Business and Industry acumen for sales and marketing
By focusing on mindset shifts and practicing critical moments, BTS can help your team produce leaders that can more readily adapt to change and be more connected with their team needs. These leaders have a greater understanding of societal change, which will make them the ace-in-the-hole you need to adapt your strategy for the future.
Build a personal connection through hybrid selling
With unpredictable sales cycles and market disruption becoming the norm, we have experienced a dramatic shift in how salespeople work and how clients expect to interact with them. Establishing a personal connection is now more valuable than ever.
Traditionalist clients who would never take a virtual meeting in the past have now been forced to experiment with virtual communication tools and are more likely to accept some meetings as virtual interactions.
BTS’s robust digital experience can help you build a strategy that leverages the strong interpersonal skills of your salespeople to seize this new opportunity and bring your clients along with you.
Coaching the sales coach
There may come a time when you need to launch a transformation or initiative where nothing off-the-shelf applies. The BTS team are experts in building custom solutions for organizations of all sizes. In these cases, we begin by minimizing complexity and zeroing in on what great people in your organization already do.
By aligning that with the context of your market, as well as our extensive research and experience, we can create custom sales methods, assessments, and training to build a framework for you going forward.
Assessments for sales and marketing
Organizations are seeking ways to quickly assess the ability of their sales and marketing talent to meet the evolving needs of customers. Assessing talent should be flexible, accessible in the flow of work, cost-effective, easy to deploy, and rooted in a strong point of view. We work with organizations to provide high-impact assessments for hiring and selection, baseline understanding of capabilities, and to create tailored development journeys.
Speed up your sales cycle and become an Accelerator Seller
We uncovered that the best organizations today help customers understand how their solutions accelerate customer business results. Sellers, sales managers, and marketeers need to perform at their best in common, critical situations to help customers accelerate their desired business results.
Rather than describing broad skills, our experience tells us that focusing on “what Great looks like” in specific, common situations. Our set of critical sales and marketing modules enables your team across the value chain to be Great when it counts.
Toolkit
BTS believes that meaningful results are achieved through a journey of learning, development, and execution. Because we sit at the intersection of consulting and learning, we have a front-row seat in this journey. These insights allow us to create industry-leading products and experiences that can revolutionize your talent.
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Virtual Facilitation
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Momenta
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Assessments
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BTS Coach
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Digital Learning
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Business Simulations
Large scale events
Bringing your teams together means more now than ever before. Elevate those moments with BTS.
I think we can all agree that BTS provided a jet-assisted lift-off of our client-focused growth strategy.
The latest in sales & marketing
How AI is accelerating leadership development by enabling more practice
In today’s fast-paced business world, developing leaders who can navigate complexity, inspire teams, and deliver results is more critical than ever. Yet, traditional training methods often fall short in addressing the scale, personalization, and immediacy required to create lasting change. AI-powered practice bots are emerging as a transformative solution, offering leaders unparalleled opportunities to practice, grow, and improve—faster and more effectively than ever before.
Feedback with precision and accessibility
Feedback is the cornerstone of leadership development. However, research from Gallup reveals that only 26% of employees strongly agree that the feedback they receive improves their performance. Feedback all too often misses the mark, because it is too vague, infrequent and not relevant to the job at hand. AI practice bots address this gap by providing instant, objective, and actionable feedback through simulated conversations. Well trained practice bots, armed with leading-edge, business-specific knowledge on the critical skills needed for leaders, offer the most valuable simulated conversations, and the most accurate feedback.These bots mimic real-world scenarios such as performance reviews, stakeholder negotiations, and high-stakes presentations. Leaders gain immediate insights into their communication style, areas for improvement, and actionable next steps—all without the need for scheduled coaching sessions.Moreover, AI expands access to high-quality feedback across all levels of leadership. No longer confined by time, geography, or resource constraints, organizations can now equip every leader with the tools they need to grow. This scalability ensures consistent, equitable development opportunities while fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
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Limitless practice for deeper growth
Behavioral change is built through deliberate practice, yet many traditional training programs provide limited opportunities for leaders to apply what they’ve learned. A study from the American Psychological Association (APA) highlights that repetitive, focused practice is essential for mastering new skills.AI bots remove barriers to practice by offering leaders unlimited chances to rehearse critical conversations, test new approaches, and refine their strategies. Whether delivering constructive feedback, managing conflict, or influencing stakeholders, leaders can practice important conversations without fear of judgment or failure.Available 24/7, these bots integrate development into daily routines, accelerating skill acquisition and embedding new behaviors. The result is not only faster growth but also greater confidence and readiness to tackle complex challenges.
Amplifying human insight through AI
AI bots enhance leadership development not by replacing human expertise but by amplifying it. They excel at handling repetitive, data-driven tasks such as providing feedback and tracking performance trends. However, the role of human insight—through coaching, mentorship, and relationship building—remains irreplaceable.According to Deloitte, organizations that combine AI-powered tools with human-led learning experiences see a 33% increase in effectiveness. AI provides the structure and scalability to ensure consistent development, while human experts bring empathy, context, and nuance to guide leaders on their unique journeys.This synergy between technology and human insight accelerates individual growth while creating a ripple effect across organizations. Leaders not only develop the skills they need to excel but also inspire their teams and drive meaningful cultural change.
Transforming leadership development with AI practice bots
AI practice bots enhance leadership development by:
- Delivering precise, personalized feedback: Instant insights empower leaders to grow faster and with greater clarity.
- Offering unlimited opportunities to practice: Leaders can refine critical skills anytime, embedding growth into their daily routines.
- Providing data-driven insights: Bots analyze performance trends across leaders within an organization to inform targeted training strategies.
- Scaling impactful learning: Accessible to leaders across geographies and roles, AI ensures consistent and equitable development opportunities.
By enabling leaders to practice more, grow faster, and lead with confidence, AI-powered bots are transforming leadership development—one conversation at a time.Discover how AI practice bots can enhance your leadership strategy and deliver lasting results.
Navigating Leadership Challenges
P R E S S R E L E A S E
Stockholm, March 3, 2025
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – BTS Group AB (publ), a leading global consultancy specializing in strategy execution, change, and people development, has agreed to acquire Sounding Board, a technology-based leader in scalable, high-impact coaching solutions driving transformational leadership development.
“With this acquisition, BTS can leapfrog its current technology and operations with the integration of a team and platform that is considerably more productive and ready-to-scale globally than our current technology. The acquisition allows us to create and take to market a very differentiated offering and to faster expand BTS’ current USD 40 million coaching services, taking advantage of the growing USD 7 billion coaching market, and to increase our margins,” says Jessica Skon, CEO of BTS Group.
Founded by Christine Tao and Lori Mazan in 2016, Sounding Board is a silicon-valley based start-up with USD 7 million in scaled coaching revenue in 2024, delivered through the company’s proprietary technology platform. With over USD 45 million in capital invested in its technology, Sounding Board has pioneered a modern, proprietary platform to fully meet a company’s scaled coaching needs. The addition of Sounding Board’s coach network will create a combined BTS network of 700 credentialled coaches with global reach.
The acquisition is expected to have a slightly positive impact on EBITA in 2025 and a positive impact on both earnings and margins in 2026.
Sounding Board is differentiated in the market with a unified software platform for coaching that can be utilized for both external and internal coaching and mentoring programs. With a track record of high client retention, a global network of expert coaches, and a data-driven approach to leadership transformation, Sounding Board has been taking market share with its scalable coaching solution offerings. With future support from BTS global account managers and access to BTS’ global client base, the acquisition will be a pivotal moment for both firms to continue their mission together.
“Sounding Board’s innovative coaching platform, efficient and scalable operating model, combined with both firms’ global reach of world class, consistent top 5 percent coaches, is exactly what our clients have been asking for. They are tired of inconsistent coaching quality from competitors and platforms that don’t reinforce their organization’s unique strategy and culture,” concludes Katrin Mulford, BTS Partner and Global Head of Coaching.
"We are joining BTS to amplify and accelerate our impact,"
said Christine Tao, Co-founder and CEO of Sounding Board.
"BTS’s global reach, broader leader development solutions, industry-leading simulations, and AI-based coaching and practice for strategic plays and culture shifts, are exactly the additional tools clients are looking for to complement our coaching. Together, we will redefine how companies prepare their people, deliver ongoing change at scale, and develop leaders who drive transformation."
“Joining forces, we will simultaneously drive growth and win market share within coaching, fortifying our reputation in making strategy personal, while also driving automation and efficiencies for our clients and in our operations as we scale. By replacing our platform with theirs, the handling of all the steps in the coaching process will become significantly more effective, from scheduling to coaching to insights and billing. It will be easier, faster, and less resource intensive to manage large programs with tens of thousands of leaders. In addition, Sounding Board’s operating model will serve as an example inside BTS as a more tech-forward way of working,”
adds Jessica Skon.
The acquisition includes a limited initial cash consideration as well as additional purchase price considerations paid between 2025 and 2028, provided the acquired business meets specific targets during that period. The transaction is expected to close as soon as the completion procedures have been finalized, which are expected in March.
BTS's strategy for acquisitions aims to create a broader base for future organic growth while actively consolidating in a highly fragmented market. Through its acquisitions, BTS seeks to serve new and existing customers with innovative services.
For more information, please contact:
BTS Group AB
Jessica Skon, CEO
+1 (415) 203 1760
Michael Wallin, Head of investor relations
michael.wallin@bts.com
+46-8-58 70 70 02
+46-708-78 80 19
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Cultivate Braver Conversations for Trust & Innovation
In today’s rapidly changing world, leaders must foster environments where open dialogue, trust, and innovation thrive. But are "safe spaces" enough? In this article published in the Winter 2025 issue of Rotman Management, Andrew Atkins explores how leaders can move beyond comfort to create braver spaces—ones that encourage authenticity, diverse perspectives, and meaningful change.Discover the seven dimensions that define conversational spaces, the pitfalls of toxic and overly safe environments, and ten actionable strategies to cultivate braver conversations in your organization.
- Learn how braver conversations drive innovation and collaboration.
- Understand why "safe spaces" can limit growth and honest dialogue.
- Get practical tips to create a culture of trust, engagement, and psychological safety.
Ready to transform your team’s conversations? Download the full article now. (This article appears in Rotman Management Winter 2025.)
Re-imagining a CEO leadership summit
For more than five years, a multinational software corporation has partnered with BTS to deliver high-impact experiences at scale. These engagements have ranged from coaching to leadership development, strategy alignment, and go-to-market change and transformation initiatives.
Last year, the organization’s leadership team asked BTS to co-create and deliver their bi-annual CEO leadership summit, which included the top 120 leaders in the company across all business units.
The end of solution selling
When a multinational enterprise information technology company came to us about building an onboarding program for their new sales hubs, they were trying to train their inside sales reps for the enterprise sale. We helped them see that these new reps needed to know the “blocking and tackling” of sales – getting past gatekeepers, overcoming objections and demoing products – more than they did executive-level conversations.
Accelerating a sales transformation at a leading global financial services firm
A leading global financial services firm is executing on a significant transformation towards increasing the use of digital technology and implementing goals-based client conversations. With changing customer expectations, firms across the industry are grappling with making both of these shifts.
Implementing the intelligent enterprise
A multinational enterprise software corporation was about to embark on its journey to implement an entirely new global business strategy: The Intelligent Enterprise. To successfully communicate and align its top leaders to this new strategy, the software company partnered with BTS to design and facilitate a critical CEO leadership summit where the top 120 global leaders came together to align and build a plan to execute the strategy.
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