ARLINGTON, Va., July 25, 2016 – Global software giant SAP
(NYSE: SAP) launched a new sales model that increased sales revenue
from newly trained reps by 27 percent in less than three years. By
adopting the Challenger Selling™ model, developed by CEB (NYSE:
CEB), a best practice insight and technology company, the company
was able to train 5,000 salespeople globally, align marketing and
sales more closely, and significantly enhance sales effectiveness
including a 26 percent increase in deals closed.
Prior to launching Challenger, SAP's sales team relied on the
strength of its products and services, and the technical expertise
of its sales force to drive sales. However, in order to remain
competitive in today's evolving sales environment, the company
needed a new approach – one that focused on compelling insights
that would break through to potential customers and encourage them
to buy.
"Our customers increasingly wanted to discuss their business
challenges above all else and were extremely receptive when
salespeople suggested ideas for them to generate new business,"
said Rainer Stern, global vice
president, SAP. "This confirmed for us that we needed to provide
greater business insight and value to customers
during our sales interactions."
SAP conducted a competency assessment to better understand
differences in sales skills, behaviors, coaching support, and how
time was spent between top and core performers. Seeing strong
alignment between their top-performing salespeople and CEB's
Challenger™ approach, SAP's sales leadership adopted a single
global process to empower frontline sales managers to support and
lead this new model.
The model, a comprehensive training and development program,
focuses on sales skills and effectiveness by developing reps
ability to teach new insights, tailor the message for varied
stakeholders and take control of the overall customer
conversation.
"CEB has found that 53 percent of what drives B2B customer
loyalty is based on the purchase experience itself, with very
little loyalty attributed to more conventional drivers such as
brand, product, service and value-to-price. Customers simply do not
see material differences in the product or brand when comparing
suppliers, but do see dramatic differences in the quality of
insight and guidance delivered by a supplier during their purchase
experience," said Nick Toman, sales
practice leader, CEB.
"SAP's global, unified rollout of CEB's Challenger model was the
key driver to delivering extensive impact to our customers. In the
past three years it has significantly contributed to our revenue in
terms of both new opportunities and additional business generated
from existing customers," Stern added.
A survey of Challenger program participants at SAP compared to
individuals who did not complete the Challenger training showed
significant differences in performance outcomes including:
- Larger than average deals, by a factor of six (600 percent
increase);
- Increased sales revenue for individuals using the Challenger
model by 27 percent;
- 26 percent more deals closed as part of an average pipeline,
and
- 25 percent shorter time to close deals.
SAP began its Challenger™ deployment in 2013. Over the past
year, SAP has received a number of industry awards for its
successful sales transformation including a 2015 Brandon Hall gold
medal for its global sales training program, the 2016 Learning
Elite award from Chief Learning Officer magazine, the 2016
WhatWorks Ultimate Award for "Developing Tomorrow's Leaders" from
Bersin by Deloitte, and a Citation Award for "Coaching and
Mentoring" from the Association for Training and Development. For
more information on Challenger™, please visit CEB.
About CEB
CEB is a best practice insight and technology company. In
partnership with leading organizations around the globe, we develop
innovative solutions to drive corporate performance. CEB equips
leaders at more than 10,000 companies with the intelligence to
effectively manage talent, customers, and operations. CEB is a
trusted partner to nearly 90% of the Fortune 500 and FTSE 100,
and more than 70% of the Dow Jones Asian
Titans. More at cebglobal.com.
About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application
software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and
industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to
storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and
organizations to work together more efficiently and use business
insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP
applications and services enable more than 261,000 customers to
operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For
more information, visit www.sap.com.
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SOURCE CEB