ElevateHER is a sales mastery programme specially designed for women entrepreneurs. It comprises of workshops, data-driven sales evaluations, tailored sales skills plans and an overnight retreat. The programme’s main purpose is to boost sales skills through a series of interventions, made unique by evaluating 21 core sales competencies for each participant. The programme is designed by women who are themselves entrepreneurs and career changers. Most of all, ElevateHER offers an ambitious, supportive community for those who want to get better at sales hence growing their business and becoming less reliant on investment, funding, and grants.
How we got funding
Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government announced a call for applications. We compiled an application outlining the programme scope, the potential impact and key outcomes. It was a quick turnaround, only 2-3 weeks to design a programme and submit the application. We held back fairly quickly afterwards, and then it was all GO!
How we ran the sales mastery programme
Following a call for proposals for the Scottish Ecosystem Fund 2023/24, our Co-founder, Dr Yekemi Otaru considered the gaps in the current ecosystem services. She explains,
“There’s a lot of support for entrepreneurs looking to start-up and those seeking growth. We have numerous opportunities for companies to develop technology, conduct R&D, and the like.
Yet, there isn’t specific support for developing sales skills. I also saw a deeper gap when it came women founders. They are often under-supported and not included due to several issues. Some of these issues are highlighted in the Pathways Report published in 2023.”
So, ElevateHER was designed to encourage women to develop sales skills, show them what they are already good at and where they can improve, and then give them deeper sales knowledge in key areas.
Doqaru made a call for applications in October 2023, and we had 53 applications. 30 women were then offered a place to join us on the programme from November 2023 to March 2024. Yekemi describes the series of events covered by the programme, “We had online events and some engagements that required the women to complete evaluations, e.g., sales skills and behavioural preferences – we saw a link between culture, behaviour and affinity to sales.”
Towards the end of the programme, we held an in-person event at the lovely Maryculter House Hotel, Aberdeenshire, on March 14th-15th, 2024. Yekemi shares that this was a real highlight, “I’m so glad we ran a retreat. I hadn’t thought about it as a main part of the programme but at the start of the programme planning, when Sarah (Co-founder & CRO) and I discussed the design and outcomes, we decided to include an in-person event that will be reflective and inspirational.”
The retreat was a brilliant opportunity to welcome the programme participants to meet, mingle, and share their experiences not only in the past few months but also in their career and life experiences.
We had a wide spread of locations that participated, with most coming from Aberdeen & The Shire, Edinburgh and Glasgow. We look forward to welcoming women from other parts of Scotland when we run this programme again.
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