How does a company not only grow but sustain its growth? Or, let’s ask it this way: If you get right down to it, what is the single factor most likely to explain why one organization keeps growing and thriving for years while its competitors plateau or sink into decline?
No, it isn’t a matter of inventing a genuinely unique and superior product—at least not usually. The vast majority of companies exist in mature industries, selling products that really aren’t much different from competitive offerings. Yet a few such companies consistently rack up gains far above their industry averages. They go right on doing it, year after year.
What do those few have that their competitors don’t? I believe the answer lies in their sales forces. More precisely, the answer lies in a sales force with the right sales skills, built by the right sales training programs and sales coaching sessions, all based upon the right sales system.
Exponential growth
Case in point: There aren’t many businesses more generic than garbage collection. But don’t tell Veolia Environmental Services of Milwaukee that it’s in a plodding industry or that the only way to differentiate itself is by dropping its prices.
Veolia has been nurturing its sales force with sales training courses and sales coaching based on the Action Selling ® system for 10 years. During that period, the company has racked up $100 million worth of “organic” growth—that is, revenue increases that don’t count the effects of acquisitions Veolia has made.
Before it began its sales training programs, Veolia’s sales process was inconsistent across the company, and there was no clear path to improvement of either sales skills or revenue growth, according to Mark Dennis, vice president of sales and marketing. Since the company adopted Action Selling ®-based sales training and sales coaching, “our growth has been exponential,” Dennis says.
“To put it simply, our sales training courses gave us a process for accelerating growth,” he says. “And it wasn’t just a shot in the arm. We’ve been accelerating for 10 years. We haven’t stopped yet. Our sales skills just keep on improving.”
For information about how to improve sales skills and make sales training pay huge dividends, contact Action Selling ® at (800) 232-3485.