Sandler Training

Sandler Training, the world’s leader in sales development training and leadership programs, partners with Qstream, the only microlearning solution scientifically proven to engage sales reps, increase sales proficiency, and change sales behaviors.

One example of this partnership is the delivery of a sales excellence program for a major IT Distributor. This world class technology and supply chain service provider changed their product service and delivery model. Enterprise technology buyers are increasingly shifting from old pricing models when purchasing technologies to subscription models through SaaS solutions. The IT Distributor and its reseller network recognized the need to update and enhance their training offerings for sales and leadership to reflect these changes.

The Challenge

Prior to the resellers working with Sandler, there was:

• No common sales language and inconsistent processes.
• No way for leaders to quantify the value of training investments made on sales training programs.
• A lack of awareness by sales reps that buyers were too often driving sales conversations.
• Little or no structure to sales hiring with decisions often based on subjective perspectives.
• A culture that was in need of change with many leaders spending time problem solving rather than training, developing and coaching.
• Insufficient accountability resulting in unproductive long-tenured sales reps.

These challenges lead to sales reps underperforming, resulting in negative or flat growth for the organization.

The Solution

Using the Sandler Selling and Leadership System coupled with knowledge reinforcement through Qstream’s microlearning solution, Sandler delivered a sales excellence program to 12 IT Distributor’s technology resellers. The program focused on seven critical components necessary to enable a team of 39 salespeople, leaders, pre-sales and operations people to be successful in a rapidly evolving market and customer environment. The seven components are:

1. Establishing a sales culture by creating a sales methodology and common language
2. Creating a playbook for key situations in the sales process
3. Making the sales force self-sufficient through learning and practicing
4. Changing behavior through debriefing
5. Creating prospecting plans to increase pipeline
6. Attracting and hiring great sales reps
7. Building a culture of coaching and accountability

Following the training, resellers are enabled to recruit, hire, onboard, coach, train, develop and supervise using a common language and processes. This allows them to diagnose and predict what future performance looks like and then take action across their businesses, creating proven sales and leadership programs to generate sustainable growth. Qstream microlearning helps retain knowledge to ensure that sales reps don’t forget what they’ve learned.

“Qstream is integral to reinforce and test the proficiency of the Sandler Selling System methodology, fast tracking the adoption of a new selling culture that results in sales.”
– Paul Sanford, Managing Director

The Approach

Sandler introduced blended learning with Qstream microlearning and Sandler Online (LMS) technologies to reinforce and test new messaging language while adding gamification and video scenarios to practice techniques and competition via leaderboards to increase the adoption of the new processes.

Microlearning helped engage sales reps and reinforce their knowledge so managers can measure accountability and to analyze data on knowledge gaps and proficiency improvement. Sandler believes that having access to real-time data on leading and lagging indicator metrics with five client centric satisfaction KPIs helps quantify the ROI on their training investments and impact business performance.

At the end of each year, participants who have reached a certain level of proficiency have the opportunity to become certified in the Sandler Selling System. Leaders participate in this certification process to ensure organizational alignment and that culture changes from leadership down to the sales reps. This provides an additional level of ROI to the leaders as they know that their people are being measured and have reached a certain level of proficiency in the Sandler Selling System.

The common language doesn’t stop at sales with the resellers now adopting the Sandler Strategic Customer Care Program across front line support, project and operational staff. The goal is to increase the number of cross sell/upsell sales by 25% and reduce customer and employee turnover by 35%.

The Result

• Using Qstream, there has been a 22% increase in proficiency of the Sandler Selling System over a 24-month period.
• Resellers as a group increased their spend with the distributor by 23%.
• Reseller A grew its business by 43% and won a major Channel Award for Cloud Services.
• Reseller B has grown consistently at 17% during the last three years and won “Services Partner of the Year” with a major UK Partner.
• Reseller C sold their first ever new business sale in four years, worth £100,000.
• Resellers are working closely together in partnering on introducing new opportunities, including cross-reference referrals.

Sandler has seen sales reps and their leaders change new behavior, attitude and techniques which have made them more effective, productive, and overall more successful. Here’s what leaders and sales reps are saying after Sandler Selling System and experiencing a Qstream microlearning program:

“Now I have the data to help me have targeted coaching conversations and understand what motivates people.”
– Managing Director

“Sandler has helped with my mindset in transitioning from a technical role to sales. No more free consulting.”
– Salesperson

“I have more conviction to start winning new business by requesting that the decision maker needs to be on the call/in the meeting.”
– Salesperson

About Sandler Training

Sandler Training is a world leader in innovative sales, leadership and management training. For more than 50 years, Sandler has taught its distinctive, non-traditional selling system and highly effective sales training methodology, which has helped sales reps and sales managers take charge of the process.

Their training is designed to create lasting improvement rather than the motivational “quick fix” typical of many seminar-based training programs. To help clients accomplish their goals, Sandler provides “reinforcement training,” a system that combines quality materials along with access to ongoing training workshops and individual coaching sessions. Through local training centers, they provide continuing face-to-face support and reinforcement of the world’s most successful selling system.

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