Redefining sales management at a leading cloud services provider

The moment has finally arrived where companies are starting to rethink the role of the sales manager. For the last decade, everyone has been asking sales managers to do a ton of things…and then telling them they aren’t spending enough time coaching. Coaching itself is getting a hard look. People are starting to unpack that word and get clearer about what it really means, and what really works. We’ve found that to really be great, sales managers must lead their team, develop their people (where coaching fits in) and execute for customers.

For a global $2 billion content delivery network and cloud services provider, redefining sales management would be critical for the path forward. To focus on developing this population, the company partnered with BTS (for the fifth time) to create a sales leadership summit. The focus of the summit was the following:

• Help the company re-define its sales culture and what it means to be a leader at each critical level of the sales organization
• Shift the mindset of existing Regional Sales Managers from that of a manager of the business to one that is of a leader of the business
• Define what it means to be a change agent both internally and externally, and how it will help drive the customer experience

To accomplish these goals, BTS worked with a third party enablement firm to develop a two-day interactive experience for 75 Regional Sales Managers, Sales Directors, Area Vice Presidents and Sales Vice Presidents. At the core of the experience was a customized computer-based simulation that was designed to mimic team, individual and deal coaching decisions that leaders face in the field. Additionally, it forced participants to choose between being a leader of the business, a manager in the business or a super seller based on how they coached their teams. The solution provided a business-centric and practical approach to sales change management, drawing content and tools from the company’s business and packaging it in an easy-to-consume format.