Sales Training Success: CustomerCentric Selling® Empowers Berner International to Improve Sales Performance through a Disciplined Sales Approach
Key Player
President and Owner
Goal
Headquartered in New Castle, Pennsylvania and privately-owned, Berner International helps architects, engineers, contractors, developers, food service providers and building owners save energy and create healthy comfortable environments by engineering, manufacturing and selling air curtains, vinyl strip doors, and patio heaters. As an example, the McCormick Place South exhibit hall in Chicago saves over $70K every year worth of energy and maintains internal temperature within three degrees variance by utilizing Berner’s offering.
In September 2008 when Berner International approached CustomerCentric Selling® (CCS®) Business Partner, KeyRoad Enterprises, Berner’s goal was to increase sales by 200% by 2011. Berner suggested it needed to also achieve the following stated goals:
- To shake up its sales organization;
- A more disciplined and focused approach to selling; and
- A sales management system to keep its activities in line with its projected growth goals.
Current Situation
Some of the possible roadblocks Berner suggested were in its way to achieve its stated goals were:
- Sales had become mostly reactive to in-bound calls;
- The company did not have a disciplined sales engagement process it could depend upon; and
- There was no consistent process to grade their pipeline across all its operations.
Capabilities Needed
Working with CCS® Business Partner, KeyRoad Enterprises and its President, Philippe Lavie, Berner International implemented:
- A senior management coaching program to help implement new sales processes;
- Access to sales expertise through advisory services; and
- A tailored sales training program based on the CustomerCentric Selling® sales methodology.
CustomerCentric Selling® provided Berner International with the capabilities needed to achieve their goals.
Result
To-date, Berner International:
- Has secured incremental revenue and minimized the downturn impact to its business;
- Has developed a better and more pro-active approach to supporting its distributor channel partners; and
- Has implemented a more disciplined approach to selling.
Georgia Berner, President and Owner, was pleased with the results, saying,
“With the help of the CustomerCentric Selling® sales methodology delivered by KeyRoad, we have realigned some of our resources to cover both incoming sales opportunities as well as being proactive in our business development. We better understand how to engage our target audiences to more effectively diagnose their needs and challenges. We are transforming our organization from a passive and reactive organization to a more sales and market driven machine. Finally, we are better equipped to proactively drive our sales activities and not just be an inbound reactive organization.”
Customer Closeup
In 1956, Erling Berner brought European technology to the United States and formed Berner Industries, the foundation of today’s Berner International Corporation, the first manufacturer of air curtains (also known as air doors) in the U.S.A. Headquartered in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Berner International combines state of the art equipment with highly skilled workers to produce the most efficient, cost effective, reliable fresh air ventilation with energy recovery systems and air curtains on the market.
Berner International’s continual growth is through the leadership of Georgia Berner, president of the company since 1984. Entrepreneur of the Year is just one of the many awards Ms. Berner and her company have received during her 20+ years of leadership. Under Georgia’s direction, Berner has become an employer of choice in the region. In business for over 50 years, Berner has a reputation for customer service, innovation, quality and performance, and is proud to be a leader in systems that save energy and create healthy, comfortable environments. For more information about Berner International, please visit http://www.berner.com
For more information about this success story, please contact CCS® Business Partner, KeyRoad Enterprises, by emailing Philippe Lavie at plavie@customercentric.com.
About CustomerCentric Selling® – The Sales Training Company
CustomerCentric Selling® (CCS®) is a proven methodology for predictably improving revenue growth and sales performance. Founded in 2002, CCS® helps clients worldwide to implement repeatable, auditable and scalable sales processes that, when combined with Sales Ready Messaging®, guides marketing and sales to have meaningful conversations with customers and prospects. This results in winning high-value deals, retaining and growing client relationships and improving the predictability and accuracy of sales forecasts.
CustomerCentric Selling® is regularly named to the Top Sales Training Companies list. Clients such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Business Objects, Rockwell Automation, EMC and Raytheon have deployed CCS® worldwide. For more information, visit www.customercentric.com or call Jill Perez at +1.800.993.1228, ext 706.