How Brandwatch's SDRs booked more meetings with 1:1 sales coaching

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Brandwatch sales coaching case study at a glance

What coaching challenge was Brandwatch trying to solve?

Ashley Ormond is Senior Manager for Global Strategic Sales Development at Brandwatch, a social listening platform that helps large global brands understand their consumers through unbiased, unprompted conversations happening online. Ashley leads a global team of SDRs and ADRs.

Time was the first problem. Ashley says:

"Before MySalesCoach, my time was very, very limited as a leader. So at the time, I had 22 SDRs and ADRs globally."

"Trying to find time in the day, in the week, in the month, to sit down and really coach someone on their own challenges, their personal challenges, or what they could improve on individually, I just felt like it was just an injustice that I didn't have enough time to spend with individuals that they needed. So then it became a case of almost like cherry picking who needed it most, instead of giving my time to everyone."

The external sales training Brandwatch had brought in wasn't working for everyone either. Feedback from the team kept coming back to the same theme: repetition. Ashley explains:

"So for cold calls, for example, newer members of the team would be interested in it and be brought into it, whereas people who have been more tenured, they had seen that session before, or had that same kind of training before, so they'd switch off, and it was just a waste of time. And in sales, time is money, right?"

Internal resources didn't fill the gap. Ashley says:

"Because we're such a big brand and a big business, the training materials that we have are quite generic."

Why Brandwatch chose 1:1 sales coaching over one-to-many training

Ashley Ormond was using MySalesCoach personally for around six months before introducing it to the business. Ashley says:

"I was able to come to my coaching sessions with my own topics about direct challenges that I was facing personally, and getting some really good answers and suggestions from someone who had been in my position, been in my shoes, and then progressed into where I wanted to be in the future."

"This helped me come to the table with new ideas, new strategies, and if anything, it made me look really, really good across the organisation. So then it was a no brainer to bring it into Brandwatch as a company, and help my team get the benefit that I felt."

For Ashley, coaching and training are very different things:

"I think coaching versus training is so different. You can coach someone and everyone needs a coach, in my opinion."

"Ultimately, I want everyone in my team to excel in their position, and they're only going to do that if we focus on their individual needs, skills and wants. So that is the reason why we went with MySalesCoach for bespoke coaching, rather than another provider that provides a one to many solution."

Ashley had vetted other vendors, and was confident MySalesCoach would provide the very best coaches available.

How MySalesCoach's Sales Coaching Operating System worked for Brandwatch

Brandwatch uses MySalesCoach's Sales Coaching Operating System as an external, unbiased resource alongside its traditional training: 1:1 coaching for every rep, plus group sessions.

Reps bring their own topics

Ashley Ormond says:

"For our individual reps, it's important for them to have a voice and come to the table with their own topics, their own challenges, which general training doesn't hone in on."

Reps book sessions on their own terms

Each rep decides how often they're coached. Ashley says:

"Whether they want a session each week or each month or once a quarter, whatever it is, it's all down to them, which means they're not pigeonholed into this is what you need. It's all from the individual and what they want to get out of it."

1:1 coaches and group sessions

The team love both their individual coaches and the group sessions. Ashley says:

"Just having that support and that unbiased external person they can vent to is something that they really, really enjoyed and would want to continue for the rest of time."

Coaches who have walked in their shoes

Ashley has been coached by Nigel since the start. Ashley says:

"He's got a wealth of knowledge. There's nothing I've ever come to him with that he hasn't come up with some kind of solution, but not just one solution, an array of different things I could try or that he's done previously, tried and tested things to help me decide. He's like the ultimate right-hand man for me, and I'd be lost without him."

A number of the team are coached by Neil, who Ashley calls an absolute superhero in sales development. His approach to goal setting means the team strive to achieve their goals instead of just saying them. Ashley says:

"He thinks about work goals, personal goals, future goals, financial goals, and just really breaks it down."

Accountability that sticks

Coaches don't just advise, they hold people accountable. Ashley says:

"I think it's very difficult to hold yourself accountable sometimes, but when you know you've got your meeting with your coach coming up, and you know they're going to ask you questions about what you've done previously, that is something that I needed, and I think a lot of people need that."

What results has Brandwatch seen from sales coaching?

The team is booking and holding more meetings, and getting more opportunities into the pipeline. Ashley Ormond says:

"I personally have seen a dramatic increase in conversion rates with meetings held, meetings booked, also just getting opportunities across the line."

Qualification has improved too:

"Whereas before, it was very hit and miss in terms of the qualification aspect, was it strong enough, did we get enough information, and since using MySalesCoach, we've been able to hone in and be more efficient with that."

The team is more willing to pick up the phone and try new approaches to email outreach, which matters when selling to global enterprise businesses. Ashley says:

"It's not as simple as just sending something and hoping for the best. There's some real strategy behind that, and I couldn't get the team to where they are now without the support and help from MySalesCoach."

A change in mindset

For Ashley, the results are about more than numbers:

"It's more about the mindset that the team has now. They're more passionate, more able to deal with complex sales challenges, there's just a real buzz about the team and everyone seems like they're more invested in the coaching than ever before."

"If you invest in the individuals, then they're going to give more back to you and the business."

The team started teaching the leader

One result Ashley didn't expect was how much the team now teach their leader. Ashley says:

"They would come to me and say, how about we try this, and we try new initiatives that they bring to me, rather than me giving direction and giving ideas."

A rep who became a different person

The whole team has improved, but one or two stand out. Ashley says:

"They are a completely different person, as well as a completely different SDR than they were when I first hired them. They even book back-to-back coaching sessions, because they get so much value from it."

"Now they're one of the first to speak up or jump on and do a mock call in front of everyone, whereas before I'd have to encourage them to do so, and that, for me, is the key to MySalesCoach."

A leader with more confidence

Ashley's own coaching has had an impact too:

"Every session I leave, I can take on the world. I've got a wealth of new ideas. I can understand and dissect challenges in a more manageable approach, rather than just going head on and hoping for the best."

A reason to stay, and a reason to join

The team say it's refreshing to know Brandwatch is willing to invest in their development, and that it's about them as individuals. Ashley says:

"For them, it's just they haven't had that before. So this helps with staff retention."

MySalesCoach also comes up in every SDR and ADR hire:

"I think it's such a key selling point to join our company, because it just demonstrates that we invest in individuals."

How long did it take Brandwatch to see results from coaching?

Ashley Ormond used MySalesCoach personally for around six months before bringing it into Brandwatch, so the value was proven before the team started. Once the team was coached, Ashley saw improvements right across it, with one or two reps standing out quickly. Neil's goal setting helped set the team up for a successful start to 2024.

What other sales leaders can learn from Brandwatch

• One-to-many training repeats what tenured reps already know, so they switch off. Coaching starts from each rep's own challenges.
• When a leader has too many reps to coach, someone always misses out. External coaching means every rep gets time.
• Letting reps book sessions at their own cadence makes coaching feel like it's for them, not imposed on them.
• Accountability is the part most people can't give themselves. A coach asking what you've done since last time changes behaviour.
• Coaching is a retention and hiring advantage, because it shows reps the company invests in them as individuals.

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