How Tellabs Secured a Niche in a Mammoth Industry.

Eating the Elephant.

The Challenge

Customers were becoming more interested in business issues, and Tellabs needed a strategy and a process to bring their sales force up to speed on skills like negotiation and understanding buying styles in order to maintain sales growth.

The Solution

In partnering with Strategic Enhancement Group, Tellabs implemented the following:

1. Built a foundation of sales skills based on Counselor Salesperson (CSP) and Versatile Salesperson (VSP).

2. Added new layers of selling skills, including negotiation skills and higher-level, strategic and consulting skills, each year to create a confident salesforce with a common language and sales process.

The Outcome

1. Tellabs’ account managers developed the ability to penetrate customer accounts and maintain strategic customer relationships, becoming a key factor in their success.

2. Account managers developed real relationships with their customers with a genuine concern for them.

3. Strong relationships convinced the customer of Tellabs’ capability to deliver in a series of major sales events during the course of a year.

4. Low turnover and high performance among Tellabs’ salesforce.