The Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards is a global programme that recognises innovation and achievement in the world of Human Capital Management. The group recently announced our project with Fnac Darty as winner of the Silver Award in the category: Best Advance Certification Program. Here, we share how the project helped the sales force across the company improve their performance.
Customer excellence to increase competitiveness
Digital transformation and the rise of social media have made sales a complex affair. With so many channels, and so much noise, salespeople are operating in an increasingly competitive environment. They truly need to be at the top of their game.
With this in mind, Fnac Darty – Europe's leading distributor of cultural and leisure goods, technical products and household appliances – wanted to help their sales teams develop customer service excellence. Management wanted their staff to better understand the evolution of buying habits in the omnichannel context, as well as feel recognised by their peers and become ambassadors of excellence in customer relations.
The company approached Cegos to co-design a program that would achieve the management’s goals over an 18-month period. The participants would span across the customer-facing workforce, including in-store salespeople, check-out hosts, receptionists, customer advisors and delivery drivers.
A structured approach
Cegos proposed a training course whereby participants gain official recognition of their skills in customer relations and sales. Certification is listed in the Inventory of the National Commission for Professional Certification (CNCP) and included on the national interprofessional list.
The course was tightly structured to include plenty of training, plus support from coaches and Fnac Darty managers.
- 1 kick-off meeting
- 6 face-to-face training modules
- 7 online training modules
- 4 telephone tutoring appointments with a dedicated Cegos coach
- 3 face-to-face tutoring appointments with the participant's Fnac Darty manager
- A 1-hour remote presentation of their learning experience, at the end of the training cycle for certification
When the pandemic struck, all face-to-face activity was delivered virtually. This did not have any negative on the program’s success.
Key skills developed to reach customer excellence
The training was delivered in six blocks, each devoted to developing a specific skill set.
- Know Your Customers Well
The evolution of customer expectations with an eye on future trends and needs. - Better Communicate with Customers
Participants discover their own Process Communication profile – a simple and practical communication tool for understanding their own personality and the personality of others – and learn to adapt their communications to specific situations. - Mastering the Customer Relationship
Participants learn to measure the impact of their behaviors on the relationships with their customers, adopting winning attitudes and behaviors. They also learn how to better manage sensitive situations - Master Level 1 Sales Techniques
(for employees operating in customer relations activities)
Participants explore and demystify the deed of sale, practicing sales techniques that align with the Fnac Darty brand. - Master Level 2 Sales Techniques
(for employees already familiar with sales techniques)
Participants delve deeper into Fnac and Darty sales methods and develop an appreciation of their effectiveness. They master an understanding of the client’s needs during the sale, and learn how to talk about a product or service in terms of customer benefits by personalising the added value. - Customer Loyalty 3.0
Participants boost their ability to sell using digital tools, developing their reflexes in an omni-channel approach with their client. This promotes the continuation of the customer experience beyond the store visit.
A very efficient training program
41% of the total targeted employees in the workforce signed up for the program, with 319 people presenting their certification project to the jury. Of these, 317 candidates obtained their certification.
"With Cegos, we have co-built a training program that corresponds well to the DNA of the Fnac and Darty brands,” says Anne-Laure Dugert, Talent Acquisition and Development Director. “The training – 100% tailor-made and multimodal – has been designed in compliance with the ‘Sales and Negotiation’ certification framework. The positioning of the participants as ambassadors of the customer experience as well as the support of Cegos tutors and managers, were key to the success of this training.”
And Cegos is delighted with our Silver Award for the project. This goes to show that partnerships can really work when it comes to designing sales programs. We have come up with a model that delivers results, both in the learning environment and in the workplace.
Interested to learn more about how Cegos can help your salespeople reach new heights? Contact us today.
