“When I first heard about Sandler Training Institute, I was a little jaded. After meeting with Steve Kraner and Guru Ganesha Khalsa… I took some additional time to audit a couple classes and then sat down and designed a custom program for our new team. What we put together was a succession of the Sandler Training modules that were each customized to fit the Oracle selling model and tools that we use. After 90 days in their territories, 80% of these new reps are now performing at or above quota. Our business has grown so much that we hired 12 new reps… We really believe in this program.”
Mike Hewitt, Director Federal Direct Marketing Division, Oracle Corporation
“What we saw in our sales force were people who were very good at working a product-oriented deal. What we needed were people who could understand the customer's needs and then put together a complete solution for the customer. One of the reasons we selected Sandler as our framework is that it provides one common language for everyone. We started the transformation in Q4 of 95. In an eight-week period, 260 people in the North American field force completed Sandler's High Tech Sales Bootcamp. - In 1995, we did three deals which had a product value of $1M or greater. In 1996, we did 17 deals of $1M or better in product. In 1997 we are on track to do a minimum of 35 $1M+ deals.”
Dave Malmstedt, Vice President the Americas, Candle Corporation
“Some things about this consultative approach came to us right away…some are more difficult and require practice to master. Some are even counter-intuitive, but Steve asked us to keep open minds to give each technique a try…and so far he’s been right in every instance. In two months, I estimate we have mastered about 20% of the Sandler Selling System and we have seen a gain of over 50%in our sales efforts.”
Steve Reznikoff, President of Micro Systems Consultants - a hardware/software VAR specializing in alternative data input solutions.
“Our team was transformed by the Sandler Selling System. We learned how to listen better to the customer, understand why people buy, and how to construct a crystal clear mutual agreement that guides the sales rep and the customer to close. This knowledge allowed us to shorten our sales cycles and spend our time on real business. One sales rep attributes his closing a $2M deal directly to the techniques learned in the Sandler training.
The thing that I really like about Sandler from a management perspective, is the ability to share a common sales language across the entire team. When reviewing our pipeline, we have a systematic way of understanding where the business is and where it needs to go. No more lighting candles and praying near the FAX machine at the end of the quarter for a few choice deals to come in. Business is identified and closed well before the last day of the quarter.”
John Occhipinti, Director Western Region for Netsales at Netscape Communications
“My staff has learned why people buy. That’s one reason we are so enthusiastic about the Sandler approach. Our company focuses on relationship selling, and Sandler is very much relationship oriented. I already see a change in my staff’s selling techniques, which is miraculous to me because many of our folks have been selling…for 15 to 20 years. To change someone’s style after that long says a lot for Sandler’s powerful techniques. I see my staff doing more listening and helping clients feel comfortable in the buyer-seller situation. They are behaving more like a coach or a guide as opposed to a pushy sales person. Overall the Sandler course has ignited my sales staff. They are more excited than they have been in years and have learned that not only can they make more money, they can have fun in the world of sales.”
Maureen Swan, Assistant Manager of Training, Bell Atlantic
“Just a note on some Sandler success in Greg Timmons patch. $500K of incremental business that Greg felt would not have closed without using the Sandler method. This is one of the reasons I'm pushing Sandler to our Channel partners.”
John McTavish, Netscape Channel Manager, Canada
“At first I found it challenging to make the transition to the systematic approach that Sandler champions. But when sales grew by 60% in the first year, it was easy to trace this success to the simplicity, logic and common sense of the Sandler Selling System. I reduced my working hours by 25%, and increased my income by more than 100%!”
Chuck Black, Sales Rep, Borland International
“Data Systems Analysts, Inc. (DSA) is an information technology solutions provider specializing in telecommunications, messaging, networking, security and electronic document management. Our sales cycles are typically long and involve multiple decision makers/influencers. I was struggling with the implementation of the sales team approach when I learned the Sandler method. Sandler's low-key approach was very appealing to me. We now have a formal sales process and a common selling language in place throughout the company. The end result continues to be higher capture rates with a lower cost of sales.”
Fran Pierce, CEO, Data Systems Analysts, Inc.
“My personal sales, six months after starting the program, are up over 500% and so is my income.”
Dave Huckabay, W.A. Brown - a distributor of large scale, custom solutions for industrial applications
“Steve, thanks for a great session - everyone rated the Sandler training as some of the best and most useful information they had received in terms of "sales training" in a long time.”
Cheri Kaplan-Smith, General Manager, Novonyx a Netscape/Novel joint venture.
“Steve — The training was absolutely phenomenal…your presentation is charismatic, energizing and absolutely a no fail money making proposition. Jackie and I are absolutely shell shocked by how effectively you motivated our troops.”
Cheri Comstock, CEO, Focus Tech Incorporated
“Steve — Wow — I am still trying to absorb everything! Your two-day bootcamp was the best — far and away — sales training I have ever had and I had a lot with HP! It is such a novel and new approach; yet so intuitive; I have no doubt our profitability will double!”
Jackie Larson, Focus Tech Incorporated
“We increased our sales by 56%. In addition, we shortened our sales cycle and decreased travel expenses by almost half.”
Tom Dudenhoefer, VP of Sales, Deltek Systems
“We grew sales by 55% in one year by modifying our organization, and providing the process and the methodology”.
Dave Malmsteadt, VP the Americas, Candle Corporation
“Steve — We received many wonderful comments about you and STI. It was very positive, from the seasoned pros as-well-as the new employees. For the newer people the Success Triangles were the strongest point and the seasoned pros cited the tactical portion — pain probes, funnel, conversation techniques, etc. — as most valuable. We should be talking about follow-up work immediately.”
Marie Phelan-Gordon, Director of Marketing, StorNet, Inc.
