Business Issue
To keep pace with rapid changes in the industry and create business opportunities that enhance their relationships with clients, a global leader in power services needed to advance the skills of their technical experts and salespeople in using a more consultative approach with customers. This required equipping technical experts with sales skills to match product knowledge and developing salespeople to take a problem-solving approach to effectively address customers’ business issues.
Solution
Sales professionals and their managers completed a customized consultative sales curriculum to gain progressively more advanced levels of strategic consulting skills, based on Wilson Learning’s The Counselor Salesperson™ program. The sales solution began with consulting and customization to define a sales methodology, chart their course, and achieve organizational alignment. Sales professionals participated in a virtual instructor-led program customized for maximum effectiveness, and advanced sales programs continued the development of strategic selling skills.
Sales managers participated in the program with salespeople and received a coaching playbook, comprehensive guide with activities, win-loss review guide, best practice guide, and more. A comprehensive reinforcement and sustainment component included custom participant and manager portals that provided access to learning materials, planners, tips, manager comments, and knowledge assessments; a series of post-workshop application assignments; and badging to encourage participation through competition and recognition.
This global initiative includes participants from Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Latin America, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam.
Outcome
In the first 6 months, the initial pilot audience attributed $33.5 million in sales to the skills and approaches they learned. As a result of the training, 89% of salespeople reported they are better prepared to address clients’ issues and questions, and 78% of salespeople said they are able to establish a greater level of trust with clients faster.