OUR WORK - VOLUME
Uncovering Raw
Sales Talent
Through a 12-Week Academy
JULY 2022
Shire Leasing And Their Graduate Programme Requirement
Trusted by over 600,000 British SMEs for B2B Leasing, Equipment and Asset Finance Solutions, Shire Leasing PLC are one of the largest privately owned finance companies.
As a leader in their industry, it is crucial that Shire Leasing have a continuous stream of top talent joining the business to aid them in their continued growth. However, finding top sales talent that understands the ins and outs of asset finance can be challenging.
To help combat these potential stumbling blocks, Shire Leasing wanted to take a different approach by:
- Using new methods to uncover raw talent that they could then mould themselves.
- Make multiple hires to help accelerate growth.
- Provide hires with accelerated training to set them up for success and longevity in their roles.
Having previously received bespoke sales training from AvA-V, Shire Leasing knew about our tailored Graduate Programmes and prior successes with other businesses.
Aside from having a prior relationship with AvA-V, Shire appreciated that the programme would be tailored to the business. As they’re such a unique business, an “off-the-shelf” solution wouldn’t have sufficed – they needed a programme that would accommodate their every need.
“The Beauty of AvA-V was that they’d manage the whole thing”
The AvA-V Solution
To facilitate the different approach that Shire Leasing desired, AvA-V developed “The Shire Sales Academy”.
The Shire Sales Academy is an all encompassing business scaling solution which involved hiring en masse, assessing candidates in person and side-by-side, innovative sales training and coaching, all taking place over a 15-week period.
The Recruitment Process
To accommodate Shire’s requirements for hiring multiple candidates, AvA-V began a bespoke recruitment solution focused on finding the best talent to mould into world-class Sales Executives.
Made up of candidates with natural sales talent and big personalities, the client wanted us to gather these candidates in one face-to-face setting so that they could see the talent in action.
To achieve this, we developed a detailed recruitment campaign that yielded the following results.
- 1200+ candidate applications received across multiple platforms.
- Over 150 candidates were screened virtually by AvA-V’s specialist recruiters.
- Half of the candidates interviewed progressed to the group interview.
Group Interview Day
The group interview accommodated Shire’s needs, with AvA-V facilitating a face-to-face interview from top to bottom – all Shire had to do was turn up and observe.
- Our trainers designed a bespoke face-to-face assessment day, complete with sales activities and personality tests.
- We set up multiple rooms, complete with several tasks that encouraged collaboration amongst participants.
- Every attendee had a candidate pack that discussed their personality, successes and aspirations. These were created to aid the client in their decision-making process.
On top of this, all attendees were provided with transport to get them to the interview on time and catering throughout the day, keeping them refreshed and energised for the assigned tasks.
This group interview setting allowed Shire to compare candidates side by side and choose suitable candidates that fit the strong company culture the organisation had proudly established.
The Shire Sales Academy
After the conclusion of the group assessment, The Shire Sales Academy could begin with their chosen hires.
The academy’s purpose was to enhance their sales skills and embed learning further over 12 weeks with some innovative learning techniques.
Here’s how we did it:
- Provided them with weekly trainers that were supported by a Project Team Leader who became part of the Shire team.
- Gave them new knowledge about key sales areas, including VIP calling, prospecting and objection handling.
- Implemented new and innovative training techniques to help this learning embed.
To ensure the smooth running of the programme, a schedule was put in place so that trainers, delegates and members of the Shire team knew what was happening at all times.
“It’s proven well worth the money in time alone”
The AvA-V Impact
The Shire Sales Academy was a massive success.
Due to the tailored Recruitment and Training programmes provided by AvA-V, Shire Leasing PLC have seen growth across their salesforce and a significant upskilling of the new hires.
Here are some of the key takeaways from The Shire Academy.
- Out of the 8 hires who started the academy, all 8 passed and have since split into specialist divisions within the business.
- They have been massively skilled to become excellent salespeople thanks to the Shire Academy and AvA-V’s detailed sales training.
- The success of the first intake is already allowing Shire to envision their next academy intake.
All candidates who partook in The Shire Academy have settled into the business and are ready to continue their sales careers with additional support from AvA-V’s aftercare programme. Shire can be confident that their new hires will be supported, skilled and ready to take the industry by storm.
Get In Touch
We’re always looking for specialists who can join the team and deliver quality solutions.
Whether you’re interested in pairing candidates with their dream jobs, selling quality services to global organisations or training a new wave of quality sales talent, there’s a job waiting for you.
