A bluechip software organisation identified a key gap in the performance of their sellers when dealing with high value accounts.
With potential deals running into 7 figures, this skill gap was leaving money on the table in too many deals.
The company had set themselves a significant target: a 5% uplift in revenue throughout their senior field sales team across a number of high value accounts.
This target would generate substantial revenue gains, especially given the planned global rollout of the solution.
The company also recognised that a critical driver of the success of this initiative would be an improvement in the customer experience.
This would necessitate a shift in mentality from the sellers, requiring them to lead with customer outcomes rather than their own solutions.
The Solution
Mentor Group proposed a bold, innovative approach to training the company’s sellers, designing and developing an immersive Virtual Reality training program.
The program took the participants through a series of simulation exercises with 4 different buyer personas to identify mindsets, decision making and their sales approaches in each case.
The scenarios were then debriefed by an experienced Mentor Group coach to identify the key learning points, rationales behind decisions and how these lessons could be applied to a live opportunity to progress the deal.
This was done over a 6-month period to allow time for proper skills application and consolidation.
The Results
This program delivered a 100% net promoter score from all participants. The more striking results came from the application of the scenarios and lessons to real accounts. One notable example was a deal that was taken from $1M to $11M by engaging the right personas, identifying value in the eyes of the customer and winning the deal to the full satisfaction of the customer.
When measured against a control group, participants in this High Value Sales program reported a 6% uplift in revenue, exceeding their initial target, and total revenue realisation attributed to the program has run well into nine figures.
