Measurable results within 100 days… GUARANTEED

Learn more about our proven approach to sales transformation that gets measurable results in under 100 days.

© The Sales Coach 2018

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We have a fundamental belief that an effective, long-term sales transformation takes place over time and must be integrated into the business as a whole.

There are no shortcuts or silver bullets. It is a change management approach, that deeply embeds new behaviors, and establishes a common set of skills and tools for sales teams to use in all client-facing interactions.

In most cases, training alone will not have a long-term impact on individuals or organizations. That is why we strongly believe that successful sales transformation programmes incorporate the following elements, in this order:

1. Focus on the desired Outcome. Effectively beginning with the End In Mind. At the end of the designated programme, what results will signify our joint success?

2. Enable the sales professionals involved. Based on the business outcome we are rying to achieve, design a programme of learning specifically for this purpose.

3. Coach all participants to ensure that they are proficient with the new skills and tools involved.

4. Measure the results. Success is measurable and we work together to discuss and agree the measurement areas including early indicators, business results and knowledge retention.

Every engagement is different and we will work with you to assess your current capabilities, discuss your challenges in detail, and recommend a suitable course of action, either with us, or with alternative partners.

Our Approach

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Success is measurable, so we start by focusing on the key business metrics that need to change, and in turn, indicate the success of the overall programme.

We work collaboratively to help define where you are today, where you need to get to, i.e. the business outcomes and changes that you want to bring about. We have an established consultative approach and readiness assessment that will quickly define the direction and shape of the assignment.

We’ll first review your overall business situation and challenges, get a good understanding of your sales organisation, processes and tools, and engage with sales and business leaders to understand your specific sales issues.

Sales issues are typically problems to be solved, results to be achieved, or a combination of the two.

Next we’ll undertake a capability assessment to determinethe strengths and weaknesses of your sales people. We’ll also use your sales KPI’s and performance review data if it is to hand.

This level of understanding enables us to agree the success measures.

Success measures will typically involve the longer-term KPI’s, e.g. an increased win rate, better penetration of key accounts, success in opening new accounts. These are the ‘lag’ measures that will determine our success. In addition we’ll consider the ‘lead’ measures, the early indicators of success and change.

With lead and lag measures agreed, we can discuss the resources you will allocate to the programme (budget, people, time) and start to build a solution that meets your needs.

1. outcome

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Based on the initial readiness assessment and the agreed aim of the programme, we can start to design a unique programme tailored to your needs.

The objective of this stage is to design and deliver an enablement programme that can include classroom based learning; remote learning; field based practice; 1:1 coaching; group coaching; leader coaching; skills assessments; skills clinics; and major deal coaching sessions.

We know that sales people prefer field-based work and ongoing coaching support to classroom based learning, and we work hard to strike the right balance and combination to maximize results.

Classroom sessions are designed to be highly interactive and based around real market, client, or customer situations. Skills and tools are learned and practiced in a safe environment that simulates real customer and client challenges.

Field-based work and coaching is carefully designed to embed the use of the skills and tools and to re-inforce learning on a weekly basis.

Content typically includes the foundation mindsets of Client Centricity, Curiosity, Social Awareness, and Self-Development, plus the skills and tools required to drive your desired business outcome.

Finally, the learning content and programme design is undertaken to meet agreed budgets, leverage available resources, deliver measurable results in under 100 days, and enable sustainable change in your sales team.

2. Enable

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The case for including coaching as part of a programme is immense. There is a ton of research available on knowledge retention that demonstrates why training, by itself, does not deliver sustainable change and business outcomes.

Add to that the 10,000 Hours of Practice theory (In the book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell says that it takes roughly ten thousand hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field.) and it is clear that practice is a critical factor in mastering new skills and tools.

Then consider the world’s top performers in any sport, and you won’t have to look far to find dedicated, specialist coaches to keep them at the top.

Harvard Business Review reported that in the past five years, top businesses have focused and invested more in coaches to work with sales people than in the last fifty years – a tenfold increase!

The report found that top quality coaching will improve the results of the middle 60% of a salesforce by up to 19%.

No surprise, as top performers are already high achievers, and the bottom performers may simply not be in the right career.

Our experience is that an expertly designed programme of deliberate practice, supported by coaching, is the optimum way to embed learning.

Coaching can be delivered in person, remotely, virtually and in combination and applied to individual sales people and sales leaders, for whom effective coaching is a critical part of their role.

3. coach

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Tracking progress and success is a critical part of any programme, if you want to transform sales and deliver challenging business outcomes. With this in mind, we focus on three main areas of measurement: Lead Indicators; Lag Indicators; and Knowledge Retention.

There are close to 100 Lead Indicators that we have seen clients using, depending on what aspect of their sales activities they need to measure. Typically, we work on the basis of a few rather than too many, in order to avoid ‘analysis paralysis’ and overburdening administration. Lead Indicators show early behavioural change and we’ll agree these during the initial consultation.

Lag Indicators are the key success measures of business outcomes. They are likely to be sales KPI’s that you usually use.

Our recommendation is that we focus on no more than 1 or 2 and be very clear on the change we are seeking, expressed as A to B by when. This ensures absolute clarity and sets realistic expectations around the time it will take to achieve significant change and results.

We don’t need to study the work of Hermann Ebbinghaus for too long to recognise his ‘forgetting curve’, which is used to explain how information is lost over time, in a matter of days or weeks, unless the new learnings are consciously reviewed.

We use an Artificial Intelligence tool to engage with teams, immediately after learning new material, to check their Knowledge Retention and pinpoint factually, where coaching efforts are required.

4. Measure

Meet thesales coach

© The Sales Coach 2018

Les has lectured, trained and coached, thousands of salespeople and leaders at organizations including the following: Accenture, Akzo Nobel, Alvarez & Marsal, Avanade, Axiom Law, Board Intelligence, CIPD, Colorcon, CSC, Davy, Dell, Elsevier, Eversheds, EY, FranklinCovey, Genpact, Hewlett Packard, Hitachi Consulting, Health & Safety Laboratories, IBM, iCrossing, IM Group, Microsoft, Northern Trust, Novo Altum, Quintiles, Spencer Stuart, Thales, Tintri, Travelport, and Unisys.

A respected expert in consultative selling and an authority on large, complex sales, Les is sought by some of the largest and most successful sales organizations in the world to help inspire people, grow talent and drive better sales results. He is a certified teacher of Tracom Style and Versatility, the world’s most effective interpersonal skills model.

Get in touch

+44 (0)7979 535532

The Sales Coach,UK Thrive Ltd,Phoenix House, Withersfield, Suffolk, CB9 7RY

+44 (0)1440 767972

les@thrivesalescoaching.co.uk

From setting up his own consulting company earlier in his career to serving as a Sales Enablement Lead at Accenture, and European MD of the global FranklinCovey Sales Performance Practice, Les Bailey brings a ‘start-up’ enthusiasm and entrepreneurial approach to every client assignment he undertakes. From simple product to complex solution sales, and roles including Territory Manager, Account Manager and Sales Leader, Les has mastered most sales, business development and sales leadership roles in a successful sales career spanning over 35 years.

Les is known for his passion for sales, enthusiastic workshop delivery, provoking keynote speeches, consultative insight, quick intellect, incisive coaching, and a sense of humour.

www.thrivesalescoaching.co.uk

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Measurable results in under 100 days.

Transform results at individual, team and enterprise levels

with guaranteed business outcomes.

Empower any established sales process or framework and achieve

defined business impact with sustainable behavioural change.