#GirlsClub: A Program for Rising Female Sales Leaders
If you’re familiar with Factor 8 or #GirlsClub, you may know that I founded both companies, but you may not know how they are intertwined.
Here it is: Factor 8 eLearning and live training classes are repeatedly ranked as the #1 and #2 favorites of #GirlsClub participants!
Of this, I’m tremendously proud. To have the “required management skills” come out on top with a program that includes Mentors, famous guest speakers, intimate interviews, speaking opportunities, and more… tells me we’re doing something right over here.
While we’re on the subject of good news, a few more “#GC” stats I hope you’ll help me celebrate:
- To date, we’ve had over 1400 active participants from 700+ companies in 750+ cities and 25+ countries
- Over 85% of the women who started the program graduated and certified
- About 40% started as managers (the other 60% aspiring managers) and over 60% ended as managers – for our last cohort, 24 promotions and counting in under 6 months!
- Over 13,000 learning “shots” consumed in The Sales Bar over 6 months (AKA pieces of content)
- The average test score was 95%
- There were 8 awards given
Our mission is to change the face of sales leadership by helping more women earn leadership positions.
So how’s #GirlsClub different from the training you already know from Factor 8?
- We train in cohorts across various companies, industries, and even countries.
- It’s all 100% virtual and the content isn’t customized for any particular company.
- We assign the participants (called “Protégés”) to work with their leaders on activities, customization, and application – bottom-up instead of top-down.
- We add a curriculum around confidence-building & risk-taking.
- Each Protégé gets a Mentor (most are other females, but our male mentors are also super popular).
- We do “spotlight” opportunities like LinkedIn takeovers, blog posts, speaking engagements, and more.
Conversely, with Factor 8 programs, your sales team is your cohort. It allows for more customization and deeper dives into situations and needs, customized curriculum and activities, and hands-on coaching for managers and reps. Factor 8 programs usually last a year and can also include certification (with a bit more stringent requirements for demonstrating skills).
We also don’t include all the confidence-building and community portions of #GirlsClub in The Sales Bar for Factor 8 clients. In short:
Factor 8’s goal is to move the number and change lives.
#GirlsClub’s goal is to build confidence and change lives.
We don’t mean to disclude the guys (in fact we award our favorite “Ally” male supporter each year). But I chose to keep #GC women-dominated to create a safe space.
Studies show women won’t speak up in male-dominated environments nor will they take a risk until they feel 100% confident. So we talk about that stuff. We ask female role models about discrimination, wearing beachwear on company award trips, and yes, even sexual harassment (folks, nearly EVERY woman has had a story). Yuck.
There is a day in the future when my two companies will blend more and I don’t confuse people with my double persona. But for now, what we’re doing with #GirlsClub is really working and I’m not messing with it.
Get it now and want to help or get involved?
#1. Identify female talent and encourage them to get into management. They won’t feel ready. Send them to us. Applications open each Fall and our new cohorts start in April. Learn more at: https://wearegirlsclub.com/apply/
#2. Sign up to Mentor (1 hour/month & 6-month commitment) + free access to the entire program and community. Contact us to learn more about being a Mentor: https://wearegirlsclub.com/contact-us/
