Reseller makeover: Sales training scores a bullseye

We identified that only the people in the organisation were concerned with identifying opportunities with clients were the sales team.

"To address this we put 40 percent of our staff through the training program to ensure all our client-facing people were thinking about helping clients by identifying their particular problems, developing solutions and delivering excellent customer service."

McKerlie says the sessions were fun and professional, and the content was easy to understand.

He praises Rasmussen as a great presenter who invested a lot of time making sure his content was presented in the context of Bullseye's business environment. The result was a customised a program that was appropriate to Bullseye's industry, business and circumstance.

This was supplemented by real case studies and presentations from its chief executive and other leaders in the business, which made the two-day training course particularly effective.

"The training has helped us blow away the institutionalised thinking that only sales people have to seek opportunities, and in fact it has created a philosophy that by identifying problems that clients have we are helping them with their business," says McKerlie.

"We have replaced 'sales' with our distinctive Bullseye Way. This has assisted us to attract new clients, and retain our existing ones through a period of enormous change."

To make the training effective, he says, it had to carry out subsequent training to reinforce what they learned. This has been managed within the firm.

"It is fundamentally important that any organisation looking to undertake this kind of training secures the total commitment of its leaders," he says.

"They have to be open to every aspect of the experience, and enthusiastic and passionate about the improvements it offers.

"To reap the great benefits the training can offer it should be looked upon as a change management exercise rather than a sales training course."