Created while participating in professional development training. The company is fictitious.
How Casting a New Net of Persuasion Worked to Increase an Office Furniture Company’s Sales
Kinnear Office Furnishings doesn’t just sell furniture. They specialize in actually creating designs and recommending furniture that transforms a concept into a reality.
According to Kinnear CEO Janice Bell, that specialization made it difficult for their sales people to find the right door and get the right person to open it to talk about furnishings and interior space design. In some companies the contact could be the office manager and in others it could be the CEO.
“We can’t just buy a mailing list,” she said. “So we spend a lot of time networking.” And she felt the way they were going about it just wasn’t working effectively.
Meeting the Challenge of 21st Century Networking
Bell knew her sales team needed to aggressively network to market their very high value product. They needed to be able to:
- Identify and connect with the right contacts at prospective companies;
- Make more appointments with new prospects, faster;
- Discover new methods beyond making cold calls to meet prospects;
- Connect with quality prospects – those most likely to result in a sale.
She recognized the challenges facing her sales team and decided to explore training opportunities to help them. She didn’t want fluff or theory. She wanted results.
She found Smith Training & Consulting’s flagship program: Networking for Sales Results. Its 5-Step Networking Method is specifically designed for sales people like hers. It offers just what she was looking for – right from the first module with tips and tactics that could be implemented immediately.
She sent her entire sales team to attend a two-day on-site workshop at the Smith Training & Consulting premises. This was followed by a series of twelve 20-minute modules accessible by computer or Blackberry.
“Typically, sales people don’t like being pulled from the road for training, but it was only for two days,” said Bell. She added that the team really liked the 24/7 accessibility of the follow-up virtual training modules plus the 180-day one-on-one coaching and support to help them master the networking skills they learned.
The results? Since completing training, Bell estimates that her sales team is now making 20% to 30% more new contacts each week and she attributes that success to Networking for Sales Results. “Without a doubt, it’s a very effective program, especially for sales teams like ours that rely on networking to build sales.”