Situation

Cintas Corporation is a Fortune 500 company with sales revenue of $4B+. Thousands of companies across North America trust their business and brand image Cintas. I was recruited to be a Sales Trainer and work with 20 National Account Managers. I serviced the veteran salespeople by helping them penetrate existing accounts and provided education of new product lines. Newer salespeople received support in managing the sales process which included: product knowledge, prospecting, presentation building, and closing.

As the largest provider of uniforms in North America there are tremendous opportunities to demonstrate creativity. However, I learned more about Operations then any other place that I have worked. Being at headquarters and the site of manufacturing and distribution gave me an inside look at backend operations which I incorporated into my sales presentations.

My role as Sales Trainer required me to be with salespeople and their prospects and customers which resulted in up to 40 weeks of travel.

Marketing

Cintas recruited me because of the creative approach I brought to the sales process in particular, new business development. Early on I noticed that our pitch was appealing to Purchasing Managers but our presentation was not winning over anyone from the Marketing Department. I developed a campaign to ensure that our presentation was focused on creativity, on-time delivery, and fair pricing.

• Responsible for the marketing, advertising and promotional strategies to support divisions of the company.
• Focus on account penetration strategies to ensure marketing coverage of multiple product lines.
• Guide overall marketing communications including:  literature design and execution, dealer promotions, sales support tools, catalog development, case studies, advertising and direct mail.
• Execute new supplier agreements and develop campaigns to promote products and brands.

Sales

After developing the sales training program and infusing creativity into the marketing plan I became recognized for new business development and closing skills. After all, I spent 14 years on 100% commission and even though I was on salary + bonus for the first time I was still going to act like a hungry salesperson while in the field. I was not only teaching sales strategies I was executing and closing contracts which helped to grow the business portfolios of individual salespeople and the National Accounts Division.

• New business development and account penetration sales revenue increased 60%.
• Trained, coached and supervised field sales employees in specified geography.
• Integrated and directed implementation of sales plans and objectives, providing field perspective for departmental initiatives.
• Discern trends in the marketplace and made decisions based on available budgets and analysis of risks, benefits and ROI.