Miller Heiman’s Advanced Concepts

TweetLast week Miller Heiman announced Advanced ConceptsSM, their new multi-media, virtual learning offering. Clients who are using Miller Heiman’s content have been saying they want to take their application of the Strategic Selling process to the next level.  The new tool provides content above and beyond what is typically offered in Miller Heiman’s programs.  Miller [...]

Can An Independent Sales Trainer/Sales Consultant Provide Real Value To A Large Company?

TweetYes. That sole trainer (or two- to three-person firm) won’t be rolling out simultaneous live instructor-led training classes in 20 countries.  Nor will they be getting in front of every one of 3,000 reps in the North American operation of a large client during a rapid 6-month deployment. But we have seen one- to three-person [...]

One-on-One With Imparta’s CEO, Richard Barkey

TweetImparta Ltd. is a Tier 1 global sales effectiveness organization based in the U.K. with presence in 32 countries including the U.S.  They have many strengths, especially in the areas of creating customer value and methodology.  Imparta’s sales training programs encompass sales, marketing, and leadership training. ESR commenced formal coverage of Imparta last year.  They [...]

Inside The Sales Training Industry Part 2: 9 Big Obstacles To Overcome

TweetFor those of you who read Part 1 of this series and asked for more, thanks for your feedback, and here it is. Sales trainers and sales training firms have a big challenge over the next year:  many customer training budgets have shrunk or been eliminated entirely; the trainers’ own revenues are significantly down—there has [...]

One Company’s Approach for Ride-Alongs with Salesreps

TweetAt SMT‘s conference last week in Orlando, Laurie Weed, Western Region Sales Development Manager at Ricoh, presented her company’s approach to ride-alongs (at Ricoh they’re called field rides) with sales reps. We’ve seen different approaches to this critical reinforcement process at ESR. I really like Ricoh’s for several reasons.  First is that they actually do [...]

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Coaching

TweetESR knows that when buyers of sales training need to skinny back on the vendor’s proposal to save some money, coaching/learning reinforcement often gets cut first. I pointed this out yesterday during my keynote speech at SMT’s conference in Orlando and got universal agreement from a roomful of enthusiastic practitioners, trainers and consultants. Everyone in [...]

Selling Lessons From A Trumpet Lesson

TweetIt was an exciting week. I started out in St. Paul on Sunday afternoon. I was there Monday and Tuesday to attend a few meetings with a special client, deliver a few presentations, facilitate some discussions and attend their annual sales awards dinner. It was two of the best days I’ve ever spent with a [...]

8 Tips For Saving Money On Sales Training

TweetSales training is more important now than during any time I can remember.  I’ve written again and again about the right approach to training.  So long as you are following those guidelines, here are some tips to reduce the typical cost of sales training: Employ a blended-learning or distance-learning-only approach. Not every situation requires classroom [...]

The Brooks Group: Getting A (Second) Life.

TweetThe Brooks Group surprised ESR when we commenced coverage of them for our last Sales Training Vendor Guide.  They scored very well in both solution breadth and solution effectiveness, even against many of the bigger, more well-known training companies. Al Case, Vivian and I did an analyst briefing call with the Brooks Group management team [...]

Holden International: Moving In The Right Direction

TweetFollowers of this blog are familiar with the high value I place on planning, competitive selling strategies, and political leverage for winning complex sales situations as well as for effectively managing strategic accounts.  I was first introduced to Holden many years ago by Steve Slaughter, a salesrep who worked for me who had been through [...]