Blackburn-based training company Sales Geek has reported 80% growth in 2020 and is now looking to recruit up to four new team members to meet demand for services and support the growth of its franchise offer nationally.
A multi-award-winning provider of sales training to a huge variety of businesses, Sales Geek pivoted rapidly at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, moving all its services online.
Since then, it has won its first international client, launched its first franchises, moved into new prestigious premises on Blackburn’s Cathedral Square and launched the free version of its Sales Geek Hub app, which now has users across the globe.
Sales Geek founder and CEO Richard Few said: “We’re immensely proud of our entire team for achieving such phenomenal growth in the last year, especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which we are aware has negatively impacted so many businesses.
“It has to be acknowledged that some of our growth has, in fact, been stimulated by our actions in adapting to the pandemic. When the pandemic first hit, we were simply forced to take our entire product portfolio online. But in doing so, we found new doors started to open that might not have appeared visible before, sometimes as a direct result of the pandemic itself.
“For instance, one of the biggest jobs we won earlier last year was for the Department for International Trade, providing training to help UK exporters affected by Covid-19 to pivot in the short term and also sell online overseas.
“We then won our first international client after a customer in the USA sat in on one of our newly launched online workshops and decided he wanted us to do the same for his team in the States. Prior to the pandemic, the idea of delivering training across the Atlantic wasn’t even on our radar.
“Soon after, we launched our Sales Geek Academy™ as a purely online training package, which has skyrocketed. While we had clients across the UK before the pandemic, training had always been delivered live either at our premises or the customer’s. But since moving everything online, the travel element has been taken out of the equation, which has seen our capacity ramp up massively, providing further growth and room for expansion.
“As far as what the future holds, we think the new normal will see a return to some clients preferring face-to-face training where possible, while many will still enjoy the convenience of distance learning after finding out what is possible during lockdown. With the growth of our UK franchise network, we’re aiming to be able to serve both requirements to the highest standard, so overall we are feeling optimistic about the opportunities and challenges of the post-Covid environment.”