Customer Success Stories
Sales Training Case Studies
The names and some of the unique situations have been changed or modified to protect our customer's privacy.
- Case Study 1 - LEE Services
- Case Study 2 - Datacomm
- Case Study 3 - OneBenefits.com
Case Study 1
The Challenge:
The customer, LEE Services, is an internet-based company with corporate headquarters in Portland, Ore., and the largest sales office is in Nashville, Tenn. LEE was in the process of being bought and did not have a Vice President of Sales. The Nashville sales office was suffering from some performance-related issues.
The Solution:
Positive Results and Dennis R. Kyle sprung into action at the drop of the hat for LEE Services, traveling to Nashville to meet with the Sales Manager. It was established that Dennis would travel to Nashville twice per month and be on call during the rest of the month. This consulting time has allowed the sales manager to pick Dennis' brain for ways to encourage productivity, develop new metrics, analyze the sales process and assist with hiring procedures. Dennis Kyle recognized several fixable issues which were cured immediately:
- Internal employee conflict issues
- Ineffective management tools
- The manager had an office with floor to ceiling windows for walls which provided an open environment which is great for giving staff the feeling of an open policy. The recommendation was for her to order blinds so she could at least have a closed place for private conversations as well (i.e., for difficult discussions such as reprimanding poor behavior or staff personal issues).
This client has experienced its greatest success in over eight years. In January 2001, they had a record-breaking month. The sales team is feeling terrific motivation, and the manager is pleased to have a resource like Positive Results at her disposal.
Case Study 2
The Challenge:
Datacomm approached Positive Results with a specific need. They provide learning universities for their sales professionals to learn product knowledge. However, Datacomm was looking for a change - something that could "spice up" the learning environment a bit. They wanted to implement a sales training and motivational day for the sales people during this week-long university.
The Solution:
Positive Results created a custom solution for Datacomm. The customization took place through a managerial assessment process. Surveys were sent to each participating manager. The surveys were completed and telephone interviews were performed to gather more departmental-specific information.
With this material a one-day training and motivational course was created that encompassed a variety of training concepts. The topics covered ranged from strategic selling ideas to reading buyer personality. A wide variety of team building modules were implemented throughout the day. Datacomm was able to have piece of mind, knowing a professional organization was developing content-specific information. The course was a huge hit.
Datacomm's staff members gave rave reviews regarding the training and its highly motivational message. In fact, Positive Results became a mainstay in Datacomm University curriculum.
"I appreciate your
extensive preparation time and the energy with which
you conducted the session."
Marketing Communications Manager
Read Datacomm's original letter of recommendation
Case Study 3
The Challenge:
OnlineBenefits.com is a relatively new and, yes, successful dot com organization. They approached Positive Results with a specific need. "We have a group of sales professionals who need to hone their sales skills." They understood the need for intensive training and asked how we could help in their pursuit of this goal.
The Solution:
Positive Results performed a series of evaluations. First, the entire sales force went through a comprehensive sales aptitude assessment. This tool analyzed each participant's strengths and weaknesses, based on 20 different competencies. A team report was also provided. The individual assessments were especially helpful because it offered Robert an opportunity to learn more about each rep and how to better coach them for development.
The team assessment report was a helpful report for OneBenefits.com and Positive Results. The report was used to provide input into the specific areas which were deficient for the team. Positive Results also assessed managerial skills to ensure proper tools and practices were in place to reinforce the training long after it was completed.
We utilized all of these different information gathering tools to extract mission critical data. The data was then utilized to create a complete training solution. The program was terrific. OneBenefits.com enjoyed having a program which was motivational yet provided an enormous amount of valuable selling information. We were able to customize it in such a way that it appeared we were speaking from an industry-specific perspective.
The key to successful training is finding a training organization that takes the time to learn about your business and your industry. The organization you select needs to be able to tie this information into a successful training strategy. Your success depends in part on how accurately information is disseminated to your sales staff and how quickly it can impact your bottom line.
