Sales Partnerships, Inc. - Sales Employer of the Year
Company: Sales Partnerships, Inc., Broomfield, CO
Company Description: Sales Partnerships, Inc. is the premier direct sales outsourcing company in the world, offering branded representation that delivers rapid revenue lift for the most influential B2B firms in the world. Whether it's brand activation, customer acquisition, or retention, SPI is the leader in providing scalable and proven solutions to the Fortune 500.
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Employer of the Year
Nomination Title: Sales Partnerships - Diverse Successful Sales
Sales Partnerships (SPI) is an 8-time prior Stevie winner in the Sales Outsourcing Provider Category, specializing in difficult selling environments while representing the brands of some of the largest and most respected companies in the world. Our client roster includes notables such as Google, IBM, US Bank, Verizon, and Dow Chemical.
Sales Outsourcing means providing cradle-to-grave sales services under the brand of each of the clients represented. SPI’s specialty is field sales where we have driven innovation for 25 years. Our teams are recruited for and dedicated to just an individual client based on that client program’s requirements.
Our hallmark is using and inventing systems and processes that optimize all the important areas impacting sales: recruiting, systems, training, management, analytics, technology, and strategy. We’ve won dozens of global awards, been recognized in national media (Selling Power, Sales and Marketing Management Magazine, Inc. Magazine, CNNMoney, etc.), and helped establish the standard for providing field-based sales outsourcing services. Since 1997, we have generated more than $12B in gross profits for our clients. SPI historically has operated in every significant MSA in the United States as well as in select markets globally.
SPI went to market with more than 350 field reps representing every significant MSA in the US during this period. We did so safely by leveraging Covid-19 expertise built by working with the CDC and public health departments. Combining strict guidelines, having a 100% vaccinated sales force, and using tools to steer away from Covid hotspots, we greatly limited risk while still gaining the advantages of face to face selling. We combined safe selling with innovation to overcome the challenging environment. This includes using our proprietary AI driven territory management solutions, a new flipped classroom training model, and integrated management and accountability solutions – we designed a field solution that delivered safe and successful results.
In financial services representing a Fortune 100 company, we hit 105% of revenue and activation goals. We did so with the majority of our target merchants having already been worked by other channels and having declined to be active customers. That was a strategic priority for the client to capture these segments despite the increased difficulty. The result was more than $500M in gross profit revenue for our client from SPI’s work.
In telecommunications, we took a client from 5% market capture to 50% market capture against multi-billion dollarestablished incumbents. The average media marketing spend to keep incumbent dominance exceeded our entire sales budget. We took our $100M client to over 50% penetration in two large metro markets.
Sales Partnerships’ nomination for Sales Employer of the year focuses on a combination of successful field sales work, driving diversity, and community engagement.
Our work during 2021generated more than $500Min revenue for our clients. We operated in more than 40 states face to face selling to hundreds of thousands of small brick and mortar businesses with a team of more than 350 representatives. Those successes yielded well above industry average compensation for the team. That is an important start but doesn't tell the complete story.
With many organizations trying to replace field sales with telesales and marketing channels with mixed success, Sales Partnerships took advantage of that market opportunity to capitalize on where field sales is essential. Our programs not only out-performed every competitor (including other Stevie nominees) but did so in safe and socially responsible ways.
Our first priority was to be Covid-responsible. Because of our work with public health departments (we created a tool for them to track Covid vectors of disease transmission as a free service), we were able to combine best practices for safety with real time data to let our reps work the safest areas possible. We combined that with 100% vaccination rates (and boosters), KN-95 or better mask requirements, daily health monitoring, and generous PTO to discourage anyone from trying to work while potentially sick.
SPI's work over the past decade to be a diverse workforce paid dividends in 2021. Department of Labor data still shows that 79% of all sales reps are white while the population is only approximately 61% white. Decades of discrimination in the industry led to indirect discrimination of the most experienced reps getting more opportunities - again favoring white males. SPI is 55% white with well above average representation in gender and sexual orientation. By creating a more welcoming environment including mentorship programs, we built a workforce more accurately representing the country. That has yielded strong results because our workforce is more like their communities and can understand their issues.
Lastly, between 2020 and 2021, SPI built a program called SPI Gives. With that program, we performed more than 40,000 hours of volunteer work in our communities. It is our responsibility to connect and give back wherever we can. We were rewarded in both better retention and in rapport built in those communities.
Documentation for this nomination includes 2 case studies showing sales success and information about our SPI Gives program.
Summary of achievements and unique characteristics of Sales Partnerships in 2021:
Top performing channel sales provider in both telecommunications and financial services
Twice as diverse as national averages in sales (45% BIPOC as opposed to 19% industry average)
40,000 hours of volunteer time performed helping our communities
High paying positions with strong base compensation, generous PTO, and high commissions
Thank you for your consideration of our nomination.
The attached documents include:
Case Study about Hesitant Merchants detailing the efforts described in the nomination
Case Study about Residential Internet sales helping our client go from 5% to 50% market capture
SPI Gives documentation discussing community involvement
URL link to SPI's web site