Training builds brand and profits at Kreglinger
Training builds brand and profits at Kreglinger
How does a specialist producer in the food industry build its brand and profits? For Kreglinger Europe, the answer was to implement a training initiative.
Kreglinger's UK food division sells rice flours and starches to, among others, producers of cereals and ready meals. These allergen-free products have compelling health benefits but it is a niche market and many of Kreglinger's potential clients have little awareness about the product, let alone how it compares to the flours and starches they already use. As a result, selling can be long and complex.
With ambitious targets to meet, however, Neil Swinyard, UK sales manager,invited sales specialist STC to deliver a "Power Selling" training programme. "The training has helped all participants to boost their performance. Just to give you a feel for the progress we have made, in July our profit was 300 per cent higher than in January, and we are well on the way to achieving our annual target of 20 per cent growth in sales volume," he said.
STC's Rob Cram observed: "This was not a straightforward course. The sales cycle for the product can be more than a year long and it is a multistage process. Often the company has to prepare samples so it can demonstrate how the product compares with flours or starches the client is already using. The company has to show that it is not only a healthy alternative, but also a high-quality product that will attract the customer.
"Before the training was delivered, I researched the sales process, such as the trials that food manufacturers put products through and the labelling issues that come into play," continued Rob Cram. "I used this information to tailor the training so that it was relevant to the team. In effect, I spoke to the participants on the course in their own language and was able to use real examples of obstacles that they would face.
"Making training relevant is critical to success and I combined this market insight with best-practice sales processes that the team can adopt as it goes through the selling cycle. As well as establishing robust structures, I also looked at how to get to the emotional drivers that persuade clients to buy– or at least, go to the next stage. Technically, the participants were experts. The sales programme gave them the levers to build relationships and draw out the buyers' requirements."
According to Neil Swinyard, the training has also boosted morale. "We have identified the best ways to manage calls, implemented clear disciplines in the way we work and are working effectively as a team. That is a powerful result," he said.
Neil Swinyard is keen to do more. "We are set up to sell specialities,"he explained, "and we have recently gained some key distributorships of dehydrates from Italy and release and glazing agents from France. On top of this, we are the fifth-biggest wine producer in Australia. Our success, however,is totally dependent on how well we manage and build client relationships. We have a clear case for more training, but it has to pay for itself."
