SalesForce Training - Training & Consulting

"I recall taking numerous sales training courses and then going back to my job without any support from my manager to help me to apply the newly learned techniques. I knew that there had to be a better way to train sales people so that they would actually do the things that were taught in the classroom."

Mark Christie

As the President, in addition to ensuring that the qualities of effective training and development are imparted to each client, Mark is responsible for the company’s growth strategy, which entails attracting top line sales management consultants and trainers by enabling them to provide the highest level of professional sales training and support to their clients. Mark’s extensive sales background spans almost twenty years, holding positions of increasing responsibility and scope, from Territory Sales representative to country Vice President. Mark’s experience includes roles with Pepsi, Global Payments, CIBC Visa, National Bank MasterCard, American Express and Rewards Network.

His primary area of focus with all SalesForce clients is in ensuring that they realize their full investment in sales training by encouraging real behavioral change among the participants. He recognized, through years of attending sales courses, that all too often, while much of the content was valuable and/or interesting, precious little time and effort was spent on helping the sales people to transfer the newly learned behaviors into the field. To that end, Mark brings a wide body of knowledge in the field of Transfer of Training methodologies, having conducted an intensive array of research on the subject while completing his MBA. Mark also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics and a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree in Actuarial Mathematics.

Favorite Sports Figure: Tony Dungy; Former Coach, Indianapolis Colts; Super Bowl Champion.

Why: Not only did he bravely endure great personal tragedy, but as a Super Bowl champion coach, he understood how motivating his team towards achieving the right behaviors would lead to the desired results. Instead of worrying about the end goal, he asked his players only to execute at their very highest levels, knowing that the results would eventually take care of themselves. Like Tony, my own passion lies in coaching sales performers to be their best, and Tony’s lessons are ones we, as trainers, can take to heart. Focus on the right behaviors, and the desired sales results will occur as a consequence of that.

"Our goal is to help accelerate your business - whether you want to attract new prospects, increase sales, communicate more effectively with existing clients or develop a professional brand identity we can help you to increase your profits."

Charlie Bartlett

As Chief Marketing Officer of the SalesForce Group, Charlie’s role is to provide strategic marketing, business development and sales force enablement assistance to our clients. 

Over the last 28 years, Charlie’s experience has spanned a very wide cross section of challenges and has touched virtually all the industry categories including: telecommunications, retail, digital media, financial services, high tech, automotive, fast-food, pharmaceutical, alcohol, entertainment, e*commerce, Green Tech, grocery, and consumer goods.

For the first half of his career, Charlie held senior client management positions with respected and fast growing advertising agencies. During this time, Charlie’s core competency was demonstrated to be strategic planning, introductions of new products and brand building.

Five years after moving to the world of interactive marketing, Charlie co-founded Trajectory Business Performance as a frontline sales force performance improvement company deploying online game based, experiential learning and motivation to call centers, VARS, retailers, agents, and authorized distributors.

In mid 2006, Charlie and his partners sold Trajectory into Pareto Inc.

Favorite sports figure: John McEnroe, Winner of 7 Grand Slam singles titles

Why: "You cannot be serious?" Attitude and talent. You always knew where he was coming from, brutally honest, loyal, had an extreme work ethic, was tremendously talented, and if you weren’t a mistaken linesman – a gentleman.

"What are the characteristics of the "right" people? That is certainly my clients’ biggest challenge, and particularly when it comes to sales people.  What I love about working at SalesForce, is that we help our clients to really understand what these characteristics are - #1, Selling Skills, #2 Selling Style, and #3 Cultural Fit. And we also work with our clients to see that it is also not just about the person, but it is equally about the organization and their ability to create an environment where great people can thrive. It is tremendously exciting to help organizations not only find great sales people, but also help them to prepare an environment for success."

Alon Hameiri

Alon is a Senior Account Executive with our SalesForce Search practice who is dedicated to helping his clients make more informed buying decisions.  Alon specializes in Value-Based, Consultative Selling to organizations with a strong focus on growth through Sales.  His experience working with companies of all sizes, across all industries, and with various levels of decision-makers, has fostered a unique understanding of what makes businesses succeed.  He’s always been highly successful because of a commitment to securing good business, first and foremost.  Alon is consistently in search of establishing business relationships that provide a "win" for everyone involved.

With so many companies caught in the vicious cycle of making hiring mistake after hiring mistake, Alon positions himself as a trusted advisor who can help his clients build a profile of the ideal candidate, and can execute on finding a Sales Professional that meets the preferred criteria.  In a world where so many companies experience the “revolving door” problem as it relates to their Sales team, it is of the utmost importance that they partner with a Sales Recruitment Consultant that can show them how to more effectively hire, train, and manage the people that drive their top-line revenue.

Favorite Sports Figure - Derek Jeter, shortstop, New York Yankees; Five time World Series Champion, Ten Time All-Star, 4 Time Gold Glover.

Why: He is a champion in his profession, and he is a champion of the people.  Jeter is THE symbol of excellence and a role model for children and adults alike.  He has defined the standard that franchise players are expected to uphold, in any sport.  His leadership is unparalleled, and his team’s results speak for themselves.  Whether he’s diving into the stands to catch a foul ball, or playing cheerleader after a teammate’s HR, Jeter always seems to be doing the things that other great players simply didn’t do.  His passion for the game and desire to win are what truly sets him apart, and he always seems to be in the right place at the right time, all the time!  Jeter is a complete player who makes everybody around him better, and doesn’t mind that the spotlight tends to shine more often on others.  He doesn’t play for the glory, he plays to win.

“You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way. Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.”

Kris Johnson

Kris Johnson is a Senior Account Executive with our Sales Force Search practice. Kris is responsible for increasing market share and driving revenue, building and maintaining strong customer relationships and integrating with other SalesForce business units to support our clients towards increased sales effectiveness.  Kris has a successful track record in business development and sales within the recruitment and enterprise software industries, most recently as an Account Executive with SAP Business Objects.  Prior to SAP, Kris has held Sales and Management responsibilities with Sapphire Technologies, The Allegis Group and Enterprise Rent-a Car.  Kris was a scholarship athlete and graduate from John Brown University in Arkansas, with a Bachelor of Science degree.

Favourite Sports Figure - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards (Six Time NBA Champion, Five Time NBA MVP).

Why:  Michael Jordan was blessed with superior athletic ability, yet, his success is attributed to his relentless work ethic and competitive nature.  Not only did Michael Jordan use his off season to correct weaknesses in his game, he turned them into strengths.  This combined with his fearless leadership on the court has many, including his peers, considering him as the best basketball player ever.

 "Always make an effort to give people more than they expect."

Melissa Van Haeften

As the Sales Training Design Coordinator, Melissa is responsible for the preparation of the company's various training materials and they meet the rigid standards for presentation of both the facilitator and the client. With a keen eye towards detail and organization, Melissa takes great pride in ensuring the most professional results for SalesForce’s clients.  Given the vast amount of customization in every workshop, the amount of learning design, re-writes, and pre-course preparation is extensive, but is a role Melissa handles with incredible savvy.

Favorite Sports Figure: Scott Hamilton, Figure Skater; Four consecutive U.S. championships, Four consecutive World Championships; Olympic Figure Skating Champion, member – United States Olympic Hall of Fame.

Why?  When Scott was two years old he contracted a mysterious illness that caused him to stop growing. After numerous tests and several wrong diagnoses including a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis that gave him just six months to live and Shwachman-Diamond syndrome. It is said that a special diet and exercise cured the problem. However, he grew to only 5-foot-2½ and he weighed only 108 pounds during his peak skating years.  Then in 1976, he was almost forced to quit skating because the cost of training was too high, and he enrolled in college.

Despite these massive setbacks, however, Scott went on to perhaps the most impressive figure skating glory in history. His breakthrough performance was in the 1981 U.S. Championships. He performed flawlessly and the audience was at a standing ovation several seconds before the end of the performance. He never lost a competition again. In 1981 he won gold in the World Figure Skating Championships. He won gold again in 1982 and 1983 at the U.S. and World Championships, and won the gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics. He won that year's World Championships and then turned professional in April 1984.

Scott’s determination is proof that no set back, no obstacle, no barrier is too high to be scaled.  When one sets one’s mind to their goals, anything is possible.

“I’ve always felt that the “moment of truth” for an organization occurred when a sales person is talking with a client.  It is at that very moment that     all of the hopes, aspirations and strategies that have been discussed in a multitude of boardroom meetings come to life. And, for that reason, it is critical that all front line sales people have a very clear understanding of the organization’s goals and Value Offering.”

Michael Mangialardo

Michael brings over thirty years of sales and executive management achievement to serve the needs of our clients.  Having worked as a sales representative, sales manager, vice-president sales, general manager, president and management consultant, Michael brings to the table a unique blend of strategic know-how and front line savvy.  Michael’s experience includes roles with McCann-Erickson, Coca-Cola, MacLean-Hunter, Telemedia and Rules of Engagement Inc.

Michael’s primary area of focus with SalesForce is to help our client’s Sales Management team and their front line sales people discover, understand and articulate the Intrinsic Value Proposition of their organization.  He understands that most companies fall behind revenue expectations  because at some point, they either lost sight of the ‘fundamentals’ or they got so busy “looking after business” that they stopped “working on” their business .  Using SalesForce’s proprietary “Sales Strategy” methodology, Michael helps our clients use their Core Competencies to generate increased focus and deeper client relationships. 

Favorite Sports Figure:  Jim Furyk, Professional Golfer; 23 Tour wins, shares record for the lowest 72-hole score in a U.S. Open.

Why:  I admire Jim Furyk because of his relentless work ethic and his ability to consistently be a top performer even with his unconventional, looping golf swing.  Furyk’s fans call him “The Grinder” because despite that unorthodox swing, he’s almost always in contention to a win.  He’s a guy who knows how to work with what he has, and puts maximum effort into generating results -- week in and week out.  Furyk’s positive attitude and ‘grinding effort’ is a true testament to substance over style and proof positive that hard work pays off. 

Most people in sales think that natural talent combined with a good dose of desire will be enough to generate the results they are looking for.  Jim Furyk’s career teaches us that the missing ingredient in that equation is ‘effort’ -- and a lot of it.  In the world of champions, the winning equation is: Talent + Desire + Effort = Results

“Organizations lose focus on the sales process. Businesses spend millions of dollars to improve their business processes yet the ‘sales’ process is widely ignored. Most companies have not mapped their sales process, nor can they determine the velocity and the conversion rates of their pipeline. Many fail to even track their win/loss record. This is where you determine and build your client relationships. This is where your fate is sealed”.

Greg Schryer

Greg Schryer works on assignment with SalesForce and currently consults with SalesForce clients on sales process as well as providing Executive-Level and Major Account sales training.  Throughout his career, he has held a number of senior sales roles directing, implementing and managing sales strategy. Greg has particular experience with international organizations and has worked with industry leaders, such as ICICI, Infosys Technologies, EDS and Merck.  He holds an Honours Degree in Business and Science from the University of Waterloo.

Greg continually references a recent survey that pointed out that only 26 percent of respondents agreed with this statement, "Win or lose, we get accurate feedback on all proposals from our customers."  His advice to his clients - to improve results and generate higher levels of productivity in your sales organization - you need to map your client's buying process to your sales process.

Favorite Sports Figure: Jean Beliveau; Former Captain of the Montreal Canadiens.

Why: Jean Beliveau won 10 Stanley Cups as a player, and 7 more as an executive. In reverence to all that Beliveau gave to hockey, the Canadiens established the Jean Beliveau Fund for underprivileged children. For everyone who knew him, the fund was a very fitting way to say farewell to Beliveau, as he was considered by many to be a true role model for kids. Clarence Campbell, president of the NHL, said: "Any parent could use Jean Beliveau as a pattern or role model. He provides hockey with a magnificent image. I couldn't speak more highly of anyone who has ever been associated with our game than I do of Jean."