The TAS Group, the world leader in on-demand sales effectiveness solutions, today announced that the Sales Academy implemented by gen-i, a long-term customer of The TAS Group, has been recognized by the Sales Executive Council (SEC) as one of the most effective ever seen by the SEC.
gen-i was formed when Telecom acquired gen-i and Computerland and joined forces under the gen-i brand. Today, the company has 3,000 staff across 17 locations, revenues in excess of $1.6 billion and a client list that spans 3,300 public and private sector organizations in New Zealand and Australia. The Sales Academy is gen-i’s sales development program for its own employees and uses opportunity management and account management solutions from The TAS Group.
The SEC, sitting at the head of a global network of over 500 sales organizations and thousands of executives, and having assessed hundreds of sales development programs over the last decade, has identified five components of a world-class sales development program, all of which the Sales Academy at gen-i is recognized as achieving. The five components are:
1. Training content aligns with corporate goals and strategy.
2. Training targets role-specific skill gaps.
3. Regular coaching sustains and builds on gains from training.
4. Certification requires demonstrated performance.
5. Success metrics are tied to business outcomes.
The SEC’s assessment is based on a three-year review between 2005 and 2008. In its letter to gen-i, the SEC further states that the Sales Academy establishes a systematic framework for long-term progress, efficiently focuses on closing the skill gaps that will have the greatest impact on company success, effectively reinforces classroom training with real-world application, and allows leadership to accurately assess the Sales Academy’s effectiveness over time.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to be recognized as world-class by such a respected body as the SEC,” said John Woodyard, manager, Sales Academy at gen-i. “But we could not have achieved this without The TAS Group and our other partners. The TAS Group’s methodologies are at the core of our curriculum, and they truly act as a business partner – the support and guidance we get is first class.”
“The Sales Academy at gen-i is a stellar example of truly delivering business benefit through sales effectiveness solutions,” said Donal Daly, CEO of The TAS Group. “We’re proud to have gen-i as a customer, we’re proud to be associated with this recognition, and we’re proud of our team on the ground, which helped make this happen.”
About The TAS Group (www.thetasgroup.com)
The TAS Group provides on-demand sales effectiveness solutions to companies that want to achieve sustained, predictable and profitable revenue growth. It exists to guide and motivate global sales teams to win profitable business faster from target customers through a combination of methodology, process and technology. The TAS Group has helped over half a million sales professionals succeed and has a global presence serving organizations in all major global economies with native language speaking, culturally attuned, sales effectiveness experts. The TAS Group solutions are available in up to 14 languages. The TAS Group integrates proven sales methodologies and processes with Dealmaker – the most advanced technology platform for lasting sales effectiveness, and reinforced by the TAS:Pedia (www.taspedia.com) learning community – to constantly refresh sales learning and best practice behavior. The TAS Group hosts and moderates The Sales 2.0 Network (‘S20N’; www.sales20network.com), a global, virtual, thought leadership forum to discuss issues relevant to sales professionals in a Web 2.0 world. The only sales effectiveness organization with a continuous multi-million dollar investment in its own methodology and technology R&D center, The TAS Group is headquartered in Seattle, with international headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and Bracknell, England.
