RAIN Group - Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year

Company: RAIN Group, Boston, MA
Company Description: RAIN Group is a global sales training and performance improvement company that unleashes sales potential by delivering transformational experiences. We've helped hundreds of thousands of salespeople, managers, and professionals in more than 75 countries significantly increase their sales with our sales training, consulting, and coaching services.
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year - All Other Industries

Nomination Title: SAGE Publishing Commercial Sales Division Ends Q1 20% Ahead of Previous Year; Credits 9 Habits of Extreme Productivity Sales Training Program

Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, explaining the nominated achievement since July 1, 2018, OR a written essay of up to 650 words describing the same? (Choose one): An essay/case study of up to 650 words

SAGE Publishing is a leading international publisher of journals, books, and library products for academic, educational, and professional markets. Founded in 1965, the company publishes over 1,000 journals and more than 900 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas.

In 2017, SAGE’s sales team missed its annual target. Midway through 2018, the company was facing another problem—an even bigger miss.

Leadership was confident that its sales team had great selling skills, but they just weren’t getting traction. After examining CRM data, SAGE discovered that its sellers were spending too much time with each customer.

“We needed to revisit the fundamentals of productivity and learn how to spend time more efficiently,” shared Nicole Louderback, Director of Commercial Sales at SAGE.

Around the same time SAGE noticed the decrease in sales activity, RAIN Group launched a new training program, 9 Habits of Extreme Productivity,to help sellers and sales managers maximize motivation, take control of their time, and achieve peak performance.https: //www.rainsalestraining.com/sales-training-programs/productivity-training

When SAGE shared the CRM sales activity with RAIN Group, it became clear that SAGE was a perfect candidate for the program.

Prior to the start of the August 2018 training, each participant completed an Extreme Productivity Assessmenttomeasure against the 3 Keys (The XP3) and 9 Habits of Extreme Productivity.A self-rater tool is used to measure 36 productivity behaviors and how they affect performance. This allows participants to pinpoint the best areas for driving increased productivity and results. https: //www.rainsalestraining.com/solutions/sales-assessments

A 1-day intensive workshop was delivered to sellers and sales managers, covering productivity habits of The Extremely Productive (The XP). Participants learn how to:

·Maximize motivation, make consistent progress, and achieve goals
·Ignite proactivity
·Reengineer habits to drive success and happiness
·Control TIME with a simple and effective time management system
·Ignore distractions, focus, and get in the Extreme Productivity Zone
·Master The XP3 and 9 Habits of Extreme Productivity
·Implement an accountability system to maximize execution

To sustain the momentum from the workshop, participants were enrolled in the 9 Habits of Extreme Productivity online trainingand registered for RAIN Mail,a mobile and email app that presents sales scenarios with difficult choices and immediate feedback, to reinforce the training content.
https: //www.rainsalestraining.com/sales-training-programs/online-sales-training/extreme-productivity-challenge
https: //www.rainsalestraining.com/solutions/improve-sales-skills/sales-training-reinforcement

SAGE sales managers were trained in the proprietary Execution Assurance Coachingprocess and worked with participants to ensure behavior change and hold sellers accountable to their plans. https: //www.rainsalestraining.com/solutions/sales-coaching

Once the training concluded, leadership discovered a significant improvement in how time was managed and an uptick in sales activity. The goals—not missing target, increasing revenues, and learning to be more productive—were met. Some of the most impressive metrics included:

-Tracking at 5% ahead of sales target and 20% ahead of prior year. The two previous years, SAGE averaged a decline of 10% YOY, making 20% ahead a significant achievement.
-Customer outreach increased by 31%.

The progress was so undeniable that SAGE requested a second training for its administrative professionals in December 2018.

“The initial results were impressive and we’re continuing to see the impact this training has had not only for the sales team, but also other departments,” shared Louderback.

The Extreme Productivity training completed by all members of the global sales team was one of the most important milestones. The skills and hacks to make daily habits have been implemented across the department and many of the self-reviews pinpoint the program as an important growth factor.

Louderback concluded, “This program isn’t something that’s sales specific, but it’s important to sales success. The 9 Habits of Extreme Productivity program and Execution Assurance Coaching process was the best sales training we’ve ever had. You can see the team implementing it. You can see the behavior changes. The training was very out of the box. An extra bonus is that this training doesn’t just impact work lives, but also personal lives.”