The Challenge
The telecommunications market in the last three years has been in turmoil. Revenue growth was flat across the industry, and stocks of the Big Three long-distance companies were down 85 percent. In the face of these market forces, Sprint undertook a strategic initiative to help its Business sales force gain an edge in the evolving marketplace. Specifically, the company invested $1.5 million to train its sales force. Sprint’s goal was to increase the win rate on larger opportunities by moving to value selling instead of price selling.
SMG’s initial assessment of Sprint’s major wins in the marketplace revealed that success hinged on three factors:
1. Building a broad and deep relationship in their customer organizations -- within the Information Technology (IT) organization, at the CXO level and with line managers and executives.
2. Understanding their client’s business and being able to develop and communicate a compelling value proposition for Sprint solutions.
3. Having a strategy and plan in place to work effectively internally and with the customer.
SMG’s Solution
Sprint contracted SMG to develop a solution to help its sales force achieve the above three factors. The approach includes the following components:
· Pre-course account research done by account managers.
· Communication with line sales managers to inform them of the program, solicit their cooperation and assign them field coach roles.
· Sales managers functioning as coaches during account application exercises.
· Identification of key focus areas: broadening account relationships, accessing and selling to executives, and developing strong value propositions.
· A computer-based sales simulation, developed by SMG, to model the Sprint value selling process.
The SMG simulation is the capstone to the entire set of activities. The overall purpose of the simulation is to drive participants to think more strategically and creatively as they approach their accounts.
The simulation covers three years and three accounts. Some of the specific issues that are addressed in the simulation are:
· Assessing the potential risks and rewards of different account strategies and tactics
· Penetrating new organizations, divisions, plants, etc.
· Calling at the right time, such as when a new manager takes charge (a time of great vulnerability for incumbent suppliers and a great opportunity for “outsiders”)
· Staying in touch with the accounts on a regular basis to gather information, uncover new opportunities, discover competitive threats, etc.
· Concentrating energies on the best opportunities
· Involving the customer in the solution, through needs analysis selling, visiting other customer sites, references, etc.
· Using the “coach” in the account to provide valuable account intelligence
· Knowing when and how to use one’s manager
· Using the team of internal resources (technical services, engineering, etc.) in the sales process
· Building credibility and trust with the customer
· Partnering with the customer to satisfy their customers’ needs.
Results
This simulation-based sales project has generated an estimated $25 million in net revenue for Sprint. This figure is based on a Return On Investment study by Sun Microsystems.
“The simulation has helped energize and empower our sales force,” says Mark Bowser, head of Sprint Business Sales. “It’s successful for two reasons: 1) It’s a creative approach; 2) It shows us what it takes to improve our overall sales and productivity.”
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