Meet Our Client: VVA

To deliver successful construction projects that improve the built environment, VVA prides itself on acting as an extension of its clients’ organizations. As a national project management and cost management service provider, the company adds value at every stage of a project and makes sure client spaces are built for success.

From the company’s project managers to its directors, VVA’s goal is for everyone to be able to offer specialized expertise to customers, along with the resources needed to lead projects from start to finish—whether they involve corporate interiors, education spaces, or performing arts venues.

Challenge: Leaving Reactive Sales Behind

VVA wanted to help its employees accomplish two things: become better listeners and shift from reactive to proactive planning.

Proactive sales professionals know how to stay engaged with customers, ask the right questions at the right times, provide helpful resources, and make personalized recommendations based on goals and KPIs.

But it was important for the company to find training that could be rolled out in a cost- and time-efficient manner. “Everyone here is busy,” says VVA Managing Director Chris Petryshin, who runs the company’s regional offices. “They manage their projects, and we manage their capacity. Training is an important part of a person’s growth and development, but we needed it to be done quickly and effectively.”

Solution: Sales Development for a Growing Team

VVA relies on Revenueify’s sales coaching and time and priority management training to help employees overcome potential issues and obstacles.

The relationship began with Petryshin applying some of the tactics and strategies he learned from Revenueify on his own. When he saw the impact of these changes, he made the business case to take the sales training and coaching firm-wide.

“As a mom-and-pop company that has now grown to 100 people, making sure everyone has the professional development they need gets harder. Who are we looking to develop? How do we get coaching for those people? What do they need next? We’ve been using Revenueify’s services a lot more as our company expands,” explains Petryshin. “I get to pick and choose what we need based on what I see in my one-on-ones with employees, as well as with my own personal development.”

For example, when someone new takes on a sales role but doesn’t have lots of selling experience, Revenueify steps in to help with sales training.

“They sit with my people and use their leadership, mentorship, and real-world business examples to win our people over,” he explains. “And we always know how things are going with training because there’s an ongoing dialogue.”

VVA has also found value in using DiSC Sales Profiles, which are available from Revenueify to help salespeople better understand themselves, their customers, and their relationships. When new employees join the company, for example, one of the first things they do is complete a DiSC profile.

Based on the employee’s role—typically senior manager or higher—Petryshin also makes sure they know how to apply a simple, customer-focused interview process taught by Revenueify called “FIND,” which helps them know how to ask the right questions in four critical areas.

“Revenueify acts as an extension of my HR organization, and as my training development engine,” he describes. “We use them very strategically as a consultant whenever we have a sales training need. I’m even able to take new employees through some of the onboarding and training on my own based on what Revenueify has provided us over the years.”

Even seasoned sales professionals learn something new from the training—including Petryshin himself. He remembers how his first session with Revenueify went. After completing the DiSC profile and discussing time and priority management, the sales coach asked him to start selling something.

“I immediately started talking instead of asking questions,” he says. “That night, I went home and was angry because I didn’t do well. But I knew I needed to take the ego and emotion out of the equation. Once I did that, I learned to be a better listener not only at work, but also with my family. It’s personal and professional for me. It makes you a better person, and you build more meaningful relationships once you learn to listen carefully to folks and hear them out.”

Chris Petryshin, VVA

Results: Higher Emotional Intelligence Leads to Higher Sales

After seeing the impact of Revenueify’s sales training and development, VVA has widely adopted the use of DiSC profiles and the FIND method in its selling and business development processes.

As a result, Petryshin has watched the emotional intelligence of VVA improve as employees learn how to better relate to people externally and to each other. Because they’re able to work better as a team, he says employees are also able to sell more enterprise services. “The tangible results are about winning work,” he explains. “The intangible results are about building enterprise accounts across our regional offices.”

Employees use the sales tactics they learn from Revenueify anywhere—from one-on-one conversations with clients to meetings in the boardroom, and any place in between, like events.

In time, Petryshin plans to tie Revenueify’s sales training to performance reviews to help motivate employees to reach their goals.

“This training from Revenueify is a key part of our success. Listen, and you will win work. You’ll win meetings. You’ll win the day. When someone from VVA walks in, we want people to think, ‘Wow! That person really thinks differently.’ Does the client want to have a long conversation? Do they ask lots of questions? Are they slow and quiet? Whatever they prefer, we’ll know how to handle it.’ ”

To improve company-wide revenue and margins, VVA is also working closely with Revenueify to implement a tailored REVUP Achiever sales training program, designed specifically for the company's sales professionals.