5 years in the past, when potential clients began asking questions in regards to the carbon footprints for Hewlett Packard Enterprise services, members of the sustainability workforce have been known as in. Their mission: Reply authoritatively; uncover buyer ache factors associated to issues resembling decreasing and reporting on carbon emissions; and illustrate how HPE merchandise meet these wants. 

HPE tracked the monetary influence of these conversations on serving to shut offers. The outcomes have been comparatively modest on an annual foundation till fiscal 12 months 2022 (ended Oct. 31). That’s when the worth of contracts pushed by the sustainability workforce’s efforts to speak up power effectivity, circularity and different associated options reached $1.3 billion for the 12 months. 

That was only a small slice of HPE’s general $28.5 billion in income for fiscal 12 months 2022, however it’s a 400 % improve in contrast with 2018 outcomes, in response to HPE’s newest ESG progress report. Then, curiosity in sustainability discussions grew dramatically final 12 months, far past what the devoted specialists on HPE’s sustainability workforce might deal with, in response to Monica Batchelder, HPE’s chief sustainability officer for 10 months. So the corporate began a program to coach its salespeople on the significance of company sustainability for purchasers and prospects, in addition to how HP applied sciences can play a job in assembly sustainability objectives.

What clients have to find out about sustainability

Over the previous two years, Batchelder stated extra IT clients have begun requesting details about how sure know-how investments may also help with company net-zero targets — how they’ll inflate or scale back carbon footprints — in addition to how they may be used to measure ESG-related metrics and handle them. 

“Significantly in industries like banking, the place they’ve big knowledge facilities, an enormous IT footprint,” Batchelder stated. “They’re like, ‘The [chief information officer’s] bought this sustainability KPI. We’re not sustainability individuals. We don’t even perceive greenhouse gasoline emissions. Assist us perceive how we quantify this, how we put a technique in place and the way we report on it.’” 

For sectors outdoors manufacturing, she stated: “Your IT property might be your greatest supply of operational emissions or at the least in your power draw.”

Antoine Poincare, vp of The Local weather College, a coaching initiative provided by consulting agency Axa Local weather, stated company sustainability studying and growth efforts are beginning to embrace a gross sales agenda. “Each main tech agency is now beginning to roll out know-how designed for sustainability, and so they want their salespeople to debate these merchandise with confidence,” he stated.

The necessity to do that isn’t distinctive to tech companies, Poincare stated, noting that as extra business-to-business corporations search to report on the carbon footprints of their provide chains, gross sales coaching will change into extra frequent throughout all industries, even partly to stay aggressive.

Turning salespeople into sustainability execs: 4 modules

What does this coaching appear like? HPE launched voluntary on-line lessons in its fiscal 12 months 2023 to show pre-sales, gross sales and buyer engagement workers into advocates for what it calls “sustainable IT.” (This system can also be accessible to the community of gross sales companions who promote HPE merchandise. ) 

The coaching movies embrace greater than 9 hours of technical classes in addition to 4 “gross sales professional” modules that define greatest practices for buyer discussions. The modules have been created at HPE and the people featured embrace prime HPE technologists and consultants from throughout the corporate. 

In a kick-off gross sales professional module, HPE Chief Gross sales Officer Heiko Meyer talks up why sustainability is essential for HPE and its clients, in addition to why it’s a chance for income development.   

In a second module, the corporate’s chief technologist for sustainable transformation, John Frey, identifies phrases resembling “ESG” and “round financial system,” the usage of which could recommend an IT skilled is open to a sustainability product dialogue. He describes ache factors clients would possibly expertise, resembling inflexible enterprise fashions or not sufficient industry-specific aggressive info to make educated selections about sustainability technique, and cites potential objections, like prices. He additionally offers the next questions that salespeople would possibly contemplate asking prospects:

• Is sustainability, and particularly sustainable IT, a vital a part of your technique and, if not, are you beginning to transfer in that path?
• Do you could have carbon neutrality aspirations? 
• What’s the timeline for these and the way large of a job do your IT operations play by way of your organization’s whole footprint?  

Within the third module, Batchelder affords greatest practices for delivering the HPE sustainability narrative, together with ESG market insights and case research involving different HPE clients. 

Lastly, the fourth module within the collection is a 13-minute pattern pitch for its cloud service, GreenLake, which may scale back a corporation’s power prices by as a lot as 30 %. Extra background supplies embrace an interview with HPE’s CEO, Antonio Neri, about its ESG technique and coaching movies about matters just like the 5 largest sources of greenhouse gasoline emissions.  

The modules can be refreshed later this 12 months with updates and new programs, and HPE plans to create a “badging” program that designates people as specialists on sustainability matters.

How salespeople will assist HPE get to internet zero

Curiosity has already far exceeded HPE’s expectations for participation. As of late July, near 2,500 gross sales, presales, channel companions and different workers had accomplished the gross sales professional modules. That far outpaces the common of 1,000 learners yearly for related non-mandatory HPE gross sales coaching initiatives, in response to Batchelder. “A number of thousand extra” individuals attended in-person trainings, she stated.

Batchelder is inspired. “Salespeople aren’t going to take this until their clients are asking about it, and that they know they should equip themselves to answer these questions,” she stated.

HPE salespeople are incentivized on product gross sales, regardless whether or not the merchandise have a sustainability focus. Compensation for its government committee is tied to the corporate’s efficiency in opposition to its net-zero objectives — primarily based on objectives  particular to every division, resembling assembly sure design objectives for power effectivity or the usage of recycled content material. HPE’s aim is to chop operational emissions by 70 % by 2030, primarily based on a 2020 baseline.

“For us, I believe [this sales training] is especially essential as a result of two-thirds of our carbon footprint is downstream buyer use, proper?” Batchelder stated. “That capacity to affect buyer habits and have interaction with clients even earlier than the sale of the product goes to be more and more essential for corporations to get to internet zero.” 

Is your organization equipping its gross sales groups to pitch sustainability? What has been the influence on income? Inform me your story at [email protected].