SAP conducted a competency assessment to better understand skills, behaviors, coaching support, and time-spent differences between top and core performers. SAP’s sales leaders saw strong alignment between the Challenger approach and top-performing salespeople. So, sales and sales enablement leaders at SAP made the strategic decision to adopt Challenger as the global model to transform their sales conversations from technical pitches of features and benefits to more compelling, insight-focused conversations. To ensure adoption across a significant global population, SAP also empowered frontline sales managers to support and lead this transformation.

SAP deployed Challenger sales training and coaching training to nearly 4,300 sellers and 1,400 managers in nine languages across all regions of the world. A sampling of SAP trainees (approximately 15% of all participants) completed a post-training assessment in which they attributed €47.4 million in closed business and €184.2 million in anticipated business to Challenger.

Xerox rolled out Challenger sales methodology across the US Client Operations sales team of over 1,000 sellers and 150 sales managers. The organization embraced Challenger to address these issues and taught managers to be better coaches, to identify and cultivate Challenger behaviors, and to innovate in order to move deals through the pipeline. This innovation revolved around challenging customers with valuable commercial insights to teach them something about their business that they had never known before.

Previously, Xerox sold on one key product feature: generating 90% less waste than laser printing. But with Challenger’s help, Xerox identified what customers actually care about most: improving student learning by investing in interactive learning tools and scalable customization of lesson plans and materials.

Going further, Xerox discovered that digital technology is resetting students’ expectations, causing a decline in attention and interest when information is delivered in black and white. This uncovered an invisible truth that transformed how they sold to customers: color enhances learning. In fact, research showed that 77% of students agree color boosts focus, interest, and memory.
From there, it was easy to show customers the importance of access to color printing in the classroom.

Xerox redefined success when it challenged customers to see the benefits of color materials in student performance, not the cost of printers and ink. The company’s sales interactions started producing astonishing results.

Together with Challenger, Flowserve took a holistic view of its sales and marketing organization and identified key strategic gaps to close, including commercial insight, sales experience capability, and coaching support.

Challenger and Flowserve leadership quickly noticed a fundamental change in the way sales engineers approached customer interactions, including greater preparation for sales interactions and overall engagement across the field. In the six months following the Challenger skill workshops, Flowserve realized the following results:

Odysseyware partnered with Challenger to support sales and leadership, develop commercial insights, and upskill sellers to provide a new commercial experience. A core team of Sales, Marketing, and Product leaders joined together to create new commercial messages using Challenger Activation’s Insight Design process. These messages were presented to the organization as part of a full-day Challenger onsite training and as part of keynote presentations and breakout sessions at the company’s national sales meeting. The entire salesforce completed Challenger’s e-learning curriculum, reinforcing key concepts introduced at the onsite meetings
Upon completion of the e-learning curriculum, Odysseyware deployed the Challenger sustainment plan to support sellers in embedding the newly learned behaviors

Affymetrix wanted to transform the behavior of its salespeople and how its entire commercial organization interacted with customers. Affymetrix began its transformation by developing Challenger messaging for key market segments and products. These messages focused on insight as the compelling lever to force customers away from their status quo.

Affymetrix conducted global training in North America, EMEA, and Asia across a matter of weeks and immediately implemented both manager and individual coaching and messaging support.

Under the direction of its new chief commercial officer, Affymetrix invested heavily to make its Challenger transformation a sustainable effort. The company selected a dedicated, internal Challenger champion who immediately took control of continued message development, refreshing skills, and training new hires. The company also created an internal Challenger website to consolidate messages, highlight case studies, and recognize star performers.

Roughly one year after the training events, Affymetrix began to see a turnaround in its revenue performance. Bolstered by a timely acquisition, the company bounced back to $330 million in revenue and trended upward. Affymetrix beat Wall Street estimates, performed closer to its industry peers, and improved overall energy and morale. As a result, the Company’s stock price doubled.

Challenger conducted focus groups to drill down weaknesses and design a more effective sales strategy and process.Through analysis, Challenger discovered three primary issues impeding growth: (1) Teams utilizing outdated selling practices and messaging for new services (2) A misguided understanding of customer needs and (3) An inability to perceive certain partners as competitors and proceed tactically.

Challenger created more accurate buyer personas and integrated the efforts of its sales and marketing teams. These straightforward adjustments led to increased scheduling conversations and a shortening of the sales cycle.

In advisory-level discussions, Challenger examined the company’s sales strategy and reviewed its overall messaging.Challenger discovered three main issues impeding the company's growth: (1) An over-complicated sales cycle (2) Narratives centered around an outdated feature-benefit model, along with unnecessary discounts (3) Siloed business units.

By adopting the Challenger approach at all levels, teams across the company drove change and transformed organizational practices. As a result, the company saw up to an 80% improvement in its closings of complex deals.

Through research and outreach, Challenger quickly alighted on a galvanizing advantage the company had under-appreciated: its influential role as a market creator. To capitalize on this differentiation, Challenger steered the company to: (1) Execute compelling messaging around its unique position in the marketplace (2) Elevate sales conversations to engage in a fuller dialogue with higher-level decision makers.

The company shifted from a product-oriented sales approach to a unique position strategy to keep the customer top-of-mind. This primed sales teams to harness the Challenger approach and drive a full transformation solution.