iSpeak
Company: iSpeak, Inc., Round Rock, TX
Company Description: iSpeak, Inc. was founded in 1999 in Austin, TX to fill the need for fully customized business education services. By internally developing their own content, iSpeak delivers curriculum that matches your dept, organization and industry. iSpeak focuses on four critical areas for business success; selling skills, communication skills, servicing skills and management skills.
Nomination Category: Sales Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Trainer of the Year
Nomination Title: Russ Peterson, Lead Sales Trainer and Managing Director
Tell the story about what this nominee achieved since January 1 2008 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
A leading corporation providing products for customers in over 50 countries has
over $183M in revenues and more than 5,300 employees.
They asked iSpeak to develop a Sales Training program for their 120 Sales Reps
in Texas. Each Sales Rep sells to approximately 150 retailers. The Sales Reps’
role is to assist each of their retailers with selling more of their products.
Russ Peterson invested four full days in the field, in four different cities;
riding along with five different Sales Reps to research their roles before
developing the classroom curriculum.
Discoveries made: Sales Reps understood what their retailers needed to do to be
successful. The Sales Reps were sharing that information. However, in many
cases, the retailers were not implementing their ideas. Success would lie in
the Sales Reps’ abilities to get retailers to willingly listen to and implement
the suggestions. This could be accomplished through a different questioning
technique prior to presenting any new ideas.
Russ used this observation to customize the sales curriculum to focus on
communication methods.
Obstacles:
• Sales Reps’ perceptions had to change from a “compliance and service” rep to a
“sales rep” and consultant
• Retailers (their customers) do not have time to sit and talk to Sales Reps for
extended periods of time, so the Sales Rep approach must be brief and direct
without being too confrontational
• Oftentimes a Sales Rep would provide selling recommendations, but they were
not accepted or implemented by the Retailer
Innovations:
• Persuasive Questioning Methodology- The Sales Rep’s communication approach
with their retailers had to change. Russ incorporated a questioning methodology
that engaged the retailer in a brief and direct business conversation. It led
the retailer to “asking” the Sales Rep for suggestions. This was a key “Satori
Moment” (enlightenment) for the Sales Reps! No longer would they have to “TELL”
the retailers what to do, their retailers were now “ASKING” the Sales Reps for
their suggestions and feedback!
• “GEMS” Store Visit Process- Working with the District Sales Managers, Russ
helped them define a new “store visit process” to be used by the Sales Reps with
each store visit. With a simple four-step process called “GEMS” (Greet,
Examine, Market, Sell) the Sales Reps could now focus on the most important
steps with their retailers.
• Russ recommended that role play exercises be incorporated into the class.
These were based on five “real world” situations he observed during the data
gathering in the field. The role play exercises were written by Russ and
incorporated into the classroom training. The exercises served as an
implementation of the new process and skills learned in class.
• Each role play was video recorded on DVD and critiqued by Russ. Each student
received a written critique sheet on the application of their new skills.
Russ traveled to five different cities across Texas delivering training to over
140 sales reps and managers.
Outcomes:
From start to finish of the 6 month project, the weekly sales run-rate increased
by 21% (approx $14M).
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
Summary of supporting material below: http://www.ispeak.com/aba.asp
- Russ Peterson's Sales Class Opening Video
- Russ Peterson's book, "Cut the C.R.A.P. and Make the Sale"
- Sample pages from the GTECH Selling4Success curriculum
- Evaluation Summary from Selling4Success classes
- GTECH Selling4Success Short-Cut-Card
Author of numerous sales articles: http://www.ispeak.com/news.asp
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the nominee:
Since 1991, Russ has developed, written and delivered training programs for
customers like GTECH, XO Communications, SYSCO Foods, Freescale, AT&T, Emerson,
Texas Instruments, DELL, Cameron, CenterPoint Energy and Reliant Energy.
• American Business Awards – Stevies – FINALIST for Best Sales Trainer two years
in a row (2007, 2008)
• Co-Founder of iSpeak, Inc. – Sales Training Company, 1999
• iSpeak Certified Master Instructor - iCMI
• Top sales performer at GTE, Genuity, Level(3), CSC
• Published Sales Author:
o “Cut the C.R.A.P. and Make the Sale” DC Press, 2003
o “Selling4Success: Outside Sales” iSpeak, Inc., 2006
o Author of Numerous Sales Articles, http://www.iSpeak.com/news.asp
• B.B.A. Marketing, 1991, Texas A&M University