GALA Academy Q2 2025 - Strategic Sales Dynamics in Today's Climate
Members: $175
Non-Members: $295
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This event provides a deep dive in the current sales landscape and the complex strategies needed for growth, specifically catered to the localization and translation industry. Attendees will gain practical insights on selecting the right growth path for their companies, utilizing straightforward and agile approaches to data analysis, ROI, and evolving sales team dynamics. The target audience includes Sales Managers, Business Development Leaders, and upper-level management, with a focus on improving strategic objectives, team structures, and revenue generation.
Led by Gergana Toleva of 1-StopAsia and with the participation of guest experts, the program addresses essential topics including how to build a well-structured sales team, design a personalized growth strategy, master industry-specific sales skills, and adapt to technological shifts affecting client demands. Each session is crafted to deliver actionable insights that participants can apply immediately to enhance their sales effectiveness in a rapidly changing market environment.
Target Audience
This event is for:
- Sales Managers
- Business Development Leaders
- Team Leaders in Business Development
- Executive Management
- Professionals building sales teams from scratch
- Individuals who have attempted to implement a sales team and establish effective sales practices
- Teams seeking to improve their structures and achieve higher revenue
Academy Leader: Gergana Toleva (1-StopAsia)
The Program
Session 1 - 5 May 2025, 07:00-08:30am PDT (16:00-17:30 CEST)
Sales Team Essentials in Today’s Business Environment
This session will explore the parameters and mechanics of an effective sales team for language service providers in the current environment. We’ll address the needs of both established companies and those that have recently formed their teams.
- Determining team size and structure
- Assessing affordability
- Hiring: Should we prioritize attitude or expertise?
- Training & Sales Performance
- The role of technology in sales
Guest Speaker: Ricard Sierra (Kobalt)
Session 2 - 12 May 2025, 07:00-08:30am PDT (16:00-17:30 CEST)
Building a Growth Strategy for Sales
In the second session, we will focus on crafting a realistic growth strategy for your company. We’ll outline your growth plan and address the challenges of meeting your goals, emphasizing the importance of flexibility in strategy to adapt to shifting situations while following through on objectives.
We will discuss how to effectively communicate this strategy across teams to drive goal achievement.
- Key components of your growth
- Setting and implementing goals
- Monitoring progress and adjusting goals
- Measuring success and performance
Guest Speaker: Paul Barlow (AWGS)
Session 3 - 19 May 2025, 07:00-08:30am PDT (16:00-17:30 CEST)
Mastering Industry-Specific Sales Skills
In Session 3, we will delve into the specialized skills necessary for sales in our industry. This session goes beyond general soft skills to examine essential skills specific to the localization and translation sales process. We will discuss the intricacies of closing deals in this field and how sales efforts contribute to client growth.
- Moving beyond standard soft skills: empathy and understanding client needs are just the beginning
- The essential skill set for a modern localization salesperson
- Unique aspects of the sales process in our industry
- Sales versus Production dynamics
Guest Speaker: Gwen Trystram (Dell Technologies)
Session 4 - 26 May 2025, 07:00-08:30am PDT (16:00-17:30 CEST)
Reality Check: Sales in the Age of Technology
This session will analyze the modern profile of clients seeking localization and translation services. We will explore the implications of advancing technology, the accessibility of language solutions, and how to effectively offer our services in the current market. We will evaluate the rising objections and needs of modern clients to better align our offerings.
- What do we sell when language becomes a commodity?
- How do we secure a place in clients' organizations today?
- Do we resist change or embrace it?
- If we choose to change, what strategies should we implement?
Guest Speakers: all experts from previous sessions
Given the dynamic nature of our industry, we will continually update this session’s content to reflect the latest developments.
Host organization: Globalization and Localization Association
Event Speakers
Gergana Toleva
She’s probably one of our most active colleagues. This goes for both inside the office and outside of it. Gergana
is one of the driving forces in 1-StopAsia. She uses her years of experience in sales and marketing to keep 1-StopAsia ahead of the game. The knowledge she has comes from working for some of the biggest corporations
in the world.
She’s a never ending source of ideas, strategies and funny stories. She works at our European office in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Gergana aims to be one of the bridges between our offices throughout the world. With a Bachelor of Arts in Engineering, she has a really detailed and structured approach to her work – which the effectiveness of her campaigns speaks for.
Some of her current hobbies and interests: Paragliding, running marathons, mountain biking, reading books, rock climbing and many other extreme sports.
Paul Barlow
25+ years of experience in the localization industry to help companies with their growth strategy and change management approach and execution. My mission is to enable businesses to reach their full potential and achieve their goals in a competitive and dynamic global market.
Throughout my career, I have built, grown, owned, and sold successful companies, as well as managed multiple acquisitions and integrations of the acquired entities. I have led the growth strategy for global leading companies in language services, in the North American, UK, and Irish markets, delivering on new logo acquisitions and existing customer growth. I have also developed and mentored high-performing sales and operational teams across the US and Europe, securing global clients from diverse sectors, such as software, cloud computing, life science, defense, and hospitality to name a few.
Ricard Sierra
My journey in translation and localization began in 1996 at Televisión Española (TVE), where I translated over 1,000 hours of content. This experience led me to the exciting world of subtitling and dubbing, where I had the privilege of working on acclaimed projects like the complete series of The West Wing (7 seasons). Over time, my portfolio grew to include more than 300 films, from award-winning works like Million Dollar Baby or Shutter Island to popular entertainment such as Night at the Museum, Superman and The A-Team or terrible horror flicks such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the Saw franchise.
In the early 2000s, I worked on many transcreation projects, where I created culturally adapted content for global brands including Nokia, Motorola, Hilton, and Carrefour. From 2005 to 2015, I took on an exciting role as a translator for the McLaren F1 Team, working on their live broadcasting platform for their Spanish-speaking fan base.
Drawing on these diverse experiences, I founded Kobalt Languages in 2010 to help international companies succeed in their global markets. Our commitment to solving client challenges drove us to develop innovative technology solutions. This focus on innovation has fueled significant growth for our company across three key pillars: technology, processes, and people.
Gwenola Trystram
Dell Technologies
Gwen lives in the North West of England with her partner and 3 children. She has been in the localization industry for +20 years. She graduated with a Bachelor in European Studies from Newcastle University, followed with a Master in Localization and Terminology in France. Gwen started her career as a terminologist in the car manufacturing industry. Later as a telco Project Manager she used her attention to details and optimization skills to deploy CAT tools and set quality standards in a Localization start-up. She later provided linguistic consulting as a freelancer for 5 years before she joined Dell to build a pool of multi-cultural Language Specialists. After 10 years as a Sr Manager and a tracking record of contribution to the B2B segment revenue, she is now an Engagement Manager at Dell. In this role, she ensures that all facets of the business can benefit from the localization best practices, for maximizing Dell's global presence and revenue. She also supports the design and implementation of a language strategy across the business. In 2021 Gwen has onboarded an Executive Coaching certification journey and is an active member of Dell Mentoring program.