Services Testimonials

"DIAGNISTIC TOOL HELPS TO RESET & BUSINESS INCREASES BY 45%"

When we talked to Kevin C. Hynes, one of the principals at Chesapeake NetCraftsmen, he was candid in describing some of the challenges the company faced. “We historically responded well to incoming calls & opportunities – what we were lacking was an effective way to generate business from our outbound activities, such as cold calling. During the slow-down in the economy, we found it necessary to re-tool ourselves and learn how to become more effective at uncovering new opportunities and converting them into real business.”

“The SEA Diagnostic gave us insights into more strategic thinking – the scope of the report was very comprehensive and reminded me of a very thorough home or building inspection. It has more than surpassed our expectations. After six months we are still in the process of digesting all the useful insights and advice this report had to offer. Most importantly, our business has increased 45% since the diagnostic.

To their credit, Chesapeake NetCraftsmen has been quick to realize that embracing the report’s recommendations requires real structural changes in organization. As Kevin says; “participants should expect to continue implementing the suggestions over a time-frame of six months to several years. In our case, the first task was to reconcile the vision of the company between management, the sales force and the engineering team. One of the important things we learned from the engagement with The Sales Group was that if we wish to have everyone selling, we need to have a common understanding of our common goals and unique strengths. Once this was articulated and internalized, people became more passionate about selling.”

“No matter how disciplined you think you are, you can never see your weaknesses with complete objectivity. Bringing an independent set of eyes in-house brought things into focus. The SEA Diagnostic brought us tremendous value. If we ever feel ‘stuck’ again, I would not hesitate to repeat the process. We now have a long-term plan and road-map to work from that will serve us well in the future. I would highly recommend the SEA Diagnostic to everyone, except our competition!”

“NEW BUSINESS TOOL HELPS BRING CLARITY TO TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES”

Chris L., Chief Marketing Officer with STL Technology Partners, Bloomington, IL, says of the SEA™ diagnostic engagement: “Our organization has grown dramatically in the past few years. Management determined that STL needed to upgrade it’s capabilities across the board, including sales, in order to position the company for future growth. The SEA Diagnostic provided a comprehensive tool to evaluate where and how we need to upgrade our sales capabilities.”

The SEA Diagnostic is a comprehensive tool focusing on compensation, training and management but Chris L thought it went even beyond other assessment tools: “SEA’s attention to culture, values and orientation to the customer allowed us to get a much bigger picture of strengths and areas for improvement. We now have a good baseline assessment of our capabilities. This will help us focus our resources on the critical areas for strengthening our sales teams.”

STL has implemented changes to their management practices as a result of the diagnostic; getting a quick reliable assessment has enabled the company to make important changes that affect the business. STL have started the process of evaluating and refining their compensation programs, initiated more team interaction between sales and engineering during pre-sale and past sale processes, and reviewed / re-designed their information systems and reports that align sales and profitability measures.

Chris L found the third party perspective extremely valuable – “it allowed our people to be more open and candid with their comments and concerns. I would recommend SEA diagnostic to any organization that wants to get a quick, reliable assessment.”