“ We wanted to create a better experience for our customers , as well as our FSMs and the sales reps , so we focused on training them in three distinct areas : time management , coaching and development , and skill building .”
Best Workforce
Development Program
Breakthru Beverage Group
Breakthru Beverage ’ s Accelerate Program playbook for field sales managers .
With the right training , team leaders can become coaches and mentors for others , helping to propel both employees and the company forward .
This is exactly what Breakthru Beverage Group realized when they made developments to their Route-to-Market strategy . These changes helped shift the roles of the field sales managers to an expanded span of control with more direct reports , ultimately resulting in greater focus and more time coaching and developing their teams .
The Field Sales Manager Learning Journey is Breakthru ’ s multi-tiered leadership development program that is designed to equip its front-line sales managers with the skills , information and confidence to lead their teams to success .
“ We wanted to create a better experience for our customers , as well as our FSMs and the sales reps , so we focused on training them in three distinct areas : time management , coaching and development , and skill building ,” says Melanie Lundberg , vice president , talent management for Breakthru Beverage .
As a first step in this learning experience , FSMs participated in a one-hour workshop that Breakthru Beverage calls “ Accelerate ,” focused on sharing new ways of working that align with the recent strategic changes . This was followed by skill-building in the three specific core FSM competencies .
Additionally , as part of the FSM Learning Journey , Breakthru Beverage is introducing a new ‘ work-with ’ standardized feedback form to provide consistent feedback in an easy format , delivered via an in-house-developed app . This action also enables the company to report metrics to the top of the organization , identify areas where they need to continuously improve and isolate skill gaps that require further training and development .
According to the company , these live training sessions have been very successful so far , with 95 % ( 480 of 506 ) of Breakthru ’ s FSMs attending one of the 36 sessions conducted . The training effectiveness ratings are also high , with 100 % of respondents answering that they had at least one key actionable takeaway and a 4.69 out of 5 overall course effectiveness rating .
“ The feedback has been excellent ,” Lundberg notes . “ We ’ re measuring success throughout this whole process , and the biggest surprise we ’ ve had from the feedback so far is that they want more of it . It ’ s almost like they ’ re hungrier for it because we haven ’ t done something at this scale before .”
As part of the Accelerate workshop , Breakthru Beverage also developed an in-house full suite of resources called the “ FSM Playbook ” that includes quick reference guides , checklists and other tools to continually reinforce the FSMs learning during their everyday management duties .
“ This program is definitely not a one-and-done training . It ’ s an ongoing journey for FSMs ,” Lundberg says . “ With the feedback we get from them , we ’ re able to offer additional tools and resources to continue engaging with them .”
To embed the learning and new ways of working even further , Breakthru Beverage has also launched FSM Connect Forums . These are organized and facilitated sessions where FSMs can hear from one another on best practices and lessons learned , helping them to succeed in their roles .
“ We ’ ve created a new FSM onboarding program ,” she continues . “ We ’ ve created a tools and technology workshop , and it really is an ongoing learning experience . We all learn differently , and this isn ’ t a classroom , so people are liking the application of the program .”
“ We wanted to create a better experience for our customers , as well as our FSMs and the sales reps , so we focused on training them in three distinct areas : time management , coaching and development , and skill building .”
– Melanie Lundberg , vice president , talent management for Breakthru Beverage
16 Beverage Wholesaler • Winter 2024 www . beveragewholesaler . com