If you’re stuck with a sales team that is having trouble closing deals and you’re looking for a fresh start, consider getting an outside sales consultant. It’s easier than you think. Consultants are not just marketing gurus. They have a complete understanding of how sales work and what’s at stake, so they’re able to help your sales team. They can also help you as a CEO, since they understand how sales strategies work and how to make them work for you.
Sales is a difficult and often frustrating career. Whether you’re a prospect looking for a new product or service or an existing client looking for support, you can’t always rely on your own abilities. That’s why you need to enlist the help of a sales expert, someone who can listen, guide, and help you close profitable deals.
If you want to sell your product or service, there are a few things you need to consider before hiring someone else. One of those is the range of potential outcomes. If you’re a small business owner, does hiring a sales consultant make sense? Here are a few reasons why you should consider it.
What exactly is a sales consultant and what does he or she do? A sales consultant is tasked with locating and acquiring clients for the company’s goods. They may also be individuals that utilize their talents and expertise to assist companies in increasing sales. We’ll go through when and how to employ a sales consultant in this post.
Regardless, a sales consultant’s job is straightforward: INCREASE SALES.
Other duties that may be assigned to you include:
- Sales reps are being trained on how to use new technologies to boost sales.
- Developing and sustaining a positive working connection with customers.
- Increase product expertise and market and competitor insight with the goal of boosting sales.
- Educating salespeople on the need of record-keeping.
- Collaboration with the marketing department to develop new sales and brand recognition tactics.
The characteristics of a sales consultant make them a valuable addition to organizations and corporations. They are unstoppable due to their excellent negotiation, selling, and people abilities.
Here are some things to keep in mind while hiring a sales consultant.
Hiring A Sales Consultant: The Unvarnished Truth
Choosing to employ a sales trainer or consultant is similar to choosing to go to counseling.
You have three options:
It’s Yours! You may accept responsibility for it, recognize that you need assistance, and actively seek advice and support while demonstrating a desire to change.
Go Through the Motions — You may have chosen to seek assistance, but your ego stops you from listening and acting on the advise you are given. You may go through the motions, but owing to a lack of consistency, coaching, or self-accountability, nothing sticks.
The ego often boils down to “budget” or “Oh, I can handle this myself.” Accepting that you need assistance and taking the required measures to improve your company, based on what we’ve seen and experienced in life and business, will bring you back to #1.
Do nothing (job security smokescreen) – It’s a fool’s errand to believe that things will improve without a major systemic change. No, “beatings will continue until morale improves” is no longer a realistic strategy. That strategy may have worked for Gen-X sales teams, but this is the twenty-first century, and you must change or suffer a long and terrible death.
Core Pains vs. Surface Pains
When we initially meet with a prospective customer, one of the first questions we ask is, “Why now?”
We often experience what we refer to as “Surface Pain Responses.”
Pains on the surface:
- “We were unable to score goals.”
- “We’re putting the squad together.”
- “We have a group, but everyone is doing things their way.”
That isn’t the solution we’re searching for, and you shouldn’t either.
Here are five reasons why employing a sales consultant may be a good idea:
When Should You Hire a Sales Consultant? Here Are 5 Signs That You Do
1. Losing ground to competitors
Have you seen any big changes in your company, such as decreased sales, losing ground to rivals, investors withdrawing, or losing key clients?
If this is the case, it’s time to start talking about employing a sales consultant. Their knowledge and abilities will assist you in devising new ways to resurrect your company.
2. Your sales team is unsure about what they should do.
A sales cycle is one of many components that make up a successful company. It isn’t simply a sales cycle, however. It has to be concise and unambiguous, with all stages described and in a logical sequence.
For effective sales, your sales staff should understand and follow these procedures.
3. Sales Forecasting Is Frequently Incorrect
Sales forecasting aids companies in predicting sales and income, as well as evaluating performance and implementing the necessary corrections.
A sales consultant will assist in the development of a framework that will instruct sales representatives on how to properly predict sales. They also define and assist in meeting a company’s expectations.
4. Margin Margin Margin Margin Margin Margin Margin Margin Margin Margin Margin Margin
If you’ve observed that your profit margins are shrinking or that your sales volume is constantly decreasing? Then hiring a sales consultant may be a good idea.
They will assist in identifying issues and developing ways to address them. They will also assist sales reps in improving their sales cycles by adopting effective methods for boosting the company’s sales margin.
5. A Large Number of Employees Are Leaving
Perhaps you’re losing workers at a quicker rate than you’re generating sales, or you’re spending more time recruiting and hiring new employees than you are achieving the company’s financial goals.
These are all compelling reasons to employ a sales consultant. Their presence in your organization or business will undoubtedly have a beneficial impact. They’ll assist you in identifying and resolving the issues that are causing you to lose workers.
5 Tips for Choosing a Sales Consultant
When hiring a sales consultant, there are five key talents and characteristics to look for, according to Richard Harris. A few suggestions on how to employ a sales consultant and what to look for are included below.
1. Is the applicant aware of the value of your product?
A competent sales consultant should be familiar with your company’s product as well as its worth to customers. To comprehend your sales process, they need have knowledge and awareness of your company’s past, purpose, and history.
They may accomplish this by offering to sit in on a sales pitch so that they can completely understand your sales tactics.
2. Is there a design or method that the applicant possesses?
Innovative methods or recommendations should be provided by a successful sales candidate to assist your company’s sales process. These methods should be customized to your specific requirements and expectations.
3. Can they tailor their services to your specific requirements?
An ideal applicant for the sales consultant position will be able to identify and root out areas where your business may be suffering, as well as provide a tailored solution to these issues.
They should be flexible and fluent in sales and marketing expertise in order to evaluate and execute areas that need improvement.
4. Can you tell me about their track record?
Do they have verifiable evidence of their services, such as customer testimonials or case studies from previous clients? Do they have any referees that can attest to their credibility?
5. Do they take a different strategy than the others?
A competent sales consultant should have a new perspective, which may be accomplished through studying and staying current with developing sales trends. They, like everyone else in your sales division, should have a thorough understanding of your product and its worth.
A good sales consultant should be knowledgeable and able to see things from various perspectives. They should also develop new methods and tactics and put them to use in places where they are needed. Furthermore, sales people should be trained on how to use these methods.
What Other Sales and Marketing Executives Have to Say
Keep in mind that everything you’ve just read was written before I polled any sales executives in the field. Are you able to see the parallels?
Dave Hawley, a Silicon Valley CMO, says:
When is it appropriate to hire a sales trainer?
In my opinion, the best moment to employ sales development coaching is when you have a small team that you’ve been teaching for a few months. A skilled coach may provide you with new insights that are priceless.
When the team reaches a stalemate, it’s also a good moment to call in a sales development coach. Do it right now. It’s about new views once again, but this time it’s also about undeveloped talents and possibilities that only an outsider would see.
Level Eleven’s Founder and CEO, Bob Marsh
When is it appropriate to hire a sales trainer?
When you need someone from the outside to provide your team a new perspective on how to better qualify, advance, and complete sales, you should hire a sales trainer. Many sales executives possess the necessary abilities, but lack the time or expertise to translate what is in their brains into instructional material.
From Matt Belitsky, SVP, Global Sales & Marketing at Komiko
When do you want to employ a sales trainer or consultant from the outside?
When you start thinking to yourself, I there has to be a better way…? and (ii) how am I going to accomplish this on my own? When you employ someone outside, you’re looking for more than just advice; you’re looking for someone who can put your ideas into action.
Have you noticed that?
We asked two well-regarded sales executives and a highly clever and respected CMO who has led the top-of-the-funnel SDR team in both of his prior positions to answer our questions. We did not provide them with any information.
The fact that two out of three stated “new perspective” and the third said “a better approach” should support your own internal feelings about when it’s appropriate to seek outside assistance.
If you’re having these kinds of ideas, it’s time to start having more in-depth discussions about sales training and consulting.
“Will my credibility be shattered?” (No, you aren’t going to)
Oh, and you should keep the following in mind for your “Do Nothing / Will I Lose Credibility” ruminating in the back of your mind.
You are still a human person, even if you can execute sales training on your own. You’ll always have at least ten items on your to-do list for today, tomorrow, and six months from now. As a result, hiring a sales consultant will help you grow while also allowing you to concentrate on other critical responsibilities.
Don’t worry, whether you’re an inside sales leader or even a sales enablement leader, you won’t lose your job. There are always a slew of other essential tasks to do. In fact, you will almost certainly be held in greater respect by your company and your sales team.
If you’re in charge of an inside sales team or a team of field sales representatives, you’ll be saying these things to yourself or your suspects as part of your 2018 Sales Planning. That indicates it’s time to start speaking with a sales trainer or consultant.
Do you need assistance with anything? Please contact us for a no-obligation consultation.
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We’ve all heard the saying that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, before you have 5 trees, right? We’ve all heard the saying that the best time to start a business is when you have your marketing strategy up and running, when you have no competition, when you know your niche, and when you have a product that people want. Nobody wants to start a business and build it up. Instead, these people are just starting to realize that hiring a sales consultant may be easier than they think.. Read more about sales consultant job description and let us know what you think.
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