Business Issue
To remain competitive and create business opportunities in new markets, a North American fence manufacturer and distributor needed to advance the skills of its salesforce. This required equipping the salesforce with a better ability to sell on value instead of always competing on price. Additionally, the salesforce lacked a common sales language and approach for client engagement.
Solution
Sales professionals completed Wilson Learning’s The Counselor Salesperson™ program, and they also received timely follow-up reinforcement tips and planners to continue applying their skills. The company is tracking participants’ completion of the reinforcement activities to ensure they are applying the skills learned.
Sales managers, regional directors, and the Vice President of Sales provided further reinforcement to their direct reports through a consistent coaching process. This audience completed Wilson Learning’s Coaching the Counselor Salesperson™ program and received reinforcement to ensure consistent application of the coaching skills with their direct reports.
The comprehensive approach empowered salespeople to quickly sharpen their problem-solving skills in addressing customers’ business issues, create business opportunities while enhancing relationships, and become more effective at overcoming objections.
Additionally, sales managers and senior leadership became equipped with the necessary coaching skills to ensure their salespeople actually demonstrate the new skills and behaviors after initial training.
Outcome
Salespeople and sales management attributed a 38 percent increase in sales to the skills and approaches they learned. As a result of the training, over 95 percent of participants agreed that their client discovery is more accurate and complete, and they are better prepared to answer clients’ questions and issues. More than 77 percent of participants indicated a sufficient to significant change in behavior.