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Report by Aberdeen Group Reveals Measurable Benefits of Sales Training Investments

RENO, NV -  November 19, 2010  -   A report produced by Aberdeen Group, and underwritten in part by sales performance consulting firm Miller Heiman, shares recent findings including the identification of key business challenges companies are looking to solve through sales training, the priority of content to solve these challenges, and how best-in-class organizations are delivering sales training to their teams.

Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks company, examined 835 organizations’ sales effectiveness to determine the effect that sales training and resource investments have on a company’s ability to consistently hit revenue objectives. Sales Training: Deploying Knowledge, Process and Technology to Consistently Hit Quota revealed that 77 percent of top-performing representatives achieve their annual quota, compared to only 35 percent of sales teams in other average-performing companies.

The report reveals the impact sales training has had within top-performing organizations, such as:

• 14.8 percent average year-over-year increase in annual revenue compared to a 3-percent decrease for other companies

• 7.2 percent average year-over-year increase in average deal size or company value compared to a 2-percent decrease for other companies

“Our partnership with Aberdeen Group is well aligned with our mission to elevate the credibility status and strategic importance of the sales organization. Sales leaders require research-based information with which they can make decisions to ensure successful results to realize the goals and objectives of their organization,” said Leigh Hooker, executive vice president of sales operations at Miller Heiman. “This report validates that sales training remains a very solid investment for sales organizations focused on growing revenue.”

Sales training, the report concludes, is a key factor in affecting revenue by closing the gap that exists between an organization’s bottom and top sales performers. A complimentary copy of this report is available here.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results.  Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis.  As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company.  Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the “customer optimization” process of Harte-Hanks (Information – Opportunity – Insight – Engagement – Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market.  For additional information, visit aberdeen.com or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

About Miller Heiman: The Sales Performance Company

Miller Heiman is the proven leader and innovator in sales execution with more than 30 years of helping businesses grow profitable sales by increasing their close rates, lowering the cost of sales and reducing the length of the sales cycle. The company’s common framework of easily repeatable methodologies, combined with a tradition of research and thought leadership, helps firms of all sizes win complex sales. Miller Heiman is a worldwide leader in sales performance with programs in 20 languages and corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. For more information, visit www.millerheiman.com.