Creating a differentiated experience for customers and associates through learning opportunities
NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Breakthru Beverage Group is transforming its training and development efforts to elevate the customer and associate experience. Over the past year, the company has focused on creating a differentiated associate experience by bolstering educational offerings that promote deep industry knowledge and continuous development for their associates. Breakthru is also providing more opportunities for their customers to learn about the latest trends and consumer preferences, as well as receiving consultative support to grow their businesses.
“We want our customer experience to be the best in the business, with Breakthru sales associates not just recommending what they should order, but rather educating and working with our customers to build a portfolio or beverage program that excites and delights their consumers,” said Stephanie Soto, EVP, CHRO at Breakthru. “That starts with our internal training and development programs, which give sales associates critical skills and knowledge that will directly impact our customers. By approaching education on two fronts, we ensure that Breakthru is providing the best, most empowering experience that truly helps customers learn more about the products they sell and better positions them to grow their businesses.”
As part of Breakthru’s dynamic route-to-market strategy, the Field Sales Manager (FSM) role has been enhanced, requiring them to invest more time coaching and developing their team of sales consultants. Hence, the training and development focus has not been just on greater industry knowledge; there has been a commitment to greater sales leadership development as well. The Field Sales Manager Learning Journey is Breakthru’s multi-tiered leadership development program designed to equip them with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to build strong teams. The FSM Accelerate program was designed and developed in-house with a multi-modality learning approach in mind. It pairs educational programming, such as workshops, a resource playbook, best-practice sharing forums, and e-learning modules with in-person, one-on-one coaching. The program helps FSMs build skills through interactive sessions that suit a variety of learning styles around effective time management, coaching and development, and building high-performing teams that are experts at meeting customer needs and making Breakthru their distributor of choice.
The FSM Accelerate program has hit the mark with FSMs, receiving a 4.7 out of 5 effectiveness rating across 36 workshops, with 95% participation. Using a ‘listen to understand’ approach, Breakthru is leveraging survey insights to continuously improve and refine the program and further tailor it to FSM needs. The Field Coaching & Development team have logged more than 800 ‘work-withs,’ or one-on-one coaching sessions, with FSMs to further embed the program learnings into their day-to-day leadership practices.
“We know that each person learns differently, and lessons need to be reinforced in a variety of ways, so we offer a variety of learning modalities to promote true behavior change and transformation from the ground up,” said Soto. “We are proud of the comprehensiveness of our FSM Learning Journey. We are committed to the growth and development of our people.”
Breakthru also offers training and educational programming directly to customers. Breakthru sales consultants are regularly in the field to share their expertise with bars, restaurants, retailers, and other groups through seminars that help customers stay on top of trends and grow their business. The Culinary Institute of America regularly partners with Breakthru leaders as guest lecturers, where they host tastings and lessons around wine and spirits to help students build food and beverage programs that they can apply in future restaurant or hospitality positions. Additionally, Breakthru recently led a spirits master class with leaders from a leading luxury hotel chain at their properties in Chicago and Las Vegas, helping them build a world-class beverage program that delights their guests.
“Building a beverage program that excites consumers is about much more than just knowing what is popular, it’s about understanding how the beverages are made, how they interact with food and how they can add dimension and excitement to a menu,” said Andy Westley, Master of Scotch and head of Breakthru’s Product Knowledge Center of Excellence. “At Breakthru, we value offering these educational opportunities to our customers. Our goal is never to just sell to them, but rather to work with them to build the best portfolio and business possible. We want to be partners in their success and growth.”
About Breakthru Beverage Group
Breakthru Beverage Group is one of the leading alcohol wholesalers in the United States and the largest broker in Canada representing a full total beverage alcohol portfolio of spirits, wine and beer. Breakthru is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and supports a wide range of notable organizations as well as local charitable initiatives across its North American footprint. Across all markets, Breakthru aligns a nimble and insightful approach to sales, marketing and operations. Family ownership is active in the business and committed to being stewards of heritage and champions of innovation. For more information, visit www.BreakthruBev.com.
