IT staffing and services company Dexian developed its Sales Path program (encompassing the Sales Readiness Program and Sales Orientation) to grow revenue organically by attracting, developing, and retaining salespeople to increase sales headcount. The CEO specifically requested the development of the program, deeming it critical to enterprise success.
Top sales leaders worked with Learning and Development (L&D) and HR to define a set of competencies and skills needed to be successful in sales. L&D then wrote these into behavioral terms and designed the courses.
Program Details
The Sales Path program is divided into two phases that focus on Dexian’s training philosophy of “See One, Do One, Teach One”:
Phase 1: Sales Readiness Program. This six-week program is facilitated by managing directors and focuses on learning the fundamentals of selling.
Phase 2: Sales Orientation. This one-week virtual/one-week in-person in McLean, VA, program focuses on practice and applying “real-world” scenarios.
Participants are mentored by a salesperson certified by Dexian’s Mentor Development program. A detailed manual provides mentors a comprehensive guide anchored by an online curriculum, training structure and consistency, and activities to engage participants in repeated spaced practice activities. The curriculum includes customized weekly 15-minute online courses driving mentor/mentee discussions, containing open-ended questions on application of introduced skills.
Weekly mentor/mentee meetings are driven by four elements:
- How the participant is applying the training
- Feedback from client meeting shadows and review of strengths/weaknesses from forms
- Reviewing sales journal entries based on specific questions—lessons learned/improvement
- Q&A and self-reflection from their journal
Repeated spaced practice of skills is achieved through the meetings shadowed by the mentor, evaluated with an assessment tool, using business metrics to identify weaknesses, and creating a plan for weekly learning boosts conducted every six weeks. Ongoing collaboration in Teams allows participants to share and celebrate successes.
During the in-person week of Sales Orientation, Sales Path participants engage in a daily “Power Hour,” conducting phone calls to actual clients. The concept of Power Hours is to offer just-in-time training emphasizing immediate feedback and allowing individuals to apply concepts real-time in practical situations. This helps turn situations of possible rejection into a learning lesson as it is happening. Power Hours foster a collaborative culture of viewing mistakes/failures as learning opportunities.
A competency assessment tool is integrated into Dexian’s learning management system (LMS). It features a list of competencies that help identify specific skills to improve upon. The assessment results are turned into an individualized training guide, continually updated as the learner progresses, and provide a plan for ongoing development when the learner completes the Sales Path.
Results
More than 75 percent of the sales force (which comprises 85 percent of Dexian’s workforce) has been trained by the Sales Path program.
Last year, 100 percent of Sales Path participants were promoted from Dexian’s recruiting ranks with 0 outside hires. As a result of this program, Dexian added a net 59 new account managers, exceeding its 20 percent target for sales force growth.
Graduates of Sales Path (Sales Readiness Program and Sales Orientation) achieved success faster with their first sale, breaking an account, and meeting profitability metrics 60 days sooner than previous new hires. In the last three years, Sales Path graduates broke 75 percent of new accounts. Graduates double their revenue in just six months—one-third of the typical time.
