Professionally developing salespeople with the Level 4 Sales Executive Apprenticeship

BMS Progress
Improve Performance, Progress Careers

Enabling salespeople to move forward in their careers

Lockhart, the leading distributor of catering equipment and part of Lockhart Catering Equipment, wanted to develop their team and equip them with the right capabilities. They utilised BMS Progress, specifically our Level 4 Sales Executive Apprenticeship.

Lockhart Catering Equipment

Lockhart Catering Equipment is a global organisation with numerous companies that run centrally under the umbrella – one of which is Lockhart catering equipment. They’re the leading distributor in this specialism, supplying light and heavy equipment to caterers in the UK.

Here, regional sales director, Jonathan Butler, details Lockhart’s experience with BMS Progress’ Level 4 Sales Executive Apprenticeship standard, and how it’s benefitted their business.

"The level 4 sales executive apprentice standard has provided my team members with really valuable core skills, and proved to be successful training. I was extremely impressed with the support, along with how Sarah listened to both me and the apprentices."

Jonathan Butler
:
Regional Sales Director
BMS Progress - The challenge

The Objectives

Lockhart catering equipment has an existing relationship with BMS Progress, so it made sense to continue this partnership for my team’s training needs.

Gain necessary skills

A couple of my team didn’t have the relevant experience, so lacked the core field sales skills. This meant their way of selling was quite limited. Considering it was professional sales training, rather than something like a Yelp course, I felt the apprenticeship would provide them with the valuable knowledge to move forward in their careers.

Boost professional development

The team members who enrolled on the apprenticeship were keen to develop themselves through a qualification, and be supported with training. This way, they would be able to put everything together as a professional salesperson.

BMS Progress - The solution

The Solution

I started working with BMS Progress in february 2020 when I joined the company. I was really pleased with their training and how they worked, specifically the support they offered and how they kept me (as a line manager) in the loop.

All-round support

The development coach, Sarah Jones, was always very engaged with the apprentices. She provided fantastic support and was approachable throughout the course – whether it was at the beginning understanding their needs, or near the end during the examination aspect.

Regular reviews

BMS Progress worked closely with us, and Sarah carried out reviews on a frequent basis. I was especially impressed that as well as giving good feedback, Sarah was honest and talked about areas to work on, which then helped the apprentices in their roles.

BMS Progress - The result

The Result

I’ve been really happy with the outcomes of the apprenticeship. It certainly was a success in terms of performance and giving my team members the right knowledge and skills to thrive in sales.

Exceptional performance

The apprenticeship has really boosted my team’s performance. In fact, one person delivered sales numbers as big as national account managers! He’s gone to work overseas for a while – in the Dubai Hills, no less – but we’ve offered him a promotion and significant pay rise when he returns. We’re that keen to hold onto him due to his success from the programme.

100% return on investment

We’ve definitely experienced a ROI from the apprenticeship. I’ve found that it’s not just a valuable tool for the sales team function – it’s a recruitment tool too, helping to draw people into the business.

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