Challenge
A leading enterprise software company, engaged Executive Conversation to partner in deploying its global Value Engineering Initiative to grow revenue and assist in efficiency improvements. With more than 47,800 customers in 120+ countries, they sought out a partner that could deliver globally with an appreciation for the many cultural differences across so diverse a customer population. In pursuing a growth strategy designed to expand from large enterprise customers into small-to-medium-sized markets, they were in search of an alternative to its existing sales model which requiring extensive resources. The company needed a more efficient, scaleable model for expansion into this new market segment in order to prioritize opportunities and make optimal use of existing resources. Members of its sales team needed to be able to articulate business value and quantify benefits of solutions and had to strengthen their understanding of finance to effectively engage customer executives. Specific objectives for the initiative included increasing pro forma operating margin, improving deal win rates and building Account Executive confidence and credibility for calling on C-level, non-IT executives.
Solution
Their CFO selected our flagship Executive Focused Selling for Direct Sales workshop to support the company’s Value Engineering Initiative. In collaboration with client leadership, a customized version of the workshop was developed incorporating their Sales Process Elements and Sales Tools. A plan was put into place to produce an output to serve as the beginning of Pipeline Building Plans. Demand was strong for the workshop throughout the client; the rollout began in North America then expanded globally to follow and supplement other components of the Value Engineering Initiative.
To achieve the initiative’s product and software revenue growth targets, Sales Vice Presidents participated in workshops to improving their coaching ability. A dedicated Manager Coaching curriculum was developed for this purpose and integrated into the workshop engagement. An elite team of Consulting Executives was built to deliver over sixty workshop sessions around the world, customized to meet the client’s needs.
Results
A combination of quantitative results and qualitative behavioral measures were established to measure the engagement’s effectiveness. Quantitative growth targets were exceeded in metrics tracked to gauge increased pipeline; increased number of deals per Value Engineering consultant; increased deal win rate for sales; and increased overall sales. Qualitative measures, establishing direct links to increased revenue and productivity, showed performance gains in improved Account Executive confidence and credibility for calling on C-level executives; Account Executive financial acumen to open CXO-level doors; Sales Vice President value case development coaching capabilities; deal win rates; and strategizing on opportunities in virtual account teams to mirror real world interactions.
Having worked with our Consulting Executives, the client’s team emerged more confident and comfortable engaging at the executive level . More than 1,000 workshop participants globally rated both our Consulting Executives and the overall quality of the learning experience a perfect five out of five points.