Objectives

In the wake of the dot-com crash, the company - which had flourished due to the high-tech boom - realized that if they were to hit their 2003 projections, something had to change. The goals were simple: 1) increase the attachment rate and average order size by maximizing every interaction with the customer; and 2) equip their senior account reps with the skills to transition from selling the "bread-and-butter" products that comprised the bulk of their market share to penetrating new markets with a new product offering.

The specific objectives of the training initiative were:

• Arm traditionally non-revenue producing employees (e.g., customer service, tech support), who interacted with the customers on a regular basis, with the skills to mine for incremental revenue
• Equip inside reps to more effectively work with the channel to grow accounts and partner with their field counterparts
• Provide strategic reps with a the tools to grow and convert Fortune 100 accounts
• Ensure management team understood the process and possessed the coaching skills to ensure behavior change
  
  

Deliverables

• Managers were certified to reinforce the sales training programs while improving their own coaching, management and leadership skills.
• Inbound, tech support and customer service reps participated in training classes to improve both their selling skills and their ability to enhance the customer experience.
• Senior account reps participated in a strategic selling course that focused on executive access and account development skills.
• Two staff trainers were certified to deliver the rep training, reinforce the skills learned and measure the results.
• Structure and systems were put in place to manage performance and continue the skill development process.
  
  

Results

Eight months of consistently adopting Aslan's process to reinforce the skills yielded these financial results...

• Average order per call increased 30%
• Leads from non-traditional revenue sources grew by 83.5 %
• Overall revenue increased by 5% and the stock price jumped from $10/share to $18+/share