 500 enterprises, I’ve seen the same three mistakes surface again and again. They aren’t flashy or complicated, but they’re powerful enough to make or break your learning investment.

In this blog post (and in the YouTube video linked here, and podcast episode linked here)  I unpack these three reasons, show you how to fix them, and explain how I’ve helped clients move from confusion to measurable results. Whether you’re a solopreneur building your first course or a global company training thousands of employees, these principles hold true.

Reason #1. You’re teaching what you want to teach, not what learners want to learn

The number-one reason training programs fail to deliver ROI is simple: organizations teach what they want to teach instead of what their learners actually want to learn. It sounds obvious, but I see it every day. Leaders pour time and energy into building beautiful content around their own ideas, preferences, and expertise without confirming whether those lessons match their learners’ goals.

Imagine two circles. One represents everything you love to teach. The other represents everything your learners want to learn. ROI lives in the overlap. If those circles barely touch—or worse, don’t overlap at all—you’ll spend months developing a program no one finishes or applies. Learners won’t engage because the content doesn’t solve their real problems. And when learners don’t succeed, your business doesn’t succeed.

I call the people who sit at the center of that overlap your Perfect Learner Profiles (PLPs). They’re defined not by demographics but by challenges. What obstacles are they facing? What questions keep them up at night? What transformation are they chasing? When you align your expertise with their needs, every course, coaching program, or internal training you create becomes more valuable.

To find your PLPs, start listening. Review chat transcripts, survey responses, and customer emails. Study what learners search for, not what you assume they should know. Once you’ve mapped that overlap, you can tailor your lessons, examples, and outcomes to meet your audience exactly where they are. That alignment turns learning into measurable business impact.

Reason #2. You’re overspending on technology

The second reason training programs fail is that organizations spend five to two hundred times more on technology than they need to. I see it constantly in my Enterprise Learning Accelerator™ partnerships. A company making fifty million dollars a year might invest anywhere from fifty thousand to a million annually on eLearning platforms—yet the results don’t justify the expense.

Technology is meant to empower strategy, not replace it. If you haven’t defined what success looks like for your learners and your business, buying more software only magnifies inefficiency. The truth is, most of today’s learning tools are exponentially better and cheaper than the platforms from even a decade ago. The first commercial computer in the 1950s cost the equivalent of twelve million dollars in today’s money and did less than the phone in your pocket.

You don’t need to spend a fortune to deliver world-class learning. Two of my favorite platforms—Kajabi and TalentLMS—prove this point. Kajabi is ideal for external programs: selling courses, coaching, or digital learning experiences. It handles everything from hosting content to processing payments and building marketing funnels for less than five thousand dollars a year. TalentLMS, on the other hand, shines for internal training. It supports employee learning across locations, teams, and divisions for under ten thousand dollars a year.

When you choose the right technology for your needs, the ROI can be staggering. I’ve seen clients save six figures annually—even after paying my fee—and those savings compound to millions over time. The key is knowing what problem you’re solving before investing in the tool that solves it.

If you’re unsure where to start, my free eLearning Platform Finder™ matches you with the right technology in seconds. It also includes extended free trials and step-by-step setup courses so you can launch quickly and confidently.

Reason #3. You’re focused on quantity instead of quality

Early in my career, I made this mistake myself. I believed success meant producing more courses, more lessons, more everything. My goal was to create a vast library—like Netflix, but for personal development. I built dozens of modules on communication, relationships, and mindset. The only problem? I wasn’t an expert in most of them, and learners didn’t need that many options.

The result was predictable: minimal engagement and no measurable return. That experience taught me that more isn’t better. Better is better. Quality content—the kind that genuinely transforms learners—outperforms an endless catalog every time.

Look at CoStar Group, one of my Enterprise Learning Accelerator clients. They could have built dozens of certifications across every commercial real estate vertical. Instead, they focused on two programs in hospitality analytics. Those two programs generated enormous engagement and revenue because they were laser-targeted to a clear learner outcome. The 80/20 rule—and its extension, what I call the 64/4 rule—applies perfectly here. Four percent of your efforts can create sixty-four percent of your results.

The same principle guides my own business. Today I focus on two offerings: the Enterprise Learning Accelerator™, where my team becomes your eLearning partner, and the VIP Coaching Experience, where I guide you to build scalable programs yourself. Each produces measurable results because it’s designed around quality and depth, not volume. Every resource, masterclass, and tool I include supports one mission: helping you generate ROI from your learning initiatives.

The path to real ROI

If your training program isn’t delivering the return you want, step back and assess where you might be missing alignment. Are you teaching what learners crave or what you prefer? Are you overspending on outdated tools? Are you spreading your energy across dozens of projects instead of perfecting one?

The solution starts with focus. Clarify who you serve, choose the simplest technology that meets your needs, and build fewer, better learning experiences. When you do, you’ll stop chasing numbers and start seeing impact—in engagement, retention, and revenue.

That’s exactly what I help organizations achieve through the Enterprise Learning Accelerator™ Partnership Program. If you’re ready to turn your training into a true business asset, I invite you to explore the program and apply. Because when your learners win, your organization wins—and ROI naturally follows.