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(San Francisco, CA USA)  BayGroup International, a leading global performance improvement firm, has helped underwrite an important Aberdeen Group research study, Sales Training 2011: Uncovering How the Best-in-Class Sustain, Reinforce, and Leverage Best Selling Practices. The study, which examined 970 organizations' sales effectiveness, highlights the practices best-in-class companies use to leverage their sales training investments, and improve results.

"Best-in-class companies understand that sales training is a ‘must have' rather than a ‘nice to have' investment area,” says Peter Ostrow, Research Director, Sales Effectiveness, Aberdeen Group, the report's author. “Maintaining credibility, customer satisfaction and their own profitability require ongoing attention to the skill sets of the company's front line in order to assure the highest degree of sales effectiveness in managing prospects through the sales cycle. This year’s report highlights how sales training solutions and methodologies are deployed by best-in-class companies, the top 20% that excel in achieving annual quota, increasing average deal size, and improving lead conversion rates.”

The report reveals what leading companies have been able to achieve through deployment of sales training solutions, including the following:

1. 87% of sales reps in Best-in-Class companies achieved their sales quota in the last year measured, compared to 49% for Industry Average and 4% for Laggards.
2. Average deal size was improved among Best-in-Class companies by 9.5%, year over year, versus 2.2% for Average firms and a 1.8% worsening (decrease) for Laggards.
3. Best-in-Class companies grew their lead conversion rate by 4.5% on a year-over-year basis, compared to 1.1% for Industry Average firms and a 2.4% decrease among Laggards.
4. Best-in-Class companies enjoy an average 100% current team attainment of quota, versus 76% and 28% for Average and Laggard firms.
5. Best-in-Class companies report a 70% customer renewal rate, as opposed to 58% for Industry Average firms and 41% among Laggards.

"Aberdeen's new study is extremely valuable as a benchmarking tool for companies that want to implement sales training right...and get measurable results," says Ron D’Andrea, President of BayGroup International. "Aberdeen's work reinforces many of the key tenets of our firm's work, especially in areas like strategic account mapping, sales execution, profitable customer negotiation, and the use of both live classroom and online training solutions to drive performance."

A complimentary copy of this report is available from Aberdeen Group and BayGroup International until December 2, 2011.  To obtain a complimentary copy, click 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 or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

About BayGroup International

BayGroup International is a global performance improvement firm that helps corporate leaders achieve critical profitability, cost containment, and team effectiveness goals quickly, with high impact. The firm helps its clients close the gap between expected results and actual bottom-line performance by embedding a powerful, management-driven discipline critical to business success. Since its founding in 1980, Baygroup International has built a select client list of major global corporations, focusing on the technology, oil and gas, chemicals, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, transportation, consumer products, insurance and financial services industries.

For additional information, visit BayGroup International (www.baygroup.com) or call (415) 464-4400.

Contact: Paul Hennessey (paul@baygroup.com; 415-464-5316)

October 10, 2011