It was clear that the solution to Comtec’s issues would require a multi-pronged approach, tailored to the unique market of their customers and the ideal customer profile (ICP) that they had established. Driving accountability in sales teams is often a case of not only providing selling skills training, but also offering a more comprehensive resolution, which can help shift the wider organisational culture. 

Following a quick turnaround into the initial consultation phase, Pareto’s expert training providers and account managers spent time with the business conducting a skills audit, aiming to clarify where the talent lay within the organisation’s salespeople. We began by asking the business leaders how they would measure the success of the training and sales accountability intervention—crucial to knowing how effective we’ve been in our provision. 

Whether it’s tracking and understanding the improvement of financial performance metrics, such as the growth of revenue and win/close rates, operational statistics—such as the number of proposals written and meetings booked—or customer and employee performance figures, such as satisfaction, retention, and Net Promoter Score (NPS), our bespoke training projects are all evaluated based on the return on investment they provide to our clients.

Similarly, our consultants spent time looking to understand the client’s unique market, which allowed us to adapt our approach and design an in-depth programme of sales coaching, alongside techniques for managing employee performance for senior team members and supervisory staff. This approach enabled us to assess Comtec’s people, making sure that they were in the right role for their competencies—and, moreover, that any selling skills training that was provided would be relevant to their role and the specific sectors that Comtec served, with the internal and external teams both responsible for quite different duties, despite both being sales-oriented functions. 

This dedication to investing in their employees, sales managers, and border culture ensured that Comtec would be able to successfully and scalably integrate best-practice approaches to sales excellence.

After our consultation, the training phase began, where we would give their salespeople—and managers—the tools and techniques they required to resonate with their current customer base and prospects in their sales funnel. 15 salespeople were trained in total, a blend of internal and external sales personnel, via a mixture of face-to-face, interactive instruction, and virtual programmes delivered via the web.

The first two in-person training sessions were delivered in the relaxed setting of a hotel, with Comtec providing the trainees with pizza and other refreshments during breaks—helping them to feel at ease, despite managers similarly being present in the training session. This informal setting helped to engage even those trainees who may have otherwise been hesitant to participate in the events and roleplays that were planned for each day. 

Through an extensive consultation audit and design phase, we were able to ensure that the training received was based on a refinement of Comtec’s mission, vision, and values, and would always be guided by their goals and ambitions as an organisation. 

As a result, we implemented a blended learning approach which incorporated sales coaching and roleplays in practical, real-world situations that representatives faced, ensuring that best practices and techniques for sales excellence were re-enforced—alongside support for sales leaders and business development managers to make certain that the necessity for a long-term change towards a culture of sales accountability was properly embedded.

We covered the need for effective communication and the importance of rapport and relationship-building, alongside identifying how to adapt your sales approach when building internal and external relationships, and best practices for the consultative sales approach. In addition, we provided additional training in the skills, behaviours, and proactive account management knowledge that would be required at each stage of Comtec’s modified sales process, ensuring that staff were prepared to take ownership of the key accounts and prospects they were responsible for, enabling them to lead meetings and conversations towards a mutually-beneficial solution.