Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
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Milko George

Wokingham

Summary

With over 15 years of experience in Strategic Selling, Sales and Revenue Enablement, I bring a wealth of senior executive expertise, underscored by the successful establishment and leadership of Enablement teams. I have a proven track record of transforming these teams into strategic assets that catalyse sales transformation in organisations, particularly those seeking to adopt a more consultative approach towards their clients. My career spans across diverse organisations, including those experiencing hypergrowth. This has equipped me with the unique ability to scale enablement and learning functions to support double and sometimes triple-digit growth in headcount and revenue YoY. My blend of sales methodologies, technology, and data analytics has consistently streamlined operations, enhanced productivity, and boosted team performance. Among my notable accomplishments are revamping the sales process for a Fortune 500 company, leading to a 15% increase in deal size and an 18% reduction in sales cycle length. I have also redesigned Sales Onboarding, reducing ramp-up time by 15%, and introduced a sales coaching framework that increased quota attainment by 21%. As a seasoned executive, my ultimate goal is to help organisations innovate and scale through a holistic approach to sales enablement. My ability to build and lead Enablement teams from scratch and transform them into strategic functions is a testament to my leadership and strategic planning capabilities. I am committed to leveraging these skills and experiences to drive continuous growth and success in my career.

Overview

21
21
years of professional experience
4
4
Languages

Work History

Global Director of Sales Enablement

Criteo
03.2022 - Current
  • Established and Spearheaded the Global Sales Enablement Team: Within a nine-month period, transformed the existing Product Training organization into a comprehensive Global Sales Enablement team, achieving full global coverage
  • This initiative included the recruitment and structuring of the team, highlighting leadership in team development and strategic direction
  • Revolutionized the Sales Onboarding Process: Implemented a 'Fail Fast' approach, as recommended by Gartner, to optimize the onboarding process
  • This innovative strategy reduced new hire ramp-up time from 18 to 12 weeks by focusing on the 'Time to First Deal' metric, ensuring a rapid and resource-efficient integration of new team members
  • Launched the 'Pitch Masters' Program: Initiated a global competitive pitching program, 'Pitch Masters,' to foster a culture of excellence in pitching
  • This program was designed to promote consistent, sustainable improvement in sales pitching skills across the company
  • Developed the Sales Enablement Charter: Crafted a strategic five-year Sales Transformation plan, the Sales Enablement Charter, to support the commercial organization's transition to a new business and sales operating model
  • This plan was in response to the evolving core market and offerings of the company, guiding a strategic shift towards a more adaptable and forward-thinking sales approach
  • Innovated the Sales Cycle Across All Business Segments: Introduced a new sales cycle for the three primary business segments, integrating advanced sales strategies and processes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in client engagements
  • Implemented the MEDDPICC Framework: Adopted MEDDPICC as the primary qualification framework for enterprise customers, standardizing the approach to assessing and engaging with potential clients to ensure high-quality, strategic opportunities are pursued
  • Launched 'Elevate', a Consultative Selling Program: Designed and implemented 'Elevate', a program based on Value Selling principles
  • This consultative selling approach was developed to elevate the sales team's capability in engaging with clients, emphasizing the delivery of value-driven solutions and outcomes.

Head Of Training

TikTok
12.2020 - 03.2022
  • Expanded the EMEA Training Division: Amplified the team size from 2 members to 20, integrating new methods that streamlined the journey of employees from new recruits to top contributors
  • This strategic growth resulted in a notable elevation of the Net Promoter Score (NPS) from 56 to 82
  • Revamped Onboarding Protocols: Refined the onboarding methodology by reorganizing content and prioritizing hands-on tasks over theoretical instruction
  • This refined strategy culminated in an 80% drop in training-related grievances during my leadership
  • Curated an Extensive Learning Catalog: Devised and rolled out a robust learning suite encompassing role-centric functional sessions, sales modules, and advertiser-centric courses to cater to varied instructional requirements
  • Elevated Training to a Strategic Tier: Transitioned the training domain into a pivotal organizational ally, securing a 60% surge in primary indicators within a year by channeling efforts towards systematic training plans rather than isolated demands
  • Achieved Excellence in Knowledge Dissemination: Reached a commendable 95% efficacy in imparting knowledge for platforms and system modules, and amplified operational proficiency via process automation, contributing to a 46% boost in client contentment
  • Sourced Expertise for Training: Engaged trainers from Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) within the enterprise and forged collaborations with external Learning & Development firms to fortify training prowess.

Sales Enablement Director

Groupon
09.2019 - 11.2020
  • Within an 8-month period, established the Sales Enablement function, expanding the team from 2 to 6 members, quadrupling the number of weekly training sessions delivered, and marking the creation of the first Sales Enablement function outside the US market
  • Enhanced sales manager productivity by 12%, measured by average teams quota attainment, by creating and implementing a Sales Leadership Program for first-level sales managers
  • This curriculum emphasized Consultative Selling skills, a Sales Coaching Framework, and Platforms and Systems training, including the introduction of Salesforce Lightning and Einstein
  • The program also incorporated various soft skills modules, including Difficult Conversations, Giving and Receiving Feedback, Managing Performance, and Assertiveness
  • Introduced the Sales Training and Enablement Governance process to prioritize learning projects, resulting in a 60% reduction in the backlog, a 50% increase in sales training completion rates, and a 10% increase in win rates
  • Designed a Sales University certification program targeted at the Hyperlocal Project sales teams, leading to a dramatic 92% increase in quota attainment in the pilot areas of the project, compared to a same-quarter control group.

Training Manager

Red Hat
03.2016 - 09.2019
  • Directed Training Initiatives: Coordinated training efforts across two of Red Hat's largest geographical areas
  • Led a team of 10 facilitators specializing in Sales, Leadership and Management, and Technical trainings
  • Managed relationships with multiple external vendors and controlled a budget exceeding $5M
  • Strategic Oversight and Budgeting: Managed strategic planning, budgeting, delivery, and evaluation for both regions with a Learning & Development budget of 5M USD
  • This leadership resulted in a 60% increase in customer satisfaction and a 5% reduction in employee attrition
  • Sales Onboarding and Enablement Program: Introduced a comprehensive sales onboarding and sales managers enablement initiative in EMEA and APAC
  • Achieved an 89% satisfaction score and reduced ramp-up time from 12 to 8 weeks
  • Collaborated closely with sales enablement, HR, and sales teams to produce both classroom and online training resources and deliver instructor-led sessions
  • New Learning and Development Model: Pioneered a new Learning and Development framework across APAC and EMEA
  • Streamlined the design and delivery of learning strategies to elevate employee engagement and improve productivity metrics
  • Enhanced Training Satisfaction: Increased program participants' satisfaction with training services by 14%, as highlighted by post-training survey feedback, underscoring the alignment of our training services with participant requirements
  • Learning Management System (LMS) Implementation for Red Hat University: Successfully specified and implemented a new Learning Management System (Totara) tailored for Red Hat University to cater to internal learners, enhancing the learning experience and resource accessibility.

Sales Training Delivery Manager EMEA

HP Inc
08.2015 - 03.2016
  • Managed the EMEA Delivery Team by leveraging between internal training resources (trainers and SME) and vendor-based delivery
  • Coordinated the delivery readiness worldwide with the Americas and Asia-Pacific-Japan mangers
  • Delivered 17% cost savings on delivery of sales training by managing relationship with vendors in terms of delivery readiness (resources availability, language-specific delivery capacity, knowledge of the audience, customizations, post-training analysis based on L1-L4 assessment), and budget forecast and management
  • Transitioned training delivery from Hewlett-Packard to HP Inc
  • During the company separation process, including processes, forecasting, budgeting and reporting
  • Lead the design of new business processes for the Sales Trainings organisation, which increased the training effectiveness by 15% and improved the course evaluation by 7 points
  • Developed in-depth knowledge of deliverables and processes within the Training Delivery Organization, increasing process efficiency by 30%.

Senior Learning and Development Consultant

HP Inc
04.2011 - 08.2015
  • As an L&D Consultant for HP, trained and coached 5,000 learners in the EMEA region on situational Breakaway Selling (Consultative Selling), Sales Negotiations and Business Acumen, as a regional lead; trained and coached 500 learners on consultative selling techniques and coached 50 managers on management skills
  • Trained over 5,000 sales representatives, managers, and account general managers (key account managers with accounts over 100M) in Consultative Selling with an average of 96% of highly satisfied (4.8 out of 5 points) learners
  • Delivered 70+ trainings in FY13-FY14 to groups of 15-50 learners in UK, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Russia, Israel, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and USA, resulting in an average training rating of 4.77 out of 5
  • Achieved 94.8% overall satisfaction on L2 feedback from learners' managers for FY14, exceeding the target of 90%, by conducting weekly 1-on-1 meetings with the learners to ensure their success
  • Designed, developed, and delivered an interactive, blended, vILT and self-paced eLearning course on Basic Business Finances, for the Printing and Personal Systems (PPS) Business Group of HP, to increase awareness and understanding of key financial metrics, allowing senior managers better understand the financial performance of the business with the aim to increase HP's market share and profitability.

Co-Founder and COO

LiveMedia
01.2008 - 04.2011
  • Co-founded and served as Chief Operating Officer of LiveMedia, the proprietor of leading Bulgarian news portals livenews.bg and livesport.bg, a project that successfully attracted 1.2M € in private and VC investment
  • Orchestrated the project from inception to execution, including business planning, pitching, funding, team building, and daily operational management, leading to the successful launch and sustained growth of the company
  • Pioneered the first cloud-based internet news portal in Bulgaria, implementing a pay-per-use model in IT operations for both site and CDN (Content Distribution Network), which resulted in significant cost savings and operational efficiency
  • Developed a compelling business plan, presented this strategy persuasively, and secured 1.2M € in funding, thereby equipping the company with the necessary financial resources for growth and expansion
  • Designed business processes, established the organizational structure, and recruited the majority of the initial staff, creating a robust foundation for the company's operations
  • Delivered impressive results, including 100% YoY growth in the customer base, a 60% increase in revenue streams, and securing the company with 750K € in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR).

Corporate Trainer in Marketing, Sales and Leadership

eFlag
03.2003 - 04.2011
  • L&D Consulting and Sales, Marketing and Leadership training design and delivery of boutique Sales, Marketing and soft skills trainings for various companies, such as Kraft Foods, Raiffeisen Bank, First Investment Bank, OTE, Siemens, Modern Times Group, Central European Media Enterprises, Nestle, Bosch, Glaxo Smikline, Metro Cash & Carry and Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, etc, which resulted in increased sales and team productivity and efficiency
  • Developed customer-facing training programs that increased training effectiveness by 20% and customer retention by 10% through gap analysis, instructional design and course delivery for a broad range of sales, leadership and marketing topics for a diverse group of customers
  • Led the development of blended learning programs for Leadership, Marketing and Sales, resulting in a 10% increase in market share within 1 year
  • Developed and managed the first e-learning and community portal for the marketing industry in the country, with more than 5,000 registered users (www.yvox.net - not functioning since 2011).

Sales Marketing Manager

Nexcom
06.2005 - 10.2007
  • Launched a set of new services on the Bulgarian and Macedonian markets - a carrier selection service, retail broadband plans, Virtual PBX for SMB's, remotely deployed local Direct Inbound Dialing numbers, as well as self-care customer sites for all services, thus creating an additional revenue of approx
  • 400,000€ per year, over the course of 3 years
  • Successfully implemented b2b services for the SME segment with a total sales of more than 500,000 € in two years
  • Participated in the development of the business plan for the company, that led to securing 18M USD investment from Intel Capital and MCI Management Poland
  • Successfully managed a project to launch WiMAX services of the company, including product definition, pricing, sales channels definition, communication strategy, distribution and sales partners policy and negotiations, which achieved a market share of 60% in the first year, and generated an annual revenue of $2 million
  • Developed the WiMAX footstep in Macedonia and Croatia by participating in the development of the tender documentation, business plans, product description, competitive analysis, pricing, sales policies, distribution partners and communication, enabling the company to secure a WiMAX license in Macedonia.

Education

Postgraduate Degree in Business Administration -

University of Wales

Skills

Sales Strategy Development

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Timeline

Global Director of Sales Enablement

Criteo
03.2022 - Current

Head Of Training

TikTok
12.2020 - 03.2022

Sales Enablement Director

Groupon
09.2019 - 11.2020

Training Manager

Red Hat
03.2016 - 09.2019

Sales Training Delivery Manager EMEA

HP Inc
08.2015 - 03.2016

Senior Learning and Development Consultant

HP Inc
04.2011 - 08.2015

Co-Founder and COO

LiveMedia
01.2008 - 04.2011

Sales Marketing Manager

Nexcom
06.2005 - 10.2007

Corporate Trainer in Marketing, Sales and Leadership

eFlag
03.2003 - 04.2011

Postgraduate Degree in Business Administration -

University of Wales
Milko George