Case Study: LORD Corporation

Training Sales Leadership to Drive Global Growth

Challenge

LORD Corporation is a Cary, NC based diversified technology and manufacturing company offering adhesives, coatings, motion management devices, and sensing technologies to more than 26 countries globally.

For over 90 years, the company has worked collaboratively with companies in the oil/gas, aerospace, defense, automotive, and industrial manufacturing industries. LORD offers a range of industrial solutions including high performance adhesives, thermal coatings, specialty chemicals, flight control equipment, and vibration/motion control systems.

In 2017, LORD Performance Materials and Dynamic Systems divisions engaged Ascension, and our strategic partners the Penn State University Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM), to design and deliver a customized consultative sales training program targeted specifically at their sales leadership.

Solution

Ascension delivered a highly customized program combining classroom delivered consultative sales training content with personalized, hands-on coaching/mentoring/feedback and tips to help LORD create ongoing sales performance management practices that can be implemented well into the future.

The training focused exclusively on sales management issues and best practices. In total, approximately 30 LORD sales leaders responsible for leading a combined 100+ person sales force participated in the multi-day program.

Additionally, LORD sales managers participated in diagnostic sales manager assessments and HRDQ personality profile testing used by Ascension to train behavioral adaptation techniques to build interpersonal rapport critical in B2B new business prospecting and account management.

The program featured highly interactive, scenario-based role plays and a focus on advanced B2B sales strategies practiced in highly competitive categories by the most sophisticated companies in the world.

Impact

The highly customized, best practice consultative sales manager training helped position LORD for business expansion within current customer accounts and development of new commercial prospects.