29 May Sandvik Coromant Sales Team Members Earn Consultative Sales Certification (CSC) During Virtual Graduation Ceremony
19 members of the Sandvik Coromant sales departments from eight countries and nine different time zones were awarded Consultative Sales Certification (CSC) in a virtual graduation ceremony on May 16th, 2014. “This was not just an online meeting, but an actual graduation ceremony with presentations from students, faculty and awarding of diplomas,” said Jeff Arnold, Executive Director of The Sales Association who delivered the commencement address during the event.
The graduates have demonstrated the required knowledge and on the job application to achieve this prestigious certification.
CSC Program Administrator and CLO of DVR Learning, LLC, Marcia Gauger, states “While training is a key component of this program, it is application and performance that matters. Through our research we have proven that sales and service performance is enhanced when you concentrate on one competency at a time, deliberately apply the concepts learned during interactions with customers, report on your experiences, and receive coaching and feedback.”
Graduates have not only demonstrated capability in eight core consultative sales competencies, but have also committed to excellence in each. CSC graduates subscribe to consultative selling and see themselves as advisors, seeking first to understand. This goes beyond understanding basic needs. They seek to understand their customer’s core business, their goals and vision and the motivation for each influencer. They position their solutions according to the impact on the business and address the individual motivation for each buying influencer. And, they position value according to each. Building Value only works if it matters to each particular customer. They understand the personal motivation and business impact and use this to position solutions.
“My biggest gain was confidence. I have been in sales for five years and technically I was fine,” said Richard Bowers, a Sandvik Sales Productivity Engineer – Canada, in his graduation address to the group. “This was just one eye-opener after another. Every module was directly relevant to what I do every day. At the end of the day, I am selling the same things, but now I present and communicate more effectively, have built better relationships with my internal and external customers, negotiate better and just approach my whole territory more efficiently.”
According to Emerson Aparecido, Sandvik Coromant – Argentina, “CSC is a complete program. It provides skills for how to plan and think before you act. CSC provides global skills in terms of understanding customer needs, how to help customers with their accomplishments, and how to handle complicated negotiations. Even though we have excellent value that we offer, if we don’t know how to address it, unfortunately we may not get the desired outcomes. I really appreciated the group conferences where we share best practices with other participants and review exercises and coach feedback that is fundamental to enhance our knowledge and development.”
Sandvik Coromant is the world’s leading supplier of tools, tooling solutions and know-how to the metalworking industry. With extensive investments in research and development they create unique innovations and set new productivity standards together with their customers. These include the world’s major automotive, aerospace and energy industries. Sandvik Coromant has 8,000 employees and is represented in 130 countries with over 1,000 sales professionals.
“Our sales team members have seen significant results from participating in the Consultative Sales Certification Curriculum,” says John Jacobsen, Senior Manager – Market Area Americas. “Because of this, we will continue to offer the opportunity to earn CSC to our entire sales team as part of Sandvik Coromant Academy, which is our internal learning organization.”