Sales Success Workshop

When Your Growth Depends on Seller-Doers, Sales Can’t Be Left to Chance

If your firm has 50, 100 or more employees, chances are you already have plenty of people helping to drive revenue – your seller-doers.

Your challenge isn’t headcount. bYour challenge is that most seller-doers were hired because they’re great researchers, consultants, analysts or work well with clients… not because they’re trained salespeople.

As a result, business development efforts are inconsistent. A few people might embrace it. Some avoid it. Many simply get too busy serving clients (or say they’re too busy) to dedicate time to selling. And when that happens, revenue growth becomes difficult to achieve.

Harpeth Marketing’s Sales Success Workshop™ was developed specifically for mid-to-large-size market research firms that want to build a stronger, more consistent sales effort. Our program helps you to:

Improve the selling skills of your client-facing professionals
Increase confidence among team members who are uncomfortable with sales
Create a common sales language, process and set of expectations across the organization
Equip managers to coach, guide and hold seller-doers accountable
Build a more scalable and sustainable approach to revenue growth

Customized Around Your Team’s Needs

Before training begins, all participants (managers, too) complete a Selling Skills Assessment. This allows us to identify your team’s strengths, uncover skill gaps and understand the challenges that may be limiting sales performance.

Using those insights, we build a customized training plan that focuses on the areas where your team will benefit most.

Rather than delivering a generic sales workshop, we create a program designed specifically for your people and your objectives.

Built Around Your Business

No two firms are exactly alike. So, the Sales Success Workshop™ incorporates your firm’s services, client types and real-world selling challenges. That way, the exercises, discussions, role-playing activities and assignments are designed around the work your team actually does every day. This makes the training immediately relevant and dramatically increases adoption once the workshop ends.

Every participant also receives a comprehensive workbook that serves as both a learning guide and an ongoing sales resource.

Core topics typically include:

Understanding the fundamentals of successful selling in the research industry
Communicating value in ways that resonate with buyers
Strategies for acquiring new clients and creating opportunities
Growing existing accounts through stronger client relationships
Creating a practical sales plan that keeps seller-doers focused and proactive

Depending on your goals and the size of your team, the program is typically delivered in four or five modules over several weeks.

Effective Sales Management is Critical

Many firms invest in sales training but overlook the single factor that often determines whether it succeeds: sales management. Even highly capable seller-doers need coaching, direction, accountability and support. Without it, old habits tend to return and momentum fades.

That’s why every Sales Success Workshop™ includes a dedicated sales management component. Following the team training, we work directly with your sales leaders to help them create an environment where seller-doers can thrive. Topics may include:

Coaching and performance management
Conducting effective sales meetings
Team structure and accountability
Account management strategies
Marketing and sales alignment
Compensation and incentives
Sales planning
Measurement, forecasting and reporting

The management curriculum is customized through a leadership assessment and is typically delivered in two half-day sessions.

Reinforcing the Learning

Training only creates results when new behaviors become habits. To help ensure long-term adoption, the program concludes with a series of follow-up sessions designed to reinforce key concepts and keep your team moving forward.

These sessions can be used for:

Refresher training on selected topics
Role-playing and skill practice
Presentation coaching
Open Q&A sessions with Steve Henke
Addressing new challenges that emerge as your team applies what they’ve learned

The goal isn’t simply to deliver training. It’s to help your organization build a stronger sales culture that supports sustainable growth for years to come.

Bottom Line: The Outcomes

Clients that have participated in the Sales Success Workshop™ tell us about the impact this program has made in their sales efforts, including:

More proactive seller-doers
Stronger client retention and growth
Improved sales accountability
Better forecasting and pipeline visibility
Reduced dependence on a handful of rainmakers

To learn more about the Sales Success Workshop™, contact Steve Henke at Steve@HarpethMarketing.com or call 615.721.5330.

What Some of Our Clients Are Saying…

“Harpeth Marketing led an outstanding sales training workshop for our team. We worked together in advance to make sure the content was well-suited to our organization and would address many of the learning opportunities for our team members. The session was just the right mix of classroom time, group activities, role-playing, and fun. We really appreciate Steve’s understanding of the unique needs of a firm in our space and his ability to boost every attendee’s confidence in his or her own abilities. Thank you, Steve, for a very impactful training experience!”

Felicia Rogers, Executive VP – Decision Analyst, Inc.

“Steve’s direct yet passionate approach to sales has had significant effects on how most roles at Gongos approach client relationships. Many of our staff immediately put the training into action that resulted in several new projects for Gongos! This momentum is exciting to the employees to experience immediate success. Steve’s wealth of knowledge and experience obviously shines through in his sales training – very detailed, proactive, objective and non-salesy. He takes a very holistic approach to teaching the sales process in a way that breaks down tactics in an easy to understand way for any level.”

Cheryl Halverson, Chief People Officer – Gongos, Inc.

“We recently asked Steve to develop & present a sales training workshop for our team of seller-doers. It turned out better than we could have imagined! He was able to deliver his deep level of expertise in sales & management in a clear, engaging way. Steve installed the overarching sales concepts & processes without making it heavy. Our mostly self-taught team easily grasped the new information & connected it to their own experiences. Then he armed the group with a slew of simple tips & techniques that we were able to put to work immediately! To say that Steve ‘transformed’ how we think about sales & our strategy going forward would be an understatement.”

Eric Hunter, VP Strategy – Russell Research

“Recently, we brought in Steve to participate in our strategy and new business development meeting. His training was on point, role playing was exactly what we needed and his style worked for everyone in the room. Without question, everyone left the meeting energized and armed with new ideas on how to approach new business development! Thanks, Steve! Job well done!”

Merrill Dubrow, CEO – M/A/R/C Research

“Steve Henke recently conducted a Sales Training Workshop for our Business Development team. The program was tailored specifically to our needs and the outcomes we defined. And because the sessions were practical and rooted in an understanding of our industry, we have already adopted a lot of what we covered. What was really valuable is that we now have a better structured process, have adopted tools and frameworks that are making us more efficient and effective. Further, the team’s motivation level is up! Thank you, Harpeth Marketing!”

Asha Ganesan Sen, Consulting Partner, Brandscapes Worldwide

“I recommended Steve Henke from Harpeth Marketing to provide sales training for part of our client-facing team at PSB. We believe it’s important to refresh skills, even for experienced professionals, and Steve gave us a chance to do just that. His sessions blended tactical tools for day-to-day selling (from working with LinkedIn to authentically engaging with clients and prospects) with a broader client-focused approach. He was approachable, encouraged interaction, and adapted the content as we went along to fit our needs. The assignments and discussions helped keep the group engaged and accountable. I recommend Steve Henke to organizations that value ongoing development of their sales and client-facing teams.”

Rob Kaiser, Ph.D.
Chief Methodologist, PSB Insights