Transforming Internal Sales Teams Into A Value-Driven, Customer-Focused Culture

OVERVIEW

To accelerate growth to meet increased targets and enhance its competitive positioning, a leading retirement services and insurance company that issues, reinsures and acquires retirement products through a number of distribution channels recognized that it would have to build a more value-driven, customer focused sales culture.

OBJECTIVES

With the company fighting for mindshare against other insurance carriers competing for the attention of their agent/advisor customers, leadership determined that it needed to enhance the ability of their Internal Sales Teams to engage agents/advisors and create differentiating value. This would require:

• Developing a deeper understanding of customer wants and needs
• Shifting from a product focus to a value-driven, business focused conversation model
• Applying a consistent sales process, rooted in values and ethics
• Building a strong reputation as a sales team

SOLUTIONS

The company engaged with Integrity Solutions to help their Internal Sales Teams pivot from serving as order takers to working as true consultants to their agents and advisors. The initial implementation encompassed a three-year rollout of the Integrity Selling® program that included an emphasis on learning how to:

• Ask more thoughtful and compelling questions
• Uncover differentiating value from the customer’s standpoint
• Shift their mindsets about their role
• Develop team members to be ready for their next role

The Integrity Selling® training includes a series of sessions focused on application and accountability to ensure ongoing impact and results. For further sustainability, the company launched Integrity Coaching® with internal sales managers and Integrity Selling® Refresh™ an interactive online reinforcement platform designed to reinforce and extend the training’s concepts.

RESULTS

The Integrity approach has become a cultural touchstone,
integral to the way the sales team does business.