Publishing Industry: Sales Case Study

Overview

A large publishing organisation was facing increased competition in their marketplace due to the emergence of new competitors, together with the growth of existing competition as a result of mergers and acquisitions. To ensure they were able to continue to increase their market share in this rapidly shifting market, the organisation requested that Maximus partner with them to develop and deliver a comprehensive sales program for all sales consultants and managers within their organisation.

Client objectives

  • To evolve the sales culture to be proactive and less reactive
  • To define end to end sales processes across the sales function
  • To improve sales capabilities across the sales cycle
  • To improve negotiation skills
  • To develop the organisations approach to managing key clients

The solution

At the commencement of the project the entire sales function was assessed against international benchmarked sales capabilities to ensure Maximus had a robust understanding of the gap between their current sales performance and their future potential. With this understanding, we then designed a new set of end to end sales processes and an integrated sales training program to build selling skills. It was determined that a modulated program would have the most impact in getting better sales results, fast. Three key modules were delivered over approximately a 6 month period with individual work completed in between programs.

Sales

Outcomes to date

  • Improved confidence managing key clients
  • More proactive selling across entire business
  • Better preparation for meetings which has led to the increase in new opportunities
  • More consistent sales process is used across entire sales team
  • Longer term relationships with key clients
  • Actual revenue attributed to the new capabilities

Feedback from program attendees

This program gave me clear direction and insight into recognising our current processes and behaviours. It also provided us with tools to recognise our customer's behaviour so we can adapt our style to meet their needs.