SAVO and Second City Communications Partner to Create Improv for Sales

Comedy Powerhouse Teams With Sales Productivity Solution Provider to Create Funny, Engaging Content That Enables Salespeople to Perform Better

News provided by

SAVO

Dec 10, 2014, 10:00 ET

CHICAGO, Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Second City Communications, the business solutions division of the world-renowned improvisational theatre, The Second City, and SAVO, the market leader in sales productivity solutions, are partnering to expand Second City's innovative RealBiz Shorts Sales content library into the sales enablement space. This alliance will provide engaging and compelling sales training solutions to companies of all sizes around the world.

The Second City-SAVO partnership is designed to benefit companies looking to speed the learning curve for new sales reps and retain their top talent. Sales enablement subscribers to RealBiz Shorts Sales will have access to unique video content based on real-world insights and scenarios across all stages of the sales cycle. In close collaboration with a community of sales enablement leaders from the financial services, high tech, business services and manufacturing industries, Second City and SAVO will develop a library of funny, engaging videos that highlight critical learning moments throughout the sales cycle.

"Time-to-productivity and sales rep retention are two ongoing challenges for our clients that are forcing them to reevaluate how they train and retain top talent," said Kurt Andersen, CMO of SAVO. "Through our partnership with Second City, we're enabling companies to lower turnover rates and improve ROI and revenue through increased employee engagement. Second City's humor coupled with SAVO's industry-leading technology platform and our shared community of client partners helps us create powerful content that works."

Second City's community co-creation process gathers client leaders in sales effectiveness, sales enablement, marketing and learning at The Second City theater to co-create content with Second City actors through live, onstage improvisation. This process ensures that the videos are both amusing and on target from a training standpoint, and allows for a faster development timeline than traditional methods.

"Sales – like most business – is an act of improv. We've helped thousands of organizations hone the skills of an improviser, making them more engaging and effective communicators in critical moments when working through the buyer's decision-making process," said Steve Johnston, president of Second City Communications. "More than 450 global companies – including Google, Deloitte, Farmers Insurance and Dow Chemical Company – are members of our RealBiz Shorts community, contributing to training content that engages people, improves internal communications and lifts training ROI."

The new Second City-SAVO partnership will feature a day-long co-creation event at The Second City theater in early 2015, incorporating improv sessions that highlight situations relevant to sales professionals, including prospecting through qualification, needs analysis, solution recommendation and closing. The content created from the event will be pushed live in the Improv for Sales digital library. For more information about joining the growing community and the co-creation process, please visit RealBiz Shorts at: www.realbizshorts.com.

About SAVO
Founded in 1999, SAVO enables its clients to drive sales productivity improvements through its on-demand sales enablement platform, which maximizes the sales team's ability to communicate value and differentiation in clear, consistent and compelling ways. Combining proven sales and marketing best practices with award-winning technology, SAVO addresses all aspects of the sales enablement challenge — spanning people, process, insight and technology. For more information, visit www.savogroup.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

About Second City Communications
Second City Communications (SCC) is the business solutions division of the world-renowned improvisational theatre company, The Second City. Drawing on The Second City's 55-year legacy of connecting with audiences through powerful, incisive content, SCC works with hundreds of Fortune 1000 clients each year in blended learning/training programs, internal communications initiatives, and brand marketing assignments. Its RealBiz Shorts library currently features subscription content for sales effectiveness, talent management, and ethics and compliance.
http://www.secondcitycommunications.com.