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 Distinction Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Distinction of the Year - Telecommunications
 Nomination Title: Fielding success through technology and a commitment to diversity in residential Internet sales
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the sales achievements since July 1, 2022 of the nominated organization, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- Outline the organization's sales achievements since July 1 2022 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 189 words used.
Sales Partnerships was tasked with increasing market penetration for Ting Internet from 5% to more than 30% against major Fortune 500 incumbents and competitors. Each outspent Ting on marketing and sales in these markets by more than 10:1. We competed with both the internal sales forces for the larger ISPs but also with their partner channels (including past Stevie nominees.)
By the end of the year, we went from 5% market share to 60% market share (almost twice our target) and did so below the target cost of acquisition. Head-to-head, we outperformed competing channels (field, telesales, and direct marketing) by more than 50% measured on a per rep production basis.
Because SPI is often solicited to work for most major ISPs, we are given market data of how many of the competing channels are doing. Head to head, comparing our field sales reps production versus other field sales reps of competitors putting in similar time in the field, we closed 55% more deals per rep with less than half the customer churn/cancel rate of those channels.
2024’s success opened up opportunities for SPI to further expand in 2025.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 85 words used.
The following attachments and links are included to support our nomination:
● Case study detailing the field work performed for the nomination
● Documentation on SPI’s Diversity and Inclusion Work
● Documentation on SPI’s “Flipped Classroom” training methodology
● “SPI Gives” summary document describing the volunteering efforts referenced in the nomination (helped both with retention and deepening community engagement)
● Link to the SPI homepage for more information about our organization
Thank you again for your time and consideration for Sales Partnerships for this award.
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below.
Our nomination is a written submission including attachments.
Sales Partnerships’ (SPI) nomination for Sales Distinction in Telecommunications focuses on our work as the field sales channel for a regional Residential Internet Service Provider, Ting Internet.
Ting asked SPI to represent them head-to-head against Xfinity, AT&T, and Verizon in markets where the much larger companies were either the largest player or a historic incumbent. Despite being outspent in marketing by more than 10:1 against the much larger ISPs, our field sales teams led all competitors and built Ting up to more than 60% market share in Residential ISP for our three large Metro markets.
Sales Partnerships is a domestic field sales outsourcing firm and prior winner of the Stevie Award for Field Sales Team, Sales Technology, and Sales Outsourcing. We recruit, train, support, and manage our sales teams selling exclusively under the client’s brand while being fully accountable to quotas and reporting all results to the client. SPI’s work is also differentiated from value added resellers in that each of our teams focus just on that clients’ products and services closing deals on the clients’ paper with the client owning the customer relationship long term and all customer data. Our client discussed in this nomination is Ting Internet, a fast growing regional ISP.
This nomination focuses on how SPI combined proprietary systems and technology while taking advantage of the benefits of having built one of the most diverse national field sales forces in the US.
Thank you for your consideration of this nomination. Details below as well as in the attached documentation.
- Briefly describe the nominated organization: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 199 words used.
Sales Partnerships (SPI) is a multiple prior Gold Stevie winner in the top Field Sales Category, Sales Outsourcing Category, and Sales Achievement Categories. We specialize in difficult selling environments while representing the brands of some of the largest and most respected companies in the world through turnkey sales outsourcing. Our client roster includes notables such as Google, IBM, American Express, Verizon, and Dow Chemical.
Sales Outsourcing means providing cradle-to-grave sales services under the brand of each of the clients represented. 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, diversity, technology, training, management, analytics, and strategy. We’ve won dozens of global awards (including Field Sales Team of the Year eight times), 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 $10B 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.
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the organization's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 248 words used.
Head-to-head against ISP’s with marketing spends more than 10x higher than our client, we outperformed them by more than 50%. Simultaneously, we came in at 7% customer churn rates over the first year with a no-contract product. The next best performing competitor came in at 30% customer churn.
We did this in an industry with customer complaint rates exceeding 3%, SPI not only outperformed our peers in total sales but did so with a 0.0004% complaint rate.
The keys to our success were:
Recruiting and Training
SPI’s metric-based recruiting evolved to include a more integrated new to sales training and development platform yielding better talent. Delivering this in our “flipped classroom” model yielded better retention while speeding ramp to quota by 20%.
Technology
Our integrated territory management solution improved rep contact rate with prospects by more than 20% compared to other commercial solutions. Data from activity is delivered to managers via an AI-based analytics framework identifying skill areas for development.
Diversity
In a profession where only 21% of all field sales representatives and 13% of field sales management are non-white (2024 DOL stats), SPI is 42% non-white for field representatives and 60% non-white for sales management. We better mirror our territories. Being twice as diverse as our peers gives us a more talented workforce with lower turnover, better connections to their community, and better production. We did this through mentorship and community engagement while still hiring based on objective metrics selecting the candidates most likely to succeed.
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