What Anthony Cole Training Group does

Anthony Cole Training Group is a privately-held, Cincinnati-based sales training and coaching firm founded circa 1995 by Tony Cole, an insurance industry veteran. The company specializes in consultative sales training for the banking and insurance verticals, with a portfolio organized around three pillars: Sell (sales effectiveness training and the Effective Selling System), Coach (sales management training, Sales Growth Coaching, and the trademarked Sales Managed Environment methodology), and Hire (Sales Force Evaluations and Hiring Sales Talent services using the Objective Management Group's 21 Core Sales Competencies assessment framework). Additional offerings include a Fractional Sales Manager service, Train The Trainer programs, leadership development, and industry-specific verticals spanning commercial/retail/wealth banking, insurance, credit unions, corporate sales, and professional services.

The underlying technology is methodology-centric rather than software-centric: ACTG delivers its IP through customized, stage-based milestone-centric sales processes adapted to each client's sales culture, delivered via on-site workshops, virtual instructor-led sessions, online self-paced modules, seminars, and ongoing coaching engagements. Diagnostic capabilities rely on third-party OMG assessments rather than proprietary AI or data platforms, and content distribution is supported by the Sales Brew weekly audio/video series, free eBooks, downloadable tools (Prospect Scorecard, Personal & Business Work Plan), and active social channels. ACTG operates an LMS/login environment (salestraining.anthonycoletraining.com) for client training delivery.

The business model is high-touch professional services revenue: quote-based, customized engagements sold via a sales-led GTM motion combining direct enterprise outreach, phone-based inside sales, and content-driven inbound demand generation. ACTG targets enterprise and mid-market financial institutions across the United States, claiming a 95% effectiveness rating and 220+ clients served over the last 5 years. The company is bootstrapped (no disclosed funding rounds), holds a WBENC Women's Business Enterprise certification, and operates from a single Cincinnati headquarters with 11-50 employees.

Name

Anthony Cole Training Group

Legal name

ANTHONY COLE TRAINING GROUP, LLC

Website

https://anthonycoletraining.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Anthony Cole Training Group is a Cincinnati-based sales training and coaching firm specializing in consultative selling programs for the U.S. banking and insurance verticals, delivered via customized workshops, coaching, and proprietary methodologies like the Effective Selling System and Sales Managed Environment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Sales Training Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry & Role-Specific Sales Training (e.g., SaaS, Enterprise, Med Device) (EDABABAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Consultative Selling & Discovery (EDABABAC), Sales, Customer Service & Soft Skills Training (BPACANAD), Sales Operations, Process & CRM (Pipeline/Forecasting) (EDABABAJ), Sales & Customer Service Training (EDAGANAC)

Keywords

• Sales training services
• Banking sales training
• Insurance sales training
• Sales coaching programs
• Sales management training

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Custom Sales Training Programs: Comprehensive customized training programs tailored to organizational priorities and target markets. Programs include on-site instructor-led training, virtual sessions, and ongoing coaching engagements.
2. Fractional Sales Manager: Part-time sales management services providing experienced sales leadership for organizations that cannot afford or do not need a full-time sales manager.
3. Sales Force Evaluations: Diagnostic assessments using Objective Management Group's sales evaluation tools to understand organizational sales process, systems, and individual salesperson strengths and weaknesses.
4. Sales Hiring Talent Services: Assessment and evaluation services to help organizations hire the right sales talent based on competency analysis.
5. Train The Trainer: Training programs for internal trainers and sales managers to develop coaching and training capabilities within client organizations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Anthony Cole Training Group is a privately held U.S. professional sales training and coaching firm that designs and delivers customized sales effectiveness training, sales management coaching, sales-force evaluations, sales-hiring assessments, and fractional sales-manager engagements. Its services are focused on banks, insurance carriers, credit unions, and broader financial-services organizations, with adjacent offerings for corporate and professional services firms, delivered through on-site workshops, virtual classrooms, self-paced online programs, and seminar-format events built around its proprietary Effective Selling System (ESS) and Sales Managed Environment (SME) methodologies.

Product overview

Anthony Cole Training Group is a sales training and coaching company offering a comprehensive portfolio of programs delivered through multiple formats. The core offering includes Sales Effectiveness Training and Sales Management Training, supported by diagnostic Sales Force Evaluations and Hiring Sales Talent services. The company provides structured methodologies including the Effective Selling System (ESS), Sales Managed Environment® (SME™), and Fractional Sales Manager services. Key content resources include Sales Brew (weekly audio/video series), free eBooks (including the Relationship Selling Guide), and downloadable tools like the Prospect Scorecard and Personal & Business Work Plan. Training is delivered through online platforms, seminars, workshops, and small business programs. The company specializes in industry-specific training for banking (retail, commercial, wealth), insurance, credit unions, and professional services sectors. The product portfolio is organized around three pillars: Sell (sales training), Coach (management training), and Hire (sales talent assessment), with over 30 years of experience serving financial services clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sales Effectiveness Training Customized consultative sales skills training delivered to bankers, lenders, insurance producers, and other client-facing professionals, built around the firm's Effective Selling System (ESS) methodology.
• Sales Management Training Training program for sales managers that teaches coaching, pipeline management, and sales-leader behaviors grounded in the firm's Sales Managed Environment (SME) framework.
• Sales Growth Coaching for Salespeople One-on-one and small-group coaching engagement for individual sales professionals that reinforces classroom training and targets specific skill and behavior changes.
• Sales Growth Coaching for Sales Managers Coaching engagement targeted at sales managers, focused on building sustainable coaching habits and applying the SME framework inside client organizations.
• Sales Force Evaluations Diagnostic assessment of a client's sales force to benchmark competencies, identify gaps, and inform a tailored training or coaching plan.
• Hiring Sales Talent Service that combines sales candidate assessments with structured interviewing support to help clients screen and select sales hires more reliably.
• Sales Candidate Assessments Standalone candidate-assessment instruments used to evaluate applicants for sales roles prior to hiring decisions.
• Fractional Sales Manager Outsourced, part-time senior sales leadership engagement that lets clients access an experienced sales manager without a full-time hire, typically to stabilize or rebuild a sales team.
• Train The Trainer Program that certifies internal client trainers to deliver the firm's sales training content inside their own organizations.
• Leadership Development Development program for sales and business leaders that extends the sales training curriculum into broader leadership and coaching capability.
• Effective Selling System (ESS) Firm's proprietary consultative selling methodology that defines a common sales language, process, and competencies used across its training programs.
• Sales Managed Environment (SME) Firm's proprietary sales-management and coaching framework that structures how sales managers recruit, onboard, coach, develop, and retain their sales teams.
• Banking Sales Training Vertical-specific package of customized sales training programs designed for retail banks, commercial banks, and community banks.
• Insurance Sales Training Vertical-specific package of customized sales training programs designed for insurance carriers, agencies, and brokerages across life, P&C, and benefits lines.
• Credit Union Sales Training Vertical-specific package of customized sales training programs designed for credit unions and member-facing retail roles.
• Corporate Sales Training Customized sales training programs designed for non-financial corporate sales and account management teams.
• Professional Services Sales Training Customized sales training programs designed for professional services firms focused on client development, pursuits, and relationship-based selling.
• Online Sales Training Self-paced and virtual live versions of the firm's sales training curriculum, delivered online rather than on-site at the client.
• Sales Training Seminars and Workshops Public-format seminar and workshop offerings that deliver condensed versions of the firm's training content outside of full client engagements.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% Effectiveness Rating
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with sales force effectiveness, talent assessment, and leadership development practices that overlap with Anthony Cole's coaching and sales hiring services.
• FranklinCovey: Large training and consulting organization offering sales performance, leadership, and execution programs; competes indirectly for the same enterprise training budgets as Anthony Cole.
• BTS: Global professional services firm offering sales force effectiveness and capability-building programs for financial services clients; a broader incumbent that overlaps in the same buyer wallet.

Direct peers

• Wilson Learning: Global sales and leadership development company offering customized training programs and sales force assessments in financial services and other regulated industries.
• The Brooks Group: Specialized sales training firm with a strong focus on banking, financial services, and insurance verticals, offering customized workshops and coaching similar to Anthony Cole's BFSI model.
• RAIN Group: Sales training and consulting firm specializing in consultative selling and sales leadership, with a comparable mix of customized training, coaching, and assessments.
• Sales Performance International: Provider of the SPIN Selling methodology and consultative selling training programs, competing for enterprise and mid-market sales training engagements in B2B environments.
• Sandler Training: Large franchise-based sales training organization with proprietary methodology, ongoing coaching, and behavioral assessments; competes for the same mid-market and enterprise training budgets.
• Richardson Sales Performance: Global sales training and consulting firm offering consultative selling programs and sales management training that directly overlaps with Anthony Cole's Effective Selling System and coaching offerings.

Emerging players

• Objective Management Group: Sales candidate and sales force assessment provider whose tools underpin Anthony Cole's diagnostic offering; an adjacent competitor in the assessment and sales hiring space.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ACTG
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ACTGtrain/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/anthonycoletraining
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/anthony-cole-training-group/?viewAsMember=true

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Anthony Cole Training Group