There’s an average of 14 million sales jobs in the U.S. today and only 4% of colleges offering a sales education. Luckily, eight-month-old Chicago-based startup Victory Lap is filling a gap that will benefit both those seeking a sales job and those hiring a sales candidate.
Victory Lap provides a tuition free, two-week sales training and job placement program to help candidates land sales jobs at some of Chicago’s best companies, and to help employers hire better sales reps, faster.
Victory Lap’s mission is rooted in a strong passion for sales unlike most, while actively solving for roadblocks in the higher education system, including unemployment and underemployment, the student debt crisis, and the lack of a formal sales education. Victory Lap sources, qualifies, and trains the next generation to become top sellers through an intensive classroom experience, which includes expert led instruction and real life practicum in the form of live sales calls across the nation. Victory Lap also supports companies in the hiring process by sourcing, screening, and training entry-level sales candidates, providing a deeper analysis of qualifications to execute a more efficient hiring and onboarding process.
“Working in the sales industry for ten years, I saw an opportunity to give young professionals the exposure, tools, and support to truly succeed in a sales career,” said founder and CEO Brian Bar, who was the former Head of Sales Onboarding at Groupon. “They aren't gaining this sales knowledge prior to starting their job, and it's negatively impacting their success and the employers. Our goal is to build a platform that allows more people to succeed sooner in their sales careers.”
With the average cost to hire at $7,000 and the average turnover cost at $114,000, Victory Lap has tapped into what they believe is a missing step in the career journey for both those seeking a job and those hiring. Companies such as ReviewTrackers, Jellyvision, OfficeLuv, G2 Crowd, ActiveCampaign, and more have already begun working with Victory Lap in two ways: as an employer who hires Victory Lap graduates, and/or as an employer who brings Victory Lap in for company sales training.
According to Kevin Nolan, former Vice President of Sales at Spring Rewards, Victory Lap is truly “disrupting” Chicago’s sales industry. Kevin stated, “All the pains I’ve experienced due to the time and cost of trying to source, interview, hire, train, and ramp-up new candidates is now being streamlined. Getting a candidate that has a higher likelihood of not only working out, but also being a top performer, saves so much money. I just wish I had access to it sooner.”
To date, Victory Lap has seen a multitude of early successes. Over 600 students have applied to the monthly program, 61 have been accepted, 91% have landed a job, and over 11,000 live sales calls have been made. Victory Lap has grown their employer network to over 50 companies, and is slated to double that number by the end of Q3. Most recently, Victory Lap was named a 2017 startup to watch, and advanced to the Top 8 of Chicago Inno’s 2017 Tech Madness competition.
