Implementing Sales Training - A Case Study

Customer-Oriented Selling (COS) teaches a consultative process for developing an understanding and agreement between the customer and your salespeople throughout the sales process. In today’s marketplace, gaining and sustaining consistent growth means building customer relationships. In the case of this worldwide coffee company, selling to corporate customers such as hospitals, hotels, universities and other industries in which food service is an integral part, they needed a logical, non-manipulative approach that would work.

COS develops proven selling skills while teaching salespeople to be responsive consultants sincerely interested in helping to achieve the business objectives of their customers. This leads to more satisfied customers, more successful salespeople, and better long-term relationships.

How They Did It

Unlike their retail counterparts, the specialty sales and marketing team’s sales goal focused on building long-term customer relationships. The sales team, as a whole, also needed to shift its sales strategy away from selling the benefits of the coffee product. They needed to link the coffee company profit potential to corporate customers’ specific needs. The group’s first annual sales meeting provided the opportunity to train the team on a new way of selling.

For the meeting, a consultant in the organization created a three-day training experience that blended customized versions of sales simulations with Customer-Oriented Selling. The first was a four-hour simulation and debrief that provided valuable insight into their current sales processes.

This new awareness was then incorporated into a two-day COS sales skills program. Customer-Oriented Selling taught the philosophy, process, and skills for selling consultatively. It provided the coffee company team with a comprehensive sales approach—including pre-call planning, a four-step sales process, and post-call follow-up, which focused on customer needs.

Results

For many people on the coffee company team, the annual sales meeting surfaced critical sales issues they had never before considered. Before the training, for example, many sales people could not define the basis of their relationships with national accounts from the customer’s viewpoint. But after working through customized case studies, they were able to articulate why the clients bought from them, and actions they needed to take to keep those relationships strong.
As one of the participants said, "This is the first sales training that made us think differently!"
More consultative sales skills and business literacy training is on tape. Corporate customers are already beginning to think "quality relationships" as well as "quality products" when they hear the name of the coffee company.

Program Delivery

New and experienced salespeople, sales managers, and marketing personnel benefit from a flexible, classroom-based training that can be tailored to the specific audience. Customized role-plays are developed around the organization’s specific customers, products and services.

Would you like to improve your sales results?

Skywalk Group can help! Click here to find out about our Customer Oriented Sales training program.

Contact Mindy Seiffert for more information and ask about our "sales stimulus" package.