Every spring, the Institute for Excellence in Sales recognizes companies with the best sales training programs at our annual Sales Excellence Award event in Northern Virginia. Each year, over 60 companies from Virginia and around the United States submit nominations to be recognized as one of the best corporate sales training programs. The 8th Annual Award event will be held in the spring of 2018 in Northern Virginia. In 2017, Softchoice, a software company based in Toronto Canada won the award.

Here are some insights into how Softchoice’s on-boarding program was recognized for its excellence.

Softchoice was recognized by the Institute for Excellence in Sales in 2017 for its Sales Academy program, a 4-month program for all new sales employees.

The Sales Academy executive sales training program was created to address the following areas:

  • Decrease attrition of deployed sales reps (which was at 57% in 2014)
  • Increase sales rep speed to productivity
  • Create a world-class onboarding experience for new sales reps to increase employee engagement
  • Help Softchoice attract top talent.

Amy Hoidas (pictured left), sales training director for Softchoice, said it is an advanced sales training program. “Today, we describe the Sales Academy like a train in motion that needs to be updated and maintained constantly as we work in a very fast-paced environment and industry. We have some of the top sales coaches leading the program.”

In 2016, Ms. Hoidas said Softchoice onboarded 381 sales reps, which was three times the number in 2015.

Since the inception of the Sales Academy corporate sales training programs in April 2015, Softchoice has seen a marked improvement in the productivity of new sales reps. Prior to the Sales Academy launch, typical ramp-up time was 9-12 months. Now, she said, there is a significant improvement within the rep’s first 6 months on the job.

Sales performance improvement happens specifically in the following areas:

  • Compared to their predecessors who did not have the same consultative sales training experience, Sales Academy graduates achieved 23% more quota in 2015 and 59% more quota in 2016.
  • Sales Academy graduates are also more inclined to stay with the business. In 2015, Softchoice maintained a 95% retention rate of the Academy’s graduates and in 2016 they maintained a 99.9% retention rate.
  • Retention is achieved through setting and maintaining high but achievable standards.
  • Graduates also maintain a better average across all KPI’s (call metrics, etc), hitting these targets 20% more of the time.

The Institute for Excellence in Sales helps companies around the globe determine the ideal external resources to help them achieve performance excellence. Contact the IES for your next sales program speaker or training requirement. The IES also provides top tier sales training programs in Virginia for beginners and seasoned sales professionals every month.