Sales success
Sales success grows from firm foundations.
The Client
A financial services company who were very successful. They had recently grown since partnering in a joint venture with a leading European financial organisation and were still establishing the kind of culture that would work with the different styles.
The Business Problem
The client had an effective segmentation of its customer base with specific sales and service offerings to the “top end” clients. However, the bank recognised that by doing some further assessment of their customer base, especially in the volume sector, they could identify some key segments that would benefit from a number of the newer and larger range of products they had brought to market. The only attempts to sell to these customers was a rather heavy-handed product sale which was not very successful in either conversion rates or retention – with an increasing level of cancellations. This approach meant they were failing to meet their sales targets.
The Solution
We worked with the client to understand the segmentation model for this sector and also spent some time observing how sales were being made in the existing structure. Once this base was established, work was carried out developing a sales model and sales process that would move them to a more relationship-based, consultative selling style. A number of sales management measures were developed and deployed to support this. A training programme was designed and delivered to the selected sellers. There was an initial surge of success, but this slipped back because the process was not being managed firmly enough. After several months while the client tried to address these issues we became more directly involved again – this time starting with the sales team leaders, and then a more thorough sales training programme combining the selling skills with product training. This was an assessed programme and the participants had to pass to continue in their role.
The Benefits
Three months after the training, the managers were making more regular visits to their sellers and coaching them, monitoring the plans and reports – and results were 20% higher and growing. The sellers had a better sense of pride in their job having had to “pass” the training – and customer retention was increasing with order cancellations decreasing by over 60%.
The client had an effective segmentation of its customer base with specific sales and service offerings to the “top end” clients. However, the bank recognised that by doing some further assessment of their customer base, especially in the volume sector, they could identify some key segments that would benefit from a number of the newer and larger range of products they had brought to market. The only attempts to sell to these customers was a rather heavy-handed product sale which was not very successful in either conversion rates or retention – with an increasing level of cancellations. This approach meant they were failing to meet their sales targets.
The Solution
We worked with the client to understand the segmentation model for this sector and also spent some time observing how sales were being made in the existing structure. Once this base was established, work was carried out developing a sales model and sales process that would move them to a more relationship-based, consultative selling style. A number of sales management measures were developed and deployed to support this. A training programme was designed and delivered to the selected sellers. There was an initial surge of success, but this slipped back because the process was not being managed firmly enough. After several months while the client tried to address these issues we became more directly involved again – this time starting with the sales team leaders, and then a more thorough sales training programme combining the selling skills with product training. This was an assessed programme and the participants had to pass to continue in their role.
The Benefits
Three months after the training, the managers were making more regular visits to their sellers and coaching them, monitoring the plans and reports – and results were 20% higher and growing. The sellers had a better sense of pride in their job having had to “pass” the training – and customer retention was increasing with order cancellations decreasing by over 60%.
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