Case Studies for Selling Skills Assessment

Why the PSS is Unique PSS Case Studies 20 PSS Skill Categories The PSS Feedback Report PSS Research and Validation Preview E-learning Courses	Case Studies Hundreds of organizations and thousands of salespeople have leveraged the power of this assessment of consultative selling skills and because of the "open architecture" of the associated training resources it is easy to move from assessment to targeted skill development. While each of the case studies detailed below is unique, they all share the same essential execution framework:

	In each of the case studies below you will see how sales organizations facing increased competition and complexity in their markets were able to generate more new business, retain existing business, improve sales force motivation and sales manager effectiveness - and they were able to do this quickly, typically producing a proven impact within three months. Assessment: Salespeople complete an online assessment and receive an immediate feedback report detailing strengths and skill development opportunities. Group and Individual Analysis: After the entire sales force has completed the assessment, aggregate group results for the entire organization, divisions and regions can reveal unique training needs at every level, along with the individual training needs of each salesperson.
	Targeted Training: Numerous training resources are available to begin training immediately, targeting the areas identified by the assessment. These include e-learning courses, workshops scripts and resources (PowerPoint presentations, workbooks, handouts, etc.) and audio CDs. Reinforcement: Additional tools are available for training reinforcement including coaching guidelines for sales managers, audio podcasts and email messages. ROI Analysis: Beginning the training initiative with specific metrics (assessment results) makes it easier to analyze the impact of the training efforts and ultimately determine the true return on your training investment.
	CASE STUDY #1 - MULTIPLE SALES CHANNELS An organization focused on the high school and college education markets, with separate sales channels for distinct product categories including: In-school photography Graduation and recognition products Yearbooks High school and college class rings The business had separate management, sales, training and marketing support for each channel even though they were often operating in the same accounts (schools). This created confusion with customers, inefficiency, and new account sales efforts were not integrated, which limited the ability for cross-channel leveraging of resources to gain new business. Read full case study CASE STUDY #2 - TRANSITION FROM "FARMERS" TO "HUNTERS" A regional coffee retailer with 80 coffee shops and a commercial sales division in which new account growth had stalled. Commercial coffee salespeople acquired new business and then then managed those accounts. As their account base grew, more time was devoted to current account management ("farming") than new account growth ("hunting"). By the time this issue was addressed many of salespeople had not acquired a new account in years. Their prospecting ability (and motivation) was minimal. Read full case study CASE STUDY #3 - RESISTANCE TO TRAINING A veteran sales force with an average of 18 years experience at the company, had grown resistant to new product introductions and innovations. Because of their longstanding relationships with clients, most felt that they "owned" their territories and any attempts to adjust compensation structure - to provide incentive for new product sales - were met with threats to take the business to a competitor. Non-compete agreements are difficult to enforce in this industry, leaving the company with few options to drive business growth with new product sales. Read full case study CASE STUDY #4 - TRAINING NEED, BUT NO TRAINING BUDGET A building industry hardware manufacturer recognized the need to enhance the skills of their entire sales force, but their business had contracted so dramatically that finding the budget to support a significant training initiative was impossible. Because senior leadership of the company was actively shopping the business to potential buyers, there was no enthusiasm for any investments into the business which were not necessary or would produce a quick ROI. The sales force was quite frustrated as they realized that the company's leaders were more interested in maintaining financial ratios than investing in their salespeople. At the same time, sales leaders were under increasing pressure to drive short term sales (without incremental short term spending). Read full case study .