7 June 2017
Like many companies, Spatial Global has undertaken many changes during the past ten years. The changes in the global economy, technology and within their specialist sectors of freight, mail and e-fulfilment have meant the business has had to continually evolve.
Mike Wallis, Chairman of Spatial Global, explains why he chose Quiet Storm to help them develop their growth strategy.
One area we needed to fix was sales and marketing
Having spent a year interviewing different marketing companies, I'd arrived at the conclusion there wasn't the relevant expertise out there. Working with a freelance consultant who had done a great job, we were able to limp on through, but it was a real cause for concern as sales is the lifeblood of any business.
A free marketing workshop gave the team belief
I was recommended to get in touch with a company called Quiet Storm by an old colleague. When I researched them I found out that they delivered a free monthly workshop explaining their methodology. The management team attended the workshop and the feedback was that Quiet Storm were different from the other marketing companies we had interviewed. They focused on results and provided everything - from strategy, to tools to generate enquiries and close sales, plus training. What's more they wanted to be held accountable for the results.
Why are you any different from the other marketing companies?
Having arranged an appointment with Quiet Storm’s Managing Director Steve Megson, I told him the number of other marketing companies I'd seen and asked the obvious question - why are you any different from them? His response was brief and to the point - we focus on your objectives, in this case sales - we have a process which embeds the knowledge with your team and equips them with the tools to deliver.
After placing the order the programme started
The Storming Growth Programme is delivered through 5 half-day workshops and empowers the group with the knowledge and skills to solve their own challenges. With guidance and coaching, the team came back enthused. Each workshop revealed at least one or two breakthrough changes which could be implemented straight away. As the team did so, they grew in confidence because they could see the real world application was delivering the results we wanted in the business.
The experience is better described by my team
The two divisions of mail and freight work very differently, and we had experienced a lot of changes within the business. Working together within the structure of the workshops they were challenged to confront how we worked and what would make the customer experience better. The great thing was they felt supported and when they struggled there were always ideas and 'real world' examples provided.
The confidence within the two teams has grown tremendously and we've experienced the challenges and the successes of applying the new approach from virtually the first workshop.
"Being a more technical person, I often found it challenging when faced with solutions that my competitors had presented to clients or prospects which I was then asked to match. This was often because I knew it couldn't be done.
Losing business this way was painful to say the least, but I didn't have an answer. The workshop process meant I had to confront this reality and develop a solution. I now feel confident that I can present any information in a way which will help a client or prospect to understand what’s really important to them and why. The power of them realising themselves what is being presented by the competition isn't deliverable in reality and is so much more effective than me just telling them that it isn’t."
Andy Berry - Commercial Manager and responsible for Mail Business Development
"My main role is targeting and engaging with potential customers for mail. Although I’m tenacious and I’m relatively successful in my role, I found answers to issues I’d had. I must admit to being a little skeptical at first, but the workshops were really pragmatic and based upon our reality of sales. Which meant we could air specific issues and work through them. I feel the whole process has been really beneficial and it’s enabled us to address issues which have been tolerated for too long."
Nicola Chering - Sales Executive
"The process gave a structure to how we approached both marketing and sales. The workshops were engaging, challenging and made us really look closely at what our customers really wanted. We were forced to confront some home truths and develop solutions. The experience was inspiring as it energised everyone taking part. I was able to apply some of the techniques we learnt very early in the programme which directly resulted in increased sales and further opportunities."
Rachel Morley - Freight Manager and responsible for Freight Business Development
"I’d never experienced any sales training and didn’t know much about marketing. So the whole process was a real eye opener for me. I found it really informative and it’s definitely given a better understanding of how people process information. In turn, this has given me more confidence when explaining a specific solution to a prospective customer."
Ian Radcliffe - Freight Development Manager
The best thing was we got the £2500 back
Quiet Storm match the £2500 fee for the Storming Growth Programme once it's delivered. Their 'Storming Growth Voucher' means we get up to £2500 back if we spend £5000. We have just agreed a number of activities to roll-out the marketing and sales process and can't wait to get started.
Mike Wallis
Chairman of Spatial Global
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