By implementing a competitive sales simulation that replicated the daily realities facing this sales team, a major global finance company drastically improved the application of sales training in ways that impacted both strategic account planning and tactical opportunities while providing a collaborative, yet competitive, learning experience for both high- and low-performing sales reps.
About the Customer
Our customer is an international commercial finance company operating in over 180 countries and has annual gross revenues exceeding $9.6 billion. They are a leading global payments and technology company that connects consumers, businesses, merchants, issuers, and governments around the world.
The Challenge
A global commercial finance company that focuses on selling complex solutions to major banking institutions throughout the world, acknowledged that its sales team was facing some challenging dynamics in the field. There was significant downward price pressure coming from customers, as well as new technology being launched by a major competitor. While this company acknowledged the need to provide support for its field sales organization, the company’s sales leadership team stated that many of the company’s sales representatives were some of the most highly skilled in the market, with an average tenure of more than 15 years.
Also, the company had already conducted training courses in fundamental selling skills, strategic account planning, negotiation, and other critical skills training. They needed help in a way to take the knowledge and expertise that had been taught and help them better apply it to the market conditions that currently existed.
The Solution
Ignite Selling implemented a competitive sales simulation that replicated the reality facing this sales team on a daily basis. A mock company was created to replicate the challenges their customers were facing on a regular basis. This mock company was built using realistic key influencers who were typically engaged in the sales process, and competitors most often seen in this client’s real world.
Unlike sales simulations of yesterday, this simulation is not a series of role-plays. The simulation design was created to provide opportunities for both strategic account planning and tactical execution. This design enabled the company to reinforce other training investments and identify gaps in the application of the lessons learned in those investments. The simulation also sought to provide a learning experience for both high- and low-performing sales reps. Engaging all parties, the simulation setup was competitive in nature, with a winning team determined by classroom performance.
To facilitate peer-to-peer learning, top performers were divided evenly among the teams and were assigned a leadership role for their respective groups. This distribution kept the top performers engaged in the program because they were given the opportunity to share their best practices and show others how it is done. They also remained engaged because top performers want to win, especially against other top performers. The average performers also stayed involved throughout the simulation for several reasons. The competitive aspect of the programs means that no one wants to be the one who lets his team down. Also, by having a respected top performer as a team member, the average performers know there is much to be learned by watching and working with those individuals.
Results and Return on Investment
The feedback-rich experience of the simulation gave salespeople the opportunity to make mistakes in developing and executing their strategy. It was designed to be challenging and competitive so that the sales reps remained engaged in the experience. As a result, the organization reported an increase in the application of sales training and an engagement score of nearly 85%. More importantly, this customer has seen an increase of over 50% in how the sales reps utilize the skills, tools, and knowledge they were taught previously.
To learn more about our work in improving the application of sales training through sales simulations, contact us today.