Shawnna Sumaoang: Hello and welcome to the Win Win Podcast. I’m your host, Shawnna Sumaoang. Be part of us as we dive into altering traits within the office and navigate them efficiently.
Driving habits change in a gross sales group could be notoriously troublesome, and but, it’s essential to maintain tempo with purchaser wants. It requires not solely coaching your reps on the proper behaviors but in addition teaching them to reveal these behaviors successfully with consumers. In actual fact, analysis from Gross sales Enablement PRO discovered that when habits change is a core goal of coaching and training efforts, common rep quota attainment will increase by 7 share factors.
So how are you going to drive lasting habits change inside your group? We invited Annie Lizenbergs, the Senior Director of Enablement for Studying & Improvement right here at Highspot, to share her recommendation. Thanks for becoming a member of Annie! I’d love so that you can inform us about your self, your background, and your position right here at Highspot.
Annie Lizenbergs: Thanks a lot, Shawnna. As you talked about, my title is Annie Lizenbergs, I’m the senior Director of Income L&D right here at Highspot. My background spans two careers, each inside the schooling house. First, I used to be a center college historical past instructor after which made my means into each gross sales and gross sales management after which actually discovered my area of interest inside the studying and growth house, actually particular to income groups. It’s been nice to navigate and watch the business of each gross sales studying and in addition gross sales enablement develop into being such a strategic lever for organizations. Previous to coming to Highspot, I used to be truly a Highspot buyer, so I had the chance to see firsthand the way in which that know-how can help in an organization’s capability to drive strategic initiatives and to essentially set these foundational studying applications.
SS: I’m excited to have you ever right here and we’re fortunate to have you ever at Highspot. Kudos, I didn’t notice you had been a center college instructor, I’ve the utmost respect for lecturers so that’s spectacular. Now, when it comes to studying and growth notably inside Highspot, are you able to inform us the way you outline what habits change means?
AL: Once I give it some thought, habits adjustments are actually with the ability to join the proper data units with the talents to have the ability to put that into motion. Groups actually should be assured that they’ve the data and the power to go execute. One with out the opposite actually creates gaps and what you’ll begin to see is inconsistent execution or siloed execution as a result of there’s that insecurity. It’s the power to essentially put these issues collectively that makes studying an accelerator for the enterprise.
SS: I really like that definition. Why is habits change usually mandatory in gross sales? What would you say are a few of the ways in which you’ve encountered it as a studying and growth chief?
AL: Change is fixed and actually required for our enterprise to thrive. Because the market adjustments, consumers change, and as firms innovate, the enterprise must be agile sufficient to pivot and actually preserve tempo with that change. From a studying perspective, it’s sometimes called studying agility. It might be that the group is transferring into a brand new market or launching a brand new product, however the capability of the org to essentially be taught sooner collectively provides them that sustainable aggressive benefit of with the ability to capitalize on these new market alternatives.
For instance, it could be one thing so simple as a product demo which may really feel actually minimize and dry, however at Highspot we’re delivery new improvements each six weeks. If we aren’t in a position to evolve the way in which that our groups demo the product, then our reps actually aren’t in a position to reveal the complete vary of worth that we will drive for the shopper. We have to change habits, we’ve bought to ship that new data and actually empower them with the proper expertise to drive the proper outcomes for the enterprise.
SS: Completely. How can leaders inside a corporation acknowledge when there’s a want for a change in behaviors?
AL: I all the time like to have a look at the gross sales pipeline. I really feel prefer it’s an excellent barometer for the well being of the enterprise and might help establish when habits change goes to be required as a result of in case your pipeline is down, you’re going to see the impression of that someplace between two and three quarters from now. You could diagnose what change is required and have the ability to begin appearing on that straight away. With change although, we’ve got to watch out as a result of it might begin to really feel like the flavour of the month, change actually must be deliberate, it must be tied to outcomes and irrelevant why and you’ve got to have the ability to give that change the time and house to land and embed inside the enterprise with the intention to see these proper outcomes.
SS: I really like that. It’s not the flavour of the month, I feel that’s unbelievable. What are a few of your greatest practices for figuring out a few of the successful behaviors that result in success in gross sales?
AL: We actually deal with main indicators of success. With any initiative that we’re operating, we define each the calls to motion for our group, like what we would like them to do, and the outcomes that we’re trying to drive, so how are we measuring whether or not or not it is a success? It’s these behaviors and actions that tell us if we’re trending in the proper path. Figuring out the main indicators actually requires a deep understanding of our viewers and their course of. It might be issues just like the variety of above-the-line contacts, multithreaded into consideration or the variety of new alternatives added, or the variety of new pitches that had been despatched out to shoppers. These are all issues that we will measure and if these numbers and actions are headed in the proper path, we imagine we should always see the enterprise outcomes that we’re in search of. Our capability to outline and perceive these main indicators provides us the power to foretell success and in addition to tweak our studying method as mandatory in order that it’s by no means stagnant and it’s by no means one dimension suits all.
SS: I feel that’s phenomenal. How do you are taking that data after which design and implement coaching applications which are aimed toward instilling these successful behaviors amongst the gross sales groups to drive that change?
AL: Once we take into consideration the design and growth of coaching applications, we acknowledge that it usually requires a layered method. There’s no silver bullet to habits change which regularly we want there was. We are sometimes balancing each formal and casual studying methods to make sure understanding and create routines that drive repetition and execution. For instance, with new product innovation, we’ve got a three-part method. The primary could be fairly formal and consists of programs and dwell coaching, the main points, the worth, and the differentiation of this new product. The second is the power to have ongoing and evergreen coaching content material that the reps can refer again to. Nobody will keep in mind all the pieces from a specific coaching. I all the time inform our stakeholders that it’s not for lack of making an attempt, it’s simply science and so they’re doubtless not going to return to a course that they took to try to discover one thing, we don’t see that occur. It’s probably not inside human nature as a result of if you’re in search of recall, you’re in search of these quick reminders about what you discovered.
The primary ability that our reps want is to know the place they’ll go for data after they want it, however with out that repository of the always-on studying assets that may be grabbed and go, reps are sometimes having to fill within the blanks. We actually put a precedence on creating that lengthy tail of studying that they’ll all the time return to. The final piece is the certification which is actually measuring their capability to exit and put this studying into apply and it provides managers the chance to each examine and coach and creates accountability to that studying as nicely. The factor I really like about Highspot is that it provides us a platform with the intention to try this at scale, each the formal and the casual, however you really want each with the intention to drive that lasting change.
SS: Completely. I feel our viewers would undoubtedly agree, habits change can usually be a troublesome course of and a few reps might even be resistant to alter. How can leaders inspire or ease the method of change for his or her groups?
AL: That’s an excellent query. Reps really want to know the why behind what they’re doing. When it comes to the way in which that adults be taught, it must be hyper-relevant and hyper-actionable, in any other case, adults will simply deprioritize it of their minds. Studying must be put via the lens of why it issues and the place they’ll apply it. It permits us to create that connection between what they’re studying and what they’re requested to go and do. This actually permits us to higher actually measure the outcomes as nicely as a result of we’re clear on what these calls to motion for our group are and the outcomes that we’re making an attempt to drive so we’ve got clear markers alongside the way in which as as to whether we’re being profitable.
SS: I feel that’s phenomenal. How can habits change be bolstered over time past an preliminary studying expertise or coaching program?
AL: I imply that’s so essential. I’ll shout it from the mountaintops, I totally imagine that front-line managers are the linchpin to success. They actually turn into the legs and arms of any initiative and actually drive that sustainable change. It’s their capability to essentially coach to what attractiveness like that enables reps to maneuver from proficiency inside any ability or data set to mastery. Mastery solely comes via apply and real-life utility and studying alongside the way in which. That’s the one means. Our managers have the power to help and encourage that course of each single week.
SS: I really like that you just introduced the frontline managers up. How do you go about serving to frontline managers navigate and reinforce a few of these behavior-change initiatives?
AL: We take enabling our managers actually critically as a result of we all know how necessary they’re to the success of any initiative. So initially, regardless of the initiative is likely to be, we’re all the time enabling the managers forward of our reps. We need to make it possible for they really feel assured within the data and expertise which are required with the intention to achieve success. Past that, we’re additionally giving them the instruments which are wanted with the intention to go and examine and coach. These is likely to be teaching children, it is likely to be concepts for issues they’ll do in group conferences and conversations that they’ll have of their one on ones.
We use Gong to assist examine calls and make it possible for the way in which that it’s coming to life with our clients is on level and offers them the chance to educate to real-life conditions. Even inside our personal platform, whether or not it’s apply submissions or testing alongside the way in which, we can provide our managers rubrics to ensure that them to have the ability to constantly measure what attractiveness like from their group. Then it lastly goes again to the reporting, the power to have the reporting of these ongoing behaviors and actions and the enterprise outcomes that we’re trying to drive, that offers them these indicators of whether or not or not their group is being profitable.
SS: I really like that and on that observe truly my closing query pertains to the metrics and reporting part. How can leaders leverage analytics to grasp whether or not habits adjustments are occurring and the way it’s impacting the general enterprise efficiency?
AL: It goes again to defining these calls to motion within the enterprise outcomes that you just’re trying to drive up entrance. What are the behaviors and actions that they’re requested to do popping out of a specific studying program or initiative enablement session? Reps really want to grasp what success seems to be like and have the ability to have benchmarks alongside the way in which. That roadmap of success is actually necessary to grownup learners as a result of they all the time need to verify in on the place they’re at and what progress they’re making.
We actually need to be ruthless about measurement to make sure that the training technique is on level and that we will proceed to regulate and scale to make sure that the habits change doesn’t simply dwell and die inside a specific quarter, however you can take up it into onboarding, you’ll be able to embed and reinforce it with rep steerage and create helps for recall that actually make it turn into a part of the material of your group. You may measure if the habits and actions are driving the proper enterprise outcomes after which be taught from that technique to tell the following initiative or change that what you are promoting is dealing with.
SS: I really like that, Annie. Thanks a lot for becoming a member of us right now. I discovered a ton from you on the habits change entrance.
AL: Thanks a lot, Shawnna.
SS: To our viewers, thanks for listening to this episode of the Win Win podcast. You’ll want to tune in subsequent time for extra insights on how one can maximize enablement success with Highspot.
