CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY

Sales methodology wins big

Partnering with our specialists in sales methodology helped this global professional services network drive growth in the market and increased their win rate to over 60%. And it all started with two hours of opportunity management coaching.

The challenge

Informal sales approach not cutting through in a more competitive market

After the financial crisis, the US monetary services market changed considerably. External factors demanded change. Not only was there more process around selling financial services, but legislation required more diligence. Added to this, new players emerged in the market, making the landscape considerably more competitive. This accountancy giant was concerned that they were falling behind, and saw this as the impetus and opportunity they needed to make a sustainable and lasting change. This firm knew that they would not get the returns they needed if they did not change how they pursued sales. A big part of the problem was that they did not have a sales methodology or shared language, either locally or globally. Their approach was completely informal, with no CRM system or consistent tracking of new or existing business. They needed to look at business development and opportunity management in a different way.

Partnering with Korn Ferry

A new focus on the value of sales methodology (Strategic Selling® and Conceptual Selling®)

The solution

Lady smiling while hosting seminar in room of people

"They won the business, and a new focus on the value of sales process and strategy was born."

There was a big pitch on the table in New York, and they were determined to win it. After a successful 2-hour opportunity coaching session, having a sales methodology came into focus for them. They wanted to test it to see if it could streamline and focus their pitching process. The team started working on employing our sales methodology to this pitch. They spent 90 days working on the presentation, compiling data, and planning their approach. It paid off. They won the business, and a new focus on the value of sales process and strategy was born. Having seen the triumph of the New York pitch, the organization was keen to press on and pilot our sales methodology in two markets. The success of those pilots was enough for the initiative to be rolled out throughout the US sales force.

Revenue gains of $6.5bn

The results

The company attributes $6.5bn to the introduction of our sales methodology. To calculate this, they tracked all opportunities where there was 100% certainty that the methodology was being used. This level of success came from something they had never had before, a common and consistent selling framework across the world, which enabled them to track, prioritize, manage and pursue opportunities. There were multiple success stories worldwide, including gains that they could not have achieved without the new approach. To date, their robust methodology has supported the most significant wins in the firm's history. We had positively impacted the win rate, which before the methodology was around 30%. With coaches involved, this doubled to over 60%. They saw the same data replicated across multiple countries. The program is used in as many as 79 countries across the global network. Not only did they win more business, but they also changed the behavior, skillset, and mindset of an organization globally.

"The firm's customer support underwent a remarkable transformation."

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This global network of professional firms provides Audit, Tax, and Advisory services

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The return on investment

Background

Deployment of our sales methodology as part of an end-to-end sales transformation delivered a increase in top-line revenues and a win rate increase to over

This didn't start as a global story. The catalyst for change was a quarterly meeting with the team of 40 US office managing partners. The topic on the table at these reviews was often "how can we grow?". And to answer this, a team member suggested bringing in a coach for a short session on pursuing opportunities. There was a big pitch on the table in New York, and they were determined to win it. After a successful 2-hour opportunity coaching session, having a sales methodology came into focus for them. They wanted to test it to see if it could streamline and focus their pitching process. The team started working on employing our sales methodology to this pitch. They spent 90 days working on the presentation, compiling data, and planning their approach. It paid off. They won the business, and a new focus on the value of sales process and strategy was born. Having seen the triumph of the New York pitch, the organization was keen to press on and pilot our sales methodology in two markets. The success of those pilots was enough for the initiative to be rolled out throughout the US sales force.

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They have over 200,000 employees and operate in over 150 countries. Their goal is to help organizations and individuals make the most of opportunities to drive positive, sustainable change for clients and broader society.

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We also suggested a benchmarking study amongst their office managing partners to find out their needs for a program, given that there was little incentive to change the approach among some teams. This provided data and feedback to gain buy-in for changes and implement a new methodology and way of pursuing business. Despite starting from nothing, the program quickly rolled out to the UK, Canada, and the rest of the world. And rapidly saw tangible results. Globally we delivered consulting and training working with the firm to define and assess their markets maturity, and agree areas of specific focus. We supported the deployment of training in-person and virtually, and worked to create a network of internal trainers and coaches charged with supporting the use of the new tools and processes. Consulting support continued throughout the embedding phase with experts supporting pipeline analysis and coaching strategic opportunities through the pursuit process.

A win rate increase to over

increase in top-line revenues

globally

Program used is 79 countries

60%

increase in top-line revenues and a win rate increase to over

$6.5bn

Deployment of our sales methodology as part of an end-to-end sales transformation delivered a

The return on investment

Partnering with Korn Ferry

"External factors demanded change...there was more process around selling financial services, but legislation required more diligence."