CASE STUDY: BC HYDRO Success Story
Can a major hydroelectric utility reinvent
itself, mix existing internal cultures with new external ones
and learn to sell effectively? You bet it can. And it’s happening
at BC Hydro.
BC Hydro is, arguably, the most progressive, efficient and profitable
of all of the major hydroelectric utilities in Canada. The company
is the third largest utility with 1.7 million customers and revenues
of $2.5 billion annually. As a direct retailer of power, BC Hydro
supplies 95 percent of the Province’s electricity to industrial
companies and consumers. One of the reasons for BC Hydro’s remarkable
success in an industry where costs have skyrocketed in the past
and customers have been left to foot the bill is the company’s
ability to change with the times.
Recognizing that deregulation of the industry will have a dramatic
impact on the way they conduct business and interact with their
customers, BC Hydro has undergone as series of restructuring efforts.
The cornerstone of the program has been the creation of an integrated
Sales and Marketing Division unlike anything existing in the industry
today. To create this BC Hydro insisted on going to the market
to recruit a sales expert from private industry with a proven
track record of success in a competitive marketplace.
Spearheaded by Mike Gormick, Director of Marketing & Sales,
the division was mandated to gain a thorough understanding of
current market dynamics and to design sales and marketing programs
to address customer needs. But, before this could be accomplished,
Mike had some internal issues to deal with.
The sales organization was originally populated with long-term
BC Hydro employees, to many of whom, "sales" was a foreign word.
The existing culture was engineering dominated and clearly had
an internal focus. BC Hydro needed to inject new, customer-oriented
thinking into the organization while training existing sales representatives
in the techniques required to be effective in their new roles.
"We had a unique challenge," explains Mike. "With the introduction
of experienced sales reps from a variety of industries into the
existing organization we had to find a common language with terminology
everyone could understand. We also had to implement an effective
sales management process that would have credibility with the
sales reps. That’s why we turned to Performax for help."
The Performax Sales & Marketing Group was engaged early
in the development of the organization to help define an "Ideal
Culture" for the fledgling sales organization and to facilitate
the change from an Engineering and Operations driven one to a
culture where the Customer is king.
Working in partnership with Mike and his team a new sales structure,
with new job models, selling processes and management systems
to support the company’s mission, was created. To implement the
new culture, each and every member of the sales and sales management
team went through an intensive Opportunity Management workshop,
which helps them to clearly understand their new roles and then
gives them the tools to plan and monitor how they are performing.
Key to the continued/on-going success of the sales organization
is this set of customized tools (The Performax System), which
BC Hydro has branded "The Sales Generator". The System is a customizable
software application for the creation and management of an integrated
set of Sales Processes. Created in a personal workbook for sales
professionals and sales managers at all levels within BC Hydro,
the System breaks down the sales process into four key areas:
- The Goal Sheet
- The Personal Success Checklist Tool
- The Strategy & Plan Tool
- The Opportunity Tracking and Forecasting Tool
Because it is customized for the individual, the system helps
reps understand exactly what they need to do to be successful
in their role. In the BC Hydro environment, the system injected
a level of discipline and organization into the sales process
through the documentation of each step or activity required for
reps to reach their revenue goals.
"We’re all really excited and enthusiast about the system,"
said Mike. "It points out where there are shortcomings in the
process, what steps you need to take to correct them and gives
you accurate and timely information about the status of each opportunity."
Mike also uses the information captured in the system as a valuable
coaching tool. Because the individual rep can see for him/herself
what needs to be done they cannot ignore the issues. The system
enables them to take responsibility for their success. By doing
this, Mike says, monthly meetings become an avenue to offer help,
guidance and assistance instead of questioning why certain activities
are not moving forward.
Since the implementation of The Performax System at BC Hydro
the results have been impressive. Every member of the sales team
is consistently using the system -- a major feat for any sales
organization! The team has been able to identify individual sales
reps in need of assistance who otherwise may have slipped through
the cracks. In-depth documentation of goals, activities and next
steps has allowed for the smooth transition of people in and out
of the sales organization in a fashion that is seamless to the
customer.
From a marketing perspective, the System has provided a vehicle
to capture marketing information and build it into the sales forecast.
Additionally, it allows for the efficient allocation of products
to be sold by customer and account rep and provides a tracking
mechanism to determine how effective a marketing initiative has
been.
But the work doesn’t stop there. The Performax team will be
going back to BC Hydro to conduct a Management Coaching session
in the near future and will be providing on-going consulting and
support as the organization evolves.
Over time, as the Performax System becomes an integrated standard
for sales operations at BC Hydro, Mike anticipates several benefits:
"We will be able to build solid, long-lasting relationships
with our key customers – especially our industrial clients where
deregulation will happen first – and provide them with value-added
products and services. As the market opens up and competition
comes to the hydro electric industry in British Columbia we’ll
be ready to face it head on – and win!"
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Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, PERFORMAX was founded in 1986
to provide a range of sales effectiveness solutions and consulting
services to companies demanding improvement in sales productivity
and revenues. Since its inception, PERFORMAX has partnered with
over 90 companies, delivered its programs to over 10,000 sales
professionals and sales managers in nine countries, and successfully
enabled client organizations to achieve significant increases
in sales force productivity and subsequent growth in corporate
revenues and profitability.
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