Re-establishing the importance of sales fundamentals

Client

Cisco

Overview

For their global sales force, Cisco wanted to promote a fresh approach to training and personal development.

Sales training in the technology sector can often be weighed down with an emphasis on the detail of point products, solutions and even compliance. While the devil may sometimes be in the detail, it’s important for sales people to not only understand ‘how does it work and what does it do?’ but also ‘why should it matter to the customer/decision making group/organisation?’

With Sales Academy, Cisco not only wanted to amplify their consultative selling approach but also enhance personal skills with access to broader business insights and expertise. Additionally, they wanted delivery to be as flexible and accessible as possible – with a curriculum and content that can be accessed virtually anywhere from any device – live, virtually, and on-demand.

Cisco’s brief required us to develop an identity, vocabulary, visual style and assets that conveyed energy and personal empowerment.

With a focus on awareness and recruitment for phase one, we created assets to support an initial launch at GSX (Cisco’s annual global sales conference) with further assets to follow – as Sales Academy is rolled out to regions.

What we delivered?

Launch campaign assets included a short video; an introductory presentation deck; explainer collateral for business executives and sales/account managers.

The video acted as a teaser to encourage awareness and interest amongst an event attendee audience that could benefit from Sales Academy enrolment. Additionally, it set the scene for Cisco’s fresh approach to training and personal development and drove conversations at GSX amongst the Cisco Sales Academy team, stakeholders and sales people.

The introductory presentation provided an initial overview of the aims and curriculum of Sales Academy while the collateral helped to encourage team participation and sign-up.

What did the campaign achieve?

The launch campaign helped Cisco to create significant awareness levels and interest at GSX. The successful launch, ahead of the programme rollout, gained vital, early interest and anticipation from a wide range of prospective Sales Academy ‘students’ and advocates.