Business Problem: Sales dropped rapidly because of the economic downturn
Problem:
This company is located in Michigan which is one of the worse states hit by the economic downturn. Almost half of their revenue was from the American automotive industry. Revenues dropped fast and furiously when the downturn occurred. They cut expenses, salaries, and people to the point where the only option left was to grow sales.
Action:
A series of interviews were conducted to identify how to grow sales in the short term in existing accounts while prospecting for new business outside the automotive industry. Retooling of the sales team was needed to transform them from farmers of current customers to hunters of new business. To accomplish this I:
- Trained the sales team
- Conducted follow up coaching for each sales person
- Coached the leadership on how to manage to the training the sales team received
- Developed a sales toolkit with business plan, sales and buying process, prospecting scripts, and addressing specific objections
- Conducted business planning meetings to plan growth in existing accounts and develop a prospecting plan.
Results:
- Sales increased in non-automotive accounts
- Leadership was able to coach and measure results based on each business plan
Note: This project is still in progress, but projections are that they will reinstate salaries, and bring some staff back by the end of Q2.