Development program for sales teams: boosting performance with real results in practice
Oct 6, 2023
Recently, I had the opportunity to implement a several-month intensive program for Development of Strategic Business Collaboration for our client. Its goal was to strengthen business ties, deepen collaboration with a key business partner, enhance sales skills and negotiation abilities of sales managers and representatives, and strengthen mutual team collaboration and trust. And since this program brought the desired effect to the client and I sense that it can be inspiring for many, I decided to share it with you.
I have been in business practically my entire professional life. In the position of regional director, I was responsible for one of the four regions for 5 years. However, I also gained valuable experience in other positions, such as director of external distribution, sales support manager, or head of a team of Key Account Managers. I enjoy contributing to the development of a successful business team with my experience.
Development of Strategic Business Collaboration
I perceive it this way: in today’s competitive world, we don’t just need a great product, which represents the absolute foundation. We need a team that is efficient, unified, and ready to respond to changing market dynamics and a strong competitive environment. We need a team that has excellent product knowledge and sales skills and that is capable of establishing and maintaining strong and functional partnerships.
Our client dedicated last year to creating a clear business strategy and now faced its real implementation into the daily lives of business teams in the regions. Therefore, we jointly created a program aimed at:
translating the created company strategy into tactical plans and standards in the regions to ensure stable cooperation with the distribution network of the strategic partner,
deepening close cooperation and teamwork of the sales team, both internally and across regions, aligning them to achieve unified business goals,
setting up effective and functional processes.
We built the program based on the individual needs and requirements of the client, but at the same time expanded it with our extensive experience in the field of commerce, in building strategic partnerships, and knowledge of the specific sector and market.
5 Key Pillars of the Created Program
Preparation of a tactical plan: Breaking down the overall company strategy into a specific tactical plan for the region and ensuring linkage with the partner's strategy.
Negotiating and concluding agreements: The ability to conduct business negotiations aimed at concluding agreements to achieve business goals.
Monitoring fulfillment and open feedback: Assessing the achievement of set goals and the timing and manner of providing feedback – when, to whom, and how often.
Effective and functional processes: Mapping existing processes, sharing best practices, and preparing suggestions for possible streamlining and simplification.
Strategic Reporting: Defining the form of reporting at national and regional levels, which will become a cornerstone for management and decision-making.
The aim was to bring a change in functioning at the regional level and to increase professionalism, which would ensure further organic growth. Another goal was to improve business results and maintain high customer loyalty.
Combining Theory and Practice with Active Involvement of All Participants
The program included several different approaches. It was focused on both the theory in the area of developed competencies and drew from the practical experiences of the program leader. It led individual participants to active involvement, whether in the form of sharing experiences, role-playing games, or filming scenes on camera. Selected guests with relevant expertise also attended the meetings, and interaction with the partner took place between meetings through fulfilling specific tasks assigned to the participants.
We decided to regularly track and evaluate the success of implementing strategic priorities into practice through established OKRs. These were designed to reflect deeper goals.
Here are a few examples:
Stable growth in new business: Not only increasing sales volume but also acquiring new clients and market segments.
Maximizing management of the base: Ensuring that existing clients receive the best product and service that they want and need.
Top-notch consulting: Achieving a professional level of customer service with the goal of maximizing their satisfaction and loyalty and obtaining referrals for potential acquisition of new customers into the base.
Program Outcome: Improvement of Business Results, Internal Communication, and Sharing of Experiences
Thanks to this program, it was possible to enhance the competencies of the client's sales managers and representatives and set up functional agreements between the client and the strategic partner across the regions. The result was a significant increase in performance and business results. The program also supported the improvement of internal communication, mutual sharing of experiences, and teamwork.
Participant evaluations were exceedingly high. They particularly appreciated its practical focus, which emphasized the immediate usability of the knowledge and skills acquired. They also positively evaluated the impact of the program on the growth of their competencies, which also led to an increase in their self-confidence when negotiating with the partner. And last but not least, they praised the deepening of mutual trust and cooperation within the team.
I am grateful for this opportunity and look forward to further possibilities where I can support business teams on their path to success.
A great product alone is not enough. It must be complemented by a great team
Today, it is not enough to rely solely on strong products or a well-known name. It is crucial to invest in education, communication, and a culture of collaboration. If you are interested in how to improve the performance of your sales team, do not hesitate to contact us; we are happy to share more details about our approach. Whatever your vision may be, we believe that together we can realize it!