Case study: Business Consulting How A Growing IT Services Organisation Learnt To Build Its Sales Team’s Capability To Undertake High Consultative Solutions

A Case Study on Sales Effectiveness Solutions: How a growing IT Services organisation wanted to build capability of its sales team to undertake high-value consultative solutions, and our Consultants were brought to assess the situation, define the challenge, design learning interventions, deploy the programs and develop capability in the internal staff of the organisation.

A growing IT Services organization wanted to building capability of its sales team to undertake high value consultative solutions. The organization had a clear focus on five defined sectors and wanted the sales team to pursue deals with larger ticket sizes.

Walkwater Consulting was brought to assess the situation, define the challenge, design learning interventions, deploy the programs and develop capability in the internal staff of the organization to sustain the interventions inBhouse and monitor over time with continued interventions.

Diagnose

As a first step, walkwater consultants B a blend of experience in the industry and learning and development, interacted with the senior management, functional heads and the role holders who would be the participants to identify the challenges and opportunities and organization is currently facing. The relevant systems and processes were also understood in great depth to identify the strategy and execution gaps. The functional and behavioral competencies were identified during the discussions.

Sales systems are understood from key account management process, bid management process, quality of RFP response, winBloss analysis and sales pipeline management. The individual role holders from presales, sales and account management are talked to in great depth to understand their way of engaging with prospects or clients. The competencies for sales, presales and account management are defined depending on the existing practices which have worked for the organization and the expertise brought on the table by Walkwater consultants.

Competency framework

Functional competency framework was defined for the role holders who would be going through the intervention. The five level design was carried out for presales, sales and account management teams. Extensive discussions were carried out to identify the differentiating competencies and the critical factors for success which was then inbuilt into the framework and program design.

Intervention Design

Once the gaps are identified and agreed upon, walkwater consultants designed a unique solution depending on the specific needs. At this stage enough of relevant industry expertise was drawn from within and outside the client organization to provide multiple perspectives. The solution was then designed and focuses on people, process and strategy.

The broader level design is then created and learning interventions properly modularized to focus on the learning requirements followed with coaching, expertise building and assisted projects. At every stage handholding is provided based on individual learning needs of the person.

Sales modules are differently designed to suit the sales management, sales process, sales call and account management perspectives. Proposal writing skills are imparted through hands on sessions. The competencies identified before are incorporated in the program design.

Delivery

Keeping in mind the learners ability to absorb the content, adequate practice sessions are built into the learning sessions. Experienced consultants and executive education faculty deliver the sessions to perfection and constantly evolve the contents.