Business Issue
A global water technology company’s growth in India was key for both its global and Asia Pacific strategy. Sales and marketing teams knew a key part of the strategy involved moving the salesforce to a value-based selling approach. With this goal in mind, the organization conducted an internal competency mapping exercise to highlight developmental areas to target. It also meant adapting to the changing market conditions and better recognizing the “customer pulse” to drive growth in the region.
Results identified that sales and marketing teams needed to develop skills to conduct strategic conversations, pursue well-qualified opportunities, negotiate better win-win agreements, and drive customer intimacy.
Solution
Dubbed “Driving Advanced Sales Excellence,” Wilson Learning curated a 10-month performance improvement journey, to be delivered in three phases.
Phase 1, Negotiating to Yes™, kicked off the journey. The salesforce grounded themselves in Principled Negotiation—an efficient process, skills, and techniques for reaching optimal business agreements that are satisfying to both parties and strengthen customer relationships.
The teams cultivated skills for better questioning, listening, persuading, strategizing, problem-solving, and countering unfair negotiation tactics.
95% of those who responded to the Impact Evaluation survey administered four months after the workshops agreed that it was easy to apply the new skills and tools imparted through Negotiating to Yes. 100% agreed that they improved the quality of their customer negotiations and have improved positive outcomes.
Phase 1 produced positive momentum for the performance learning journey, and then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. During the early months of the pandemic, participants remained engaged through online reinforcement, coaching, and best practice webinars as leaders considered next steps.
Wilson Learning’s ability to pivot quickly and deliver the workshops virtually, along with positive results from the Phase 1 Impact Evaluation, led to leadership’s approval to resume training.
While the original journey had mapped Phase 2 Sales Advantage Series™ modules as live, instructor-led workshops, Wilson Learning sequenced the six modules to be delivered virtually, one per month, to provide greater flexibility for the organization.
Phase 3 continues the learning journey with its focus on the key role sales managers play in the role of coach. Coaching for Sales Performance™ will equip sales managers with the skills and tools to create an environment that supports their salespeople’s potential and leads to improved performance with fulfillment.
Outcome
In addition to the stellar percentages reported for impact on skill development and performance, in the four months since Negotiating to Yes was delivered, the teams attributed over 3 million USD in sales, a 39% revenue increase, as a result of using the Principled Negotiation skills and tools. In fact, the India sales team reported that they won their largest deal after completing the Negotiating to Yes performance learning journey.
This learning journey is far from over. In fact, this strategic partnership began with Wilson Learning over four years ago. Here’s a glimpse in the rearview mirror of the work Wilson Learning has done with this company on a global scale:
- Embedded sales and sales coaching skills for over 1,300 employees dispersed over 32 countries
- Delivered custom application sessions in 12 languages
- Utilized the e-learning version of The Counselor Salesperson™ for employees located in remote locations, provided in the company’s targeted languages