Initial situation

• Nearly all of the team conveyed a sense of ‘being quite comfortable’.
• Sales force productivity, ROI and effectiveness was poor.
• Spending too much time with the ‘wrong’ customers.
• Greatest confidence was displayed in one-on-one interactions with ‘mates’.
• ‘Solution Selling’ didn’t not come easily to most of the team – closing was avoided in many cases.
• ‘Let me do a quote/estimation (and I’ll keep my fingers crossed that I can come up with a compelling story)’ is as close as they come to a ‘value proposition sell’.

What we did …

• Introduced a National ‘solutions’ aligned sales process (Hearts and Minds).
• Introduced a Sales Productivity and Pipeline system.
• Realigned of selling time to high value customers and prospects.
• Developed advanced sales skills to sell higher up the food chain.
• Developed advanced merchandising/distributor development skills.
• Trained managers to sustain the development programmes.

Outcomes …

• Replaced 70% of the sales team.
• Replaced 80% of the Sales Management team.
• Grew market share by 5% in a declining market.
• Measurement of sales force increased by 17% to ‘proactive & professional/consultative’ methodology.
• Customers all along the food chain worked closer to them.