Do managers of sales professionals who are selling advanced technology solutions need technical knowledge and skills in order to effectively drive sales on their teams? Does it really take someone with CDIA certification to manage sales professionals? At Ricoh USA (a subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd., a global technology company specializing in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems, and IT services), the answer is, “Yes!”
Ricoh USA believes that sales managers need technical knowledge, as well as coaching and leadership skills, in order to more effectively coach sales teams selling on a services-led business model. Further, Ricoh USA believes that sales managers need the same, if not higher, level of technical skills that sales professionals need in order to support reps working in the field. Sales Manager 5 Floor is a component of Ricoh USA’s transformation to a services-led model. The development of this training began with the company’s customer maturity model. Then required knowledge and skills were mapped to effectively support execution at each of the five “floors” of that customer model.
To initially build the program, the company assembled an advisory council of marketplace vice presidents to provide field feedback on current and required manager skills, assist in conducting a gap analysis, recommend additions, and pilot select offerings. Using internal surveys and external benchmarking, the team identified the key components for each level of engagement, and then built measurement tools to objectively assess achievement.
Program Details
Floor 1 of Sales Manager 5 Floor encompasses the National Field Sales Workshop, which communicates the company’s strategic direction and introduces tactical applications of that strategy. Floor 1 also involves specific training on portfolio offerings being sold at that level of the customer engagement model.
Floor 2 is designed to develop leadership skills through Situational Leadership training, as well as provide specific training on portfolio offerings at Floor 2 of the customer engagement model.
Floor 3 of the program provides preparation for CDIA+ certification, and was developed in-house using material from industry experts and from CompTIA.
Floors 4 and 5 are aligned with Ricoh USA’s most strategic engagements and global accounts. For these clients, teams are collaborating in business process outsourcing and optimization. As a result, Floors 4 and 5 of the training equip sales leaders with the higher-level business understanding that is needed to coach reps to engage business strategy to make information work for Ricoh USA customers.
The training is delivered in a blended format, with 40 percent of each workshop consisting of exercises designed to provide hands-on experience. Because managers must both know and coach sales, certification requirements were put in place to measure coaching skill and execution at each level. Because team coverage and client demands are different, expectations for Floor completion were aligned to customer complexity and type engaged by the manager’s team.
Results
Initial results measuring Floor 1, 2, and 3 elements are positive, demonstrating improved business results in Enterprise Services Sales (ES) and Equipment Sales (EQ).
- For fiscal year 2013, teams whose managers participated in Floor 1 of this program showed nearly a 50 percent improvement in ES and an estimated 30 percent improvement in EQ.
- After participating in Floor 2, team performance improved by more than 20 percent for ES and more than 10 percent for EQ.
- After attending Floor 3 (certification specific to ES), managers’ teams demonstrated higher ES achievement versus managers in the same marketplaces who had not attended Floor 3 training; this difference was tabulated by region and ranged from 20 to nearly 50 percent improvement in ES. In addition, of the first group of 40 managers who completed Floor 3 in May 2013, 100 percent passed the certification exam, with most achieving scores of 850 and above (passing was at 700 and perfect at 900). Additionally, Ricoh USA’s CDIA+ preparation program was recognized by CompTIA, which approached Ricoh USA to license the content for publication.
