The challenge facing Inmarsat
Inmarsat, now part of Viasat, has been a pioneer in satellite communications for decades. Their technology powers everything from maritime safety signals to defence communications and aviation connectivity. But by 2020, the business was under pressure.
COVID had disrupted revenues. Competition from newer players like Starlink was growing. And inside the company, the global sales team—more than 150 people spread across regions—was inconsistent.
Salespeople were confident in managing existing accounts and renewals, but less skilled in winning new business. Too much of their work was focused on partners and account management. Too little was focused on proactive, value-based selling.
Inmarsat knew that if they continued down this path, they would be forced to compete on price alone. That was not sustainable for a premium service. They needed to change how their sales teams thought, acted, and sold.
Why they turned to Neil
The easy route would have been to hire a large global training provider. But those programmes are expensive, rigid, and often too generic. Inmarsat, led by a visionary learning and development leader, wanted something else—training built around their people, their markets, and their reality.
Neil was introduced by a VP of Sales who had once worked for him. What stood out immediately was not just his experience in corporate sales, but his ability to combine teaching with coaching. He had sold to organisations like Inmarsat’s customers. He understood the pressures of price, competition, and complexity. And he had a proven methodology in Whiteboard Value Selling that could be shaped to fit their world.
Coaching leaders before training salespeople
One of the inspirational initiatives that their learning and development leader suggested was that the first step was not a classroom. It was one-to-one coaching. Neil spent three sessions with every Sales VP and Sales Director across the globe.
This served two purposes. First, it helped Neil understand the real issues in the business—far beyond what might have been captured in a briefing. Second, it gave leaders the chance to experience coaching themselves, building trust and buy-in from the top down.
That investment shaped everything that followed.
A programme built for Inmarsat
The initial training itself was delivered during COVID, which meant going online. But rather than default to endless webinars, Neil designed a programme that was practical and engaging.
- Cohorts of 10–12 people working together in “carters.”
- Self-paced learning supported by four live online workshops, each three hours long.
- Buddy sessions pairing participants across regions and sectors, sparking collaboration and even new opportunities.
- Group coaching after the workshops, where teams brought real deals to the table and worked on them together.
- A dedicated Inmarsat Value Selling book and workbook, written specifically for their products, markets, and customers.
Even small details mattered. For example, the final session was run with everyone in Hawaiian shirts. It added energy, broke down barriers, and showed that learning could be both rigorous and enjoyable.
What changed inside the sales organisation
The following year, Inmarsat’s sales teams exceeded their targets. Across the board, results were stronger—revenue up by an average of 20%, and deals closed at higher margins.
But the deeper impact was cultural. Conversations shifted from product features to business value. Salespeople learned how to ask better questions, listen more carefully, and connect their solutions directly to a customer’s challenges. Sceptical veterans, once resistant to training, became advocates.
Collaboration also improved. Buddy sessions forged relationships across regions, leading to real wins—like a breakthrough with Qantas in Australia. And by bringing pre-sales, commercial, and support staff into the programme, Inmarsat created a shared language that made their teams more effective together.
These changes show what happens when training is not about a generic process, but about transforming behaviour and embedding new ways of thinking.
Closing thought
For Inmarsat, the goal was never just short-term results. It was about creating a sales culture that consistently sells on value, not price. By embedding value-based thinking into everyday conversations, across every region, they achieved both immediate impact and lasting change.
Neil continues to help organisations make that same shift—bringing sales teams together around a clear, confident way of selling that puts value at the centre.
Book a discovery call
