Educating your employee base is never an easy process. And when the base in question is your sales team, the stakes are even higher.
But Tim Gregory, president and CEO of consulting firm BakerER, says targeting the sales side of the business isn’t always a matter of ensuring you have the best and brightest salespeople who are adept at closing a prospect. Sometimes, the education process requires a more holistic look.
“People don’t always realize that the salespeople aren’t as bad as they think they are,” Gregory says. “And that a lot of times, a sales problem is actually a strategy problem.”
That’s what happened at VoCare Services Inc., where the managed care and employee benefits company’s sales staff wasn’t performing as well as the management team expected. Company president Joe Cannelongo opted to take a different approach to the problem — rather than hire a sales consultant to teach VoCare’s team how to better its sales and illustrate the model one step at a time, Cannelongo hired Gregory and his staff to try something outside the norm.
BakerER assumed total control of VoCare’s sales functions, learning how the company offered its value proposition to clients. It then assembled its own team to tear down and remake the sales process from scratch.
“In the solution sector (where BakerER prefers to operate), there is a known problem with an unknown solution,” Gregory says. “The consulting sector contains an unknown problem with an unknown solution. Growth, by its nature, is an unknown problem.”
Gregory’s staff handled every step of VoCare’s process, from lead development to the actual selling. The team then assisted VoCare in the transition of handing the process back over to the company. It also helped hire and train employees to maintain the model and its effectiveness.
BakerER’s process began with its staff talking to a variety of customers, prospects and other key industry players to better understand the customer experience in the industry. Tying in other objective research, BakerER articulated a focus and course of action for VoCare.
It developed a sales engine with targeting, profiling, telemarketing, sales dialog, marketing communications and mail nurture specialty personnel to attack the markets Cannelongo desired. Gregory’s staff crafted the messages and saw to their implementation.
The results were impressive.
VoCare’s sales grew almost 50 percent in one year, and net income profitability was nearly three times more than the cost of hiring BakerER. VoCare grew in several categories versus its competitors, and put together a new portfolio of market communications. The company also saw the growth of a new sales culture.
“Since November 2003, our company has been achieving record top-line results as a direct result of the Sales Engine experience and expertise of the BakerER team,” says Cannelongo.
While VoCare’s experience produced excellent results, Gregory warns that the Sales Engine process doesn’t always go off without a hitch.
“The problem most companies face and the biggest problem we face in applying the Sales Engine process is that these companies forget the biggest issues,” he says. “Who do I serve better than anyone else? What value do I provide? How do I deliver it? And how do I communicate it? People often mistake motion for action, and that’s a big problem.”
As in VoCare’s case, it’s important to measure any sales improvement program’s success the same way you measure your sales team’s success — by the bottom line. Says Gregory, “We operate this like a sales formula. We look at the metrics.” How to reach: BakerER, (877) 442-7011 or www.BakerER.com; VoCare Services, (216) 514-1221 or www.advocare-inc.com
