The positive change in sales performance and behaviour was so marked that other regions took notice and asked for the same assessment process to be applied to their sales teams… I fully expect to achieve improved sales performance and consistency of execution, as a result.
The Workshop Proved to be a Very Worthwhile Exercise
New in position my brief was to achieve more with less – up win rates and improve process.With time for everyone across the pursuit teams and their support at a premium the idea of a short and structured intervention made sense. The workshop proved to be a very worthwhile exercise on a number of levels; it provided a safe haven and space away from business as usual which allowed people to take a step back and engage in honest and meaningful debate. The simple structure combined with comprehensive content and strong facilitation meant that we covered a lot of ground in a short space of time. Sales and support people worked together and got straight to the heart of the issues and identified some low hanging fruit alongside longer term wins. Everyone was genuinely engaged and the consensus was that we should repeat the process to keep the arrows moving in the right direction.
Delivering ‘Best in Class’ Bid Capability
The Get to Great® workshops we ran in 2006 and 2012 enabled our key stakeholders across the business to come together. We measured where we were, discussed what we could do and came up with shared plans to deliver improvements. On reflection they were catalysts that changed how we worked to deliver ‘best-in-class’ bid capability that has fuelled our growth across our business.
Highest Growth for Six Years
The Get To Great® workshop was very powerful, providing a framework for open, honest communication across a diverse group of over 20 sales people. It exposed issues in a constructive, ‘no blame’ environment, and enabled us to agree actions to address them quickly and effectively. Following our Get To Great® workshop, my sales organisation delivered their best results and highest growth for six years, which is testament to the power of Get to Great®. Highly recommended.
My Sales and Marketing Team is Now Much More Aligned and Focused
We recognised there was a gap between the efforts of individuals involved in pursuing business opportunities and the results that we were getting, with opinion divided within the team as to which aspects needed changing. The issue was resolved by engaging Get To Great® to facilitate a 1 day workshop which was attended by people at all levels from across the business, not just senior management. What they brought to the table was objectivity, domain expertise, a comprehensive model and a simple structure that enabled my team to get directly to the key issues. Traditional methodologies and assumptions were challenged and robust debate led to a greater level of clarity and alignment and in just one day consensus had been reached and plans initiated. My sales and marketing team is now much more aligned and focused – a positive result.
In my new role at Adobe, it was critical that I quickly understood what worked, what didn’t and what I had to do to fix it. We quickly reached a consensus (using Get To Great®) on where we were, where we aspired to be and how to get there. A powerful tool.
Developing a Strategy for Growth
When we needed to develop a growth strategy for our UK business, I recognised that external facilitation was needed. Get To Great® was an obvious choice because of our 14-year history, and their previous work with VMware. The workshop was a great success; Get To Great® brought structure, experience and discipline to the process, and was flexible enough to work outdoors on a beautiful, sunny Welsh afternoon. They allowed the discussion to roll where appropriate, but when it was needed, brought us back to the matter in hand, driving consensus and deliverable actions. Their great attention to detail ensured a set of comprehensive outputs, primarily a growth strategy on a page for ease of communication, plus a ten-page plan to deliver it. The feedback from the participants was excellent, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Get To Great® to anyone.
Identifying and Managing New Opportunities
A critical element of the key business development initiatives that I own is the importance of identifying and managing new opportunities that are best fit for our growth plan, capabilities and therefore justify the investment required to effectively pursue and win. The short, structured and collaborative session provided a refreshing change and delivered greater value than the typical consultancy approach. We identified a number of gaps in our approach to marketing the business, gained some useful ideas to introduce going forward and took away a number of specific actions which are currently underway.
Understanding Ours, and the Partner’s Needs and Expectations
We engaged Chris Whyatt and the Get To Great® process for a two day management level workshop with our main business partner in Latin America. This gave our partner invaluable insight in understanding and re-evaluating their go to market process for ensuring successful sales of our joint solutions. The Get To Great® delivery team was highly professional in executing the workshop and understanding the particular culture for that region. Most impressive was the pre-workshop activity in understanding ours, and the partner’s needs and expectations, in addition to the presentation of material and the follow up process which has ensured us and the partner complete the agreed actions and move the business and partnership forward.
Quick Wins and Longer-Term Process Improvements
A valuable methodology for benchmarking our current performance and identifying both quick wins and longer-term process improvements. Get To Great® helped bring clarity to the problems we faced in a fast-growing business and gained buy-in from the team who worked with to identify solutions.
These workshops give Microsoft the edge to win complex or high value Must Win deals. In a single day, the sales team creates the win strategy, defines the offer and builds an objective plan which has enabled them to win key deals time and time again.
Agreeing Their Own Level of Capability
I was impressed by the Get To Great® approach for two reasons; the comprehensive nature of the model and the fact that it was a facilitated group self-assessment, which meant that the sales leadership team was agreeing their own level of capability and setting their own aspirations, rather than being told by a team of consultants.
Make an enquiry
To make an enquiry with Get To Great, please complete the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Get To Great Has Opened Up a Whole Area of Client Satisfaction and New Ways to Drive Growth
Working with Get To Great has opened up a whole area of client satisfaction and new ways to drive growth that I wasn’t attuned to before their coaching and guidance. Get To Great stand out from the other organisations in this field because they pay close attention to what you say during consultation sessions and they capture the essence of your requests in their output and programmes. In simple terms they don’t just have the right words; the deeds and smart actions mean that the follow through is worthwhile and a great return on the investment of time, money and effort. Highly recommended and I will use them again in the future.
Chris did a great job for us at Getronics NV putting in place sales process and methodology that enable the business to exceed sales and revenue forecasts, at a time when the business was in a post merger state. Invaluable. A good guy.
We were operating a business of high capital cost equipment requiring significant levels of R&D and commitment to technology, delivered through direct sales and supported by worldwide agents. The business was delivered typically in a 5 year replacement cycle with 2 year gestation, which meant that accuracy of sales funnel was business critical in identifying and delivering sales within year. Before the OMP, we had challenges whereby if orders were delayed the impact would be significant across key financial measurement points (quarterly targets), difficulty in deploying engineering, systems, manufacturing and tender resources effectively, all of which had propensity to negatively impact P&L and board confidence in the business. We designed and implemented the opportunity management process which enabled a more structured approach, sound prospect and funnel management and, importantly, better accountability of individual sales people. The result was more accurate forecasting of where and when orders would be brought, enabling better use of internal resources to focus on those opportunities that were most likely to be converted. The role of Get to Great® in facilitating the development of the OMP should not be underestimated.
Achieving Bid Excellence at Computacenter
Computacenter is delivering against its ‘Journey to Success’ strategy. Moving from a ‘document based’ Bid Management team to being more strategically aligned within wider business processes, has enabled Computacenter to execute more effectively to win more business. Thanks to the ‘Get to Great’ process, Computacenter has a clear plan in place to improve further and act as a ‘world class’ Bid Management Practice.
Their independent facilitation and the highly effective Get To Great® model have combined to deliver exceptional progress.
