Overview

Channel 3 Consulting partnered with Delta Learning to build a consistent, repeatable approach to how its consultants identify, qualify, win and grow client work. As a consulting firm, Channel 3’s commercial success depends on consultants, not a dedicated sales function, spotting opportunities and developing client relationships, so the priority was to turn strong delivery and good intent into disciplined, sustainable growth, rather than leaving business development to individual instinct.

Delta Learning designed and delivered two complementary two-day workshops, Business Development and Account Development, supported by a firm-wide Sales Practitioner Guide and some specific playbooks. Around 30 consultants across Channel 3’s practice attended the workshops, working in cohorts and applying every tool to their own live client accounts as they learned it. The programme was sponsored by Joe McGarry, Channel 3’s Executive Partner and Head of Sales and led by Steve Bussey, founding partner of Delta Learning.

What Was Delivered

Business Development Workshop

A two-day, highly experiential workshop refreshing and upgrading consultants’ core consultative sales skills, delivered in cohorts of around nine delegates working alongside professional actor-coaches at a 3:1 delegate-to-coach ratio. It covered how to build relationships and secure appointments through referrals, insight and triggers; how to build presence on LinkedIn; understanding communication preferences through Tracom’s Social Styles Model; the GRID questioning structure for sharper client conversations; how to communicate tangible and intangible value; and how to structure and deliver a compelling sales pitch. Role-play scenarios were written specifically around the types of conversations, customers and objections Channel 3 consultants meet day to day, with actor-coaches playing the customer role and giving live feedback.

Account Development Workshop

A two-day workshop, capped at 12 delegates, built around the theme “Growing Accounts Through Insight, Relationships and Rigour.” Consultants worked through White Space Analysis to map current versus potential service penetration within real client accounts; built Case Worthy Client cases and mini client stories; mapped stakeholders using a Customer Value Chain; applied the MEDDPICC qualification framework to a live opportunity; practised stakeholder outreach through role-play; and worked through what good account governance looks like. Each cohort finished by building a 90-day Account Development Plan against a real client, incorporating a white-space assessment, a stakeholder map, an outreach and contact strategy, a governance structure and at least one MEDDPICC-qualified opportunity.

Sales Practitioner Guide

A single operating model created for Channel 3, giving the whole firm a shared language and standard for managing accounts and opportunities across three areas: Planning & Targeting (Account Plans, White Space Analysis, Customer Value Chain, Case Worthy Clients), Opportunity Management (Business Development, GRID-based qualification, Value Quantification, MEDDPICC), and Governance & Cadence (Sales Process, Sales Tools, Opportunity Reviews, Sales Cadence). The guide was paired with a “One Sales Community” collaborative workspace to keep the tools and standards live across the firm.

Objectives

The programme was designed to:

Give consultants a structured, repeatable approach to identifying, qualifying and progressing opportunities; both within existing accounts and with new clients, rather than relying on individual instinct.
Build fluency in the MEDDPICC framework so opportunities are qualified, forecast and progressed consistently across the firm.
Sharpen core consultative sales skills, including questioning, value communication and pitching, and give consultants a live, low-risk environment (via professional actor-coaches) to practise them.
Identify and prioritise growth opportunities within existing accounts, including white space and cross-selling, using live client accounts rather than hypothetical case studies.
Translate learning into lasting practice through a shared practitioner guide and role-specific playbooks for consultants and managers, so the approach is embedded rather than left as a training memory.

Key Outcomes

Feedback was collected from both workshops via post-training surveys.

Business Development Workshop

Every respondent rated the training content relevant to their role, every respondent said the actor-led role-play reflected real situations they encounter with Channel 3 customers, and every respondent left the workshop feeling “very confident” applying the techniques to their day-to-day business development conversations.

“The training was really instrumental in developing our business strategy techniques, particularly with different types of clients. Many thanks for a great training session.” — Ellie Colyer, Channel 3 Consulting

Account Development Workshop

Every respondent said the training met their expectations, that the content was relevant to their role, and that they felt more confident applying account development techniques afterwards. The live account-planning format — working on real accounts alongside peers from across the business — was consistently cited as the most valuable part of the training.

“A brilliant session exploring how B2B sales and account development techniques can be deployed in our industry.” — Chris Tack, Channel 3 Consulting