Sales Team Struggling? This Strategy Increased Revenue by 40%!

Guest: Mohammed Mohanlal Badawi, Division Manager for Mimecast Smart Systems Division, graduate of the Systematic Selling Strategies program.

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It’s always a pleasure to get graduates from Systematic Selling Strategies to share their success stories. Today I have Mohammed Mohanlal Badawi, division manager for Mimecast’s smart systems division.
Thank you, Ramez. It’s been almost a month since we finished the course — an amazing experience, and coming back to the office brings back a lot of memories. Now that we’re in January, participating in the course during the second half of last year has shown a lot of improvement in our sales team.

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I attended the program not just as a participant but as a sales leader — we standardized the language between myself and my team so we’re better able to drive performance. What led to the need for this training?

00:01:54 – 00:02:51
My direct manager and I spoke about this at the beginning of last year. I have an amazing, motivated sales team who weren’t reflecting all the skills we hired them for — it wasn’t showing up in the numbers.

00:02:51 – 00:03:25
I knew they had potential that could be enhanced and sharpened. My belief is that the best investment any of us can make is in our own development — myself and my team.

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You knew your team could deliver more. Definitely — they weren’t there yet. The question is why, and how can we help our team? It’s commendable that your leader had been through our programs before in other parts of the business and decided to roll this out to smart systems.

00:04:47 – 00:05:16
Have the numbers improved? Definitely. By January, I can tell you last year was amazing — toward the last quarter, we were able to over-achieve the target set by management.

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Our best was the fourth quarter, and I can only link it to improvement in the daily techniques and tasks the sales team practiced while enrolled in the training.

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We installed activity tracking with your team — how did that come about, and what actions did they take?

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One key thing: managing time, prioritizing daily tasks. That led to about 30% more meetings per week — more meetings immediately led to more leads from the market, including follow-up meetings, negotiation meetings, and better closing ratios.

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We also enhanced the tracking methodology of daily activities — calls, meetings, referral requests. Having that in front of you every day reminds you of the importance of each step in the sales process.

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Whatever you measure will improve — measuring calls, referrals, conversions, weekly meetings.

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Do you remember the session on asking for referrals? We’ve been in the market for 30 years, and a good portion of business came from natural, organic referrals — but a passive approach.

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When we talked about how important it is to ask for referrals without being pushy, I wasn’t convinced at first — I thought it wasn’t my way.

00:09:23 – 00:09:40
If you ask me what changed in one word: the beliefs I had in mind. I thought asking would sound cheap — if he’s happy with our work, he’ll give referrals on his own. But that was just a belief.

00:09:40 – 00:10:26
Giving it a try, seeing the results, changed my perspective. There were things I already knew and was doing, things I knew but wasn’t doing (a good reminder), and things I never knew existed at all — it opened my eyes.

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After 20 years in sales and being a top performer, people asked why I’d take this course — you’re never too old to learn, no matter how good you think you are, there’s always room for improvement.

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Some individuals resist change — “I’ve been doing this 20 years, what will I learn?” But in a world of constant change and AI, if you keep doing what you’re doing, you keep getting what you’re getting. Open mind, courage, humility, discipline — core values that pay big dividends.

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Suppose you and your team hadn’t gone through this training the last four months — how confident would you be facing 2025 without this toolset?

00:13:42 – 00:14:11
You’d be in a state of “I’m doing my best, we’re doing okay” — but it wouldn’t be good enough. Like trying to convince a child to try something new — once they try it, they say “I’ve been missing out.”

00:14:36 – 00:15:00
If we hadn’t enrolled, I might have been satisfied with last year’s numbers, not knowing what I could have done better. You cannot go wrong with learning — it always leads to personal and professional improvement.

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Beliefs drive emotions (fear, anxiety, confidence), emotions drive actions, actions drive results. How are you continuously refreshing these ideas to keep reaping the benefits?

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Not everyone in the office attended the training, so we pass the information along — those who attended keep refreshing their knowledge by teaching those who haven’t, preparing them to be enrolled next.

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We hold weekly sales meetings looking at numbers and pipeline, discussing what could have been done better, recalling what we learned in the Academy.

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How to apply lessons next time and monitor whether it worked — it’s a continuous process. If you attend training and leave it behind, you’ve wasted your money.

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Sharing what they’ve learned with others enhances retention and creates a common language — using the same terms, like “know, like and trust,” the CARE formula (Credibility, Ability, Reliability, Intimacy, Care).

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One factor I hadn’t measured before as a manager: how much time the team spends on preparation before a meeting — the research and analysis.

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Spending more time on research about the client, opportunity, and projects leads to much less time closing — you’re more relevant, understanding the situation and timeline.

00:21:23 – 00:21:46
Not knowing what you don’t know is a blind spot — in a fast-evolving world with AI agents becoming more available.

00:21:46 – 00:22:07
Humans can be amplified with the power of knowledge, showing up fully ready in front of a customer — AI exists to help humans, not replace them.

00:22:07 – 00:22:33
Sales is all about emotions, empathy, and building relationships — something that will never be replaced by a machine.

00:22:52 – 00:23:16
What’s your experience with the Academy for Sales Excellence AI Coach app, for rehearsed sales conversations? It was impressive — the number of scenarios you can practice, elevator pitches, negotiation, overcoming objections.

00:23:47 – 00:24:12
As much scenario as you put in front of yourself, the more you prepare and improve your responses — it's an amazing tool for practicing, and I can see AI playing a big role in coaching and training.

00:24:32 – 00:25:18
Having a tool that allows continuous practice, like a flight simulator — what comes out of our mouth makes or breaks us, so measuring how it comes out matters.

00:25:18 – 00:26:08
The real-life stories from your own experience during training are inspiring — without such examples, information doesn’t get in the same way.

00:26:14 – 00:27:29
At the Academy, we’re fortunate to have unique, talented individuals bringing their own toolkits from years of experience across different business fields — retail, high tech, IT, consultants — we’re all selling.

00:28:26 – 00:28:55
Could you quantify how much more sales resulted from the extra activities? Q4 was around 40% better than the average of Q1, Q2, and Q3.

00:28:55 – 00:29:29
It wasn’t a surprise given the increment in leads, visits, meetings, and the ratio of closure turning leads into opportunities and quotations.

00:29:29 – 00:29:57
One thing I hadn’t measured before: the sales cycle has been shrinking, all leading to better figures — almost 40% better achievement, and we started this year with a very healthy pipeline.

00:30:18 – 00:30:43
Learning is a habit — after training, the team is reading new books we discussed during sessions.

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It’s a culture of openness, your desire for change, and your leadership — you went with them, encouraged their behavior, built habits they follow. It’s all about leading.

00:31:37 – 00:32:11
Any last tips for people considering this program? You have to try it — this urge for learning will open your eyes and affect your business and personal life.

00:32:12 – 00:32:41
You think you don’t have the time, but once you attend, you’ll see you’ve been managing your time wrongly. There’s no better investment than an investment in ourselves.

00:32:41 – 00:33:07
I’d encourage everyone to at least give it a try — that resistance and ego of “we’re doing fine” means you don’t know what you’re missing, what you could have done better.

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We’re looking forward to enrolling in more advanced courses in the future.

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The speed of the team is determined by the speed of its leaders — your participation and openness is an example for all business owners, sales leaders, and directors to embark on this journey. You reap what you sow.

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If you’re sowing growth and personal development, it can only lead to growth and more sustainable results.

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The Inspire One More movement — sharing your story with others invites people to also experience the same. If this makes sense to you, click the link below and book a discovery call to see if this is the best fit for you.

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