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 Team Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Operations Team of the Year
 Nomination Title: Making the Near Impossible Look Easy
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2021 of the nominated team, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- 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’ nomination for Sales Operations Team of the Year highlights work representing our financial services client. For this client we competed directly with client internal sales teams, external client sales channels, client competitors, and client competitor external sales channels. This broad environment provides an opportunity to contrast our performance to other industry options.
The other reason it was selected to highlight our sales ops team is because it presented sales operations challenges that were nearly impossible to solve. Not only did our team solve them - they applied those solutions to improve perforrmance for all our other clients in other industries at the same time.
Sales Operations lies at the heart of how SPI has become an industry leader. The SPI solution requires utilization of complex tools ranging from machine learning based territory management solutions to metric-based analytics driving recruiting to analysis detailing optimal coaching approaches to help managers be more effective. Sales Ops is responsible for all of this.
With this preface, we appreciate being considered for this award and appreciate your time in judging us. Thank you.
- Briefly describe the nominated team: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 193 words used.
Sales Partnerships (SPI) is a 10-time prior Stevie winner. 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. We operate in more than 200 MSAs nationwide.
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.
- Outline the team's achievements since July 1 2021 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 243 words used.
Our client, one of the three largest credit card companies in the world, changed strategy in 2016 moving to allow other processors to resell their card processing (virtually all sales were internal prior to this.) Because the selling was done by bundling our client’s card processing with other services, most customers were unaware of being able to accept and subsequently wouldn’t activate as accepting merchants. When telesales and direct marketing failed to change this, Sales Partnerships was selected.
We built the nation’s largest face to face SMB sales engagement program since telephone deregulation - working face to face with more than 4 million brick and mortar businesses distributed over every DMA and MSA in the US. Because companies change processors frequently, our target lists could change by as much as 10,000 businesses in a single day. Every new signing had to be worked face to face within 21 days regardless of where it was. This required invention of machine learning based territory management tools able to rebuild territories every day without disrupting sales activity and operational support to implement in real time.
2023 marked the completion of that program engaging with the last few hundred thousand merchants. We created more than $3B in client gross profits while helping the merchants increase their revenue by (on average) 5%. Wind-down of the program meant keeping production solid despite far less dense opportunities. We finished 2023 at 105% of goal despite doing it during wind-down.
- 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 team's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 248 words used.
We worked, face to face, more than 4 million brick and mortar businesses spread across the US.
This was the second largest face to face SMB program in US history (behind AT&T’s 1980’s deregulation SMB sales efforts.)
Complicating matters was the need to revisit those businesses every 24 months. Every time a merchant signed with our client’s partners, we needed to work the account within 21 days or the account would lose more than half its value. With new and closing businesses, our target lists could change by as much as 10,000 businesses in a single day.
Our client had other channels attempting to work these accounts via telesales, direct marketing, and other avenues but with only 5% activation rates. By comparison, our field team averaged more than 65% activation rates making them a requirement.
Traditionally, sales teams change territories annually or (at most) monthly (beyond small additions and subtractions.) No commercial tools exist that allow for building territories this large or frequent.
Our sales ops team invented new tools using machine learning to rebuild and reallocate territories nationwide while also leaning on our sales operations team to make all relevant changes in staffing and support.
We completed the program in 2023 – moving to higher value opportunities. Overall, we beat our targets and generated more than $3B in gross profits for our client.
The tools developed now benefit all our programs driving better production and allowing us to retain productive staffing when territory lists get thin.
- 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 64 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 Territory Management Solutions referenced in the nomination
● Link to the SPI homepage for more information about our organization
Thank you again for your time and consideration for Sales Partnerships for the Top Sales Operations Team in America.
| Attachments/Videos/Links: |
|---|
|
