Selecting a Partner to Help You Improve Sales Effectiveness Key Buying Criteria and Potential Risks
Activatum is exclusive partner of Imparta Our solutions within Sales & Leadership Effectiveness Programmes are based on Imparta’s award winning and globally researched concepts and tools. Our Sales Methodologies and Academy Processes are based on proven approaches within Blended Learning and we work in close partnership with Imparta and their global team of consultants.
Imparta White Paper distributed by Activatum – Selecting a Partner to Help You Improve Sales Effectiveness
Selecting a partner Over 80% of training spending is wasted, according to research… but equally, the right kind of intervention can generate huge returns. So how do you ensure that the solution you choose is heading for success rather than failure? Over the last decade we have seen, and even helped, to formulate many Requests for Proposal. There are a number of decision criteria that crop up again and again when companies are seeking to drive impact, rather than simply to fill a training calendar.
Every company’s needs are different. The criteria you would use when selecting a workshop to help win a big deal would clearly be different to those needed to choose a partner for a global Sales and Marketing Academy. However, there is still a huge amount of common ground.
Key buying criteria This White Paper includes some of the most important criteria, so that you can tailor your own list. We can also provide a spreadsheet version of this tool that you can use directly when comparing different vendors’ offerings (see contact details at the end of this paper). Of course, we hope you’ll look at what we can do, while you’re at it! Buying Criteria
How to Assess Performance
1. Robust, modern, practical sales approach
• Is the content based on robust research? • Does the methodology focus on understanding and working with the client’s buying process, rather than on sales tips or a ‘selling process’? • Are the approaches and tools practical and tested in the field? Are there clear examples of positive impact? • Does the company use their own methodology while selling to you?
2. Tailoring to different roles while building a common language
• Are course modules tailored to different roles and levels of experience? (e.g. executives vs. sales managers vs. salespeople; account acquisition vs. account management; field vs. telephone sales; sales vs. service and bid support; experienced vs. new salespeople)? • Is the vendor willing and able to create new modules for specific roles in your business? • Is there a consistent theme and language running through the various courses that make them feel like an integrated whole?
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Imparta White Paper distributed by Activatum – Selecting a Partner to Help You Improve Sales Effectiveness
Buying Criteria
How to Assess Performance
3. Relevance to your business context
• Is there a formal process for understanding your business issues in depth? • Is the content appropriately tailored (through content, role-plays, examples, case studies and exercises) to your business issues and context? • Is the vendor experienced in working with other training suppliers to integrate new approaches with old, and to create effective internal communications for positioning the current programme vs. previous training activities?
4. Trainer quality and experience
• Will the vendor take steps to ensure that the trainers/faculty members are a good fit with your business, culturally, stylistically and in terms of their business experience? • Will they be brought up to speed with your specific environment and its challenges?
5. Learning approach
• Is the learning approach experiential, providing sufficient active participation to build skills, as well as knowledge? • Is the mix of traditional and technology-enhanced training methods optimised to accelerate the learning process, engage learners and transfer learning to the workplace?
6. Quality of followthrough and reinforcement activity
• Are there explicit plans for reinforcing and sustaining the learning and its application, long after participants have left the classroom? • Does the vendor recognise the critical role played by coaching in refining and sustaining skill improvement, and offer ways to fully engage the sales management and leadership community?
7. Ability to offer measurement and accreditation
• Is there an explicit approach to providing ongoing measurement of the impact of the Sales Academy? • Is there an explicit approach to the accreditation of salespeople as they move through the academy process? • Is the accreditation approach aligned with the measurement approach?
2 © Imparta Ltd.
Imparta White Paper distributed by Activatum – Selecting a Partner to Help You Improve Sales Effectiveness
Buying Criteria
How to Assess Performance
8. Outcome-oriented approach (rather than a purely “workshop” mentality)
• Does the vendor speak in terms of the number of sessions run or in terms of business impacts achieved? • Can the company demonstrate and quantify past success? • Does the vendor focus on specific business outcomes, e.g.: • Prospecting – increasing the number of new qualified opportunities entering the sales pipeline, through better lead generation and navigation of buyer roles • Account Penetration – “farming existing clients” to increase the average revenue per client • Average Deal Size – increasing the scope of the discussions being held, to increase revenue potential and offset the increasing cost of making a sale • Conversion Rate – ensuring a higher “hit rate” when moving clients from one stage of the pipeline to the next • Cycle Time – reducing the time taken for prospects to move through the sales pipeline • Price – maximising margins by managing the discounting behaviour of staff and in particular dealing with the involvement of customer procurement departments • Client Influence and Relationships – elevating the sale to the Boardroom level and equipping salespeople with improved business acumen to deal with clients at that level • Consultative Selling – moving from a transactional approach to a value creating consultative approach • Sales Leadership –coaching sales managers to get the most out of their sales teams
9. Pricing: Competitive, clear and consistent pricing, offering good value
• Is pricing clear and consistent? • Are all the factors being considered in assessing relative value? • Are the “hidden costs” made obvious?
10. Scalability and experience of large scale roll-out
• Are there methods and mechanisms to ensure that training to be delivered across large numbers is done so to consistent standards? • Are faculty qualified in suitable depth for the audiences?
11. Ability to create additional content to address additional needs
• Can the provider quickly create additional programmes addressing business challenges or skills gaps related to the Sales Academy? • Does the provider have experience or capabilities in building custom programmes that include ILT and e-learning components if necessary?
12. Availability of multiple languages
• Are multiple language versions of the content available (if needed)?
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Imparta White Paper distributed by Activatum – Selecting a Partner to Help You Improve Sales Effectiveness
Addressing potential risks In any implementation, there are also risks that need to be managed (for the sake of both parties). The following table sets out some of the risks that we have discussed with other clients in the past, and an indication of the steps we have taken to reduce and manage these risks. Potential Risk
Prevention/Cure
Vendor may be an unknown quantity to your decision makers
• Pilot workshops; references and discussions with other blue-chip clients
The sales methodology may not work well in your industry
• Rely on a research-based methodology that fits with the timescale and complexity of your typical sale • Use variants of a core philosophy for different sales environments within the one company (e.g. major corporate sales vs. small enterprise sales)
The risk that the training has little impact. For instance, other priorities take over for the individuals concerned, or there is inadequate followthrough
• Focus on reinforcement and application as well as training • Consultation around the performance management /review processes • Measurement of results and progress with detailed review meetings on a regular basis to catch problems early • Use of follow-up calls and surveys to check for any ‘course corrections’ needed and provide success stories for internal marketing • Detailed follow up plan and reinforcement process, including manager coaching
Budgets may change part-way through the process
• The availability of a range of delivery options, including self-study only and online facilitation to further reduce fees and travel costs if required, without losing the continuity of approach
Increased demand on management time
• Estimate the potential time demands on staff and make sure they are feasible • The involvement of a strong lead consultant from the vendor side can help to balance workload and provide leverage to your own senior staff
Political issues trying to get consensus around any one supplier or approach
• A wide variety of stakeholders need to be involved from the outset so that they don’t feel that new approaches have been dictated to them • Rely on objective selection criteria, preferably involving the salespeople themselves in the evaluation process
4 © Imparta Ltd.
Imparta White Paper distributed by Activatum – Selecting a Partner to Help You Improve Sales Effectiveness
How can we help you? Please contact us for further inspiration as to how we can help you grow your business further. www.activatum.com info@activatum.com Or please contact Managing Director Gitte Ravn directly on gr@activatum.com Mobile +45 4038 4949
5 Š Imparta Ltd.