Developing Salespeople Competencies Through Training: The European B2B Sales Institute Initiative Sergios Dimitriadis Athens University of Economics and Business Athens, Greece

European Business-to-Business Sales Institute The need train the sales professionals of SMEs (salespersons, sales managers, sales support people, entrepreneurs) acting in a Business-to-Business complex sales environment Lack of time Lack of budget Lack of marketing and sales skills Lack of awareness of training benefits Complex role of the salespeople Why

Complex selling is characterized by: A long and complex sale cycle A multi-actor and complex purchasing group A strong customer and problem solving orientation A sale of solution, customized through several internal or external contributors A long term customer relationship based on confidence European Business-to-Business Sales Institute

The project: EUBBSI a blended vocational training program (mix of face-to-face and on-line courses) to develop the managerial culture and skills of these sales professionals and to improve their expertise in the implementation of complex sales processes. European Business-to-Business Sales Institute

 4 European Business Schools  1 e-learning content & instructional design company  EU co-funded European Business-to-Business Sales Institute The partners

1. Selling function Make sales presentation Prepare sales presentation Overcome objections Call on potential accounts Plan selling activities Leads for prospects Call on new accounts Products to take on call Presentation "aid" Introduce new products Help clients plan 2. Working with orders Expedite orders Write up orders Handle back orders Handle shipment problems Find lost orders 3. Servicing the product Present during repairs Test product Supervise installation Perform maintenance Make deliveries Teach safety instructions Train customers to use product Order accessories Learn about product 4. Information management Provide feedback Check in with supervisor Feedback from clients Provide technical information 5. Servicing the account Take inventory for client Point of purchase Stock shelves Handle local advertising 6. Conferences /meetings Attend sales conferences Attend regional sales meet. Attend periodic training Work client conferences Fill out questionnaires Set up exhibitions 7. Training/recruiting Look for new sales reps Train new salespeople Travel with trainees Design sales plan 8. Entertaining Entertain clients Take clients to dinner Take clients out to drink Throw parties for client 9. Out of town travel Spend night on road Travel out of town 10. Working with distributors Sell to distributors Good relations with dist. Source William Moncrief (1986), Journal of Marketing Research List of salespersons’ activities

Fundamental business knowledge and skills Competences for analyzing the situation at customer level Competences for managing the sales process Competences for working in and with my company Competences for cooperating for solution implementation Competences for maintaining and developing the relation Competences linked to sales performance List of salespersons’ competences

1 - Fundamentals of Business Understanding the Sales Environment Understanding globalization Behaving ethically in business Dealing with cultural differences in an international selling environment Getting to know legal aspects of sales 2 - Fundamentals of Marketing for Sales Solution consultative selling Analysing competition and competitors Networking for creating a global solution Segmenting Markets Understanding the position in the supply chain 3 - Finance skills for Sales Understanding cost structures and cost- drivers Financial control of implementation projects Evaluating the investment for the buyer and understanding its financial goals 4 - Understanding Customers’ Behaviour From transactional to relationship selling The buying process of industrial customers Assessing the customer and evaluating his life-time value Positioning the offering of the company Managing Key Accounts Understanding company’s culture From salespersons’ competences to training content

5 - Preparing my Company for Sales Understanding and contributing to the marketing strategy of my company Promoting customer orientation in my company Understanding the information system Understanding Customer Relationship Management - CRM Knowledge sharing and management 6 - Managing the Sales Process Prospecting Phase Qualifying a new account Revealing the need of the sales prospect Building a selling strategy at sales prospect level Developing your leadership Presenting the offer, negotiating, closing Managing a project of solution implementation Introducing change management Building a long term partnership with my customer 7- Managing the Sales Performance Improving sales performance Managing Time Learning and development Sharing best practices From salespersons’ competences to training content

The range of tools, services and resources provided by EUBBSI:  Competences Assessment Competences Assessment  Coaching Coaching  40 learning units, in English & Frenchlearning units  Practical exercises Practical exercises  Group seminars allowing the trainees to meet professionals and professors, to engage in role playing and to share their experiences Group seminars  An e-learning platform  A certification issued at the end of the training program The output European Business-to-Business Sales Institute

Competence N°6: To know how to reveal the problem of my customer and measure the consequences on his organisation Are you concerned by this competence in your working environment? YES □ NO □ In order to be able to design my offering, I must know how to reveal the problem of my prospect and help him to measure the consequences of this problem in his organisation For this: Your level Weak Middle Strong I must know in-depth my offering and reveal what could be improved by the solution in the prospect’ company □ □ □ I must be able to detect, for each member of the DMU, his main motivation and his main fears □ □ □ I must be able to lead my prospect to reveal his potential lack of satisfaction □ □ □ I must be able to lead my prospect to measure the importance of the problem by listing all impacts of the problem on his organisation □ □ □ I must be able to lead my customer to the “desire” for a solution □ □ □ I must help my prospect to feel comfortable and confident so that he can freely express himself □ □ □ I must be able to be rigorous and convincing in my questioning in order to get an exhaustive and exact information □ □ □ I must be able to adapt my questioning and arguments to the profile of my contact □ □ □ Competences Assessment

A e-learning Unit consists of:  30’ introductory video lecture  quiz associated with the video  hard copy readings  practical exercise, applied to the trainee’s context  short report prepared by the learner European Business-to-Business Sales Institute

Initial competences self-assessment Meeting 1, ‘learning path” Workshop 1 E-learning Workshop 2 … … … Final session & certification Indiv. vs group, face 2 face vs on-line Face-to-face, coach Face-to-face, group On-line, coaching Face-to-face, group Step of the learning process How The learning process

Training tested on ~ 80 sales professionals and ~ 100 students  Technical issues (people, PC, internet)  Need for practical content (case studies, role playing, experience sharing)  Importance of the face-to-face training part  Importance of coaching  Coach’s role: understand trainee’s professional context, adapt the process, facilitate learning  Need for local adaptation (language, professional context) The training program Results European Business-to-Business Sales Institute

As a guest, you may access to collective seminar's presentations and to 2 open e-learning modules: Elearning Catalogue 2: Solution Consultative Selling - LU 7 Elearning Catalogue 6: Revealing the need of a sales prospect - LU 35 Thank you for your attention!