Are you:
- Worried that your sales pipeline is too thin?
- Concerned about revenue growth?
- Frustrated with sales cycles that are way too long?
- Biting your nails because profit margins are disappearing?
If any of these things are going on in your world, you may be considering whether you should engage a sales consultant, trainer or coach. The question then becomes: "How do I go about deciding who to choose?" Here are some practical suggestions:
- What are the questions I should be asking myself? Sales training, by itself, does not work! Make sure your consultant offers to help you determine whether your issues can be solved by training. Hiring practices, compensation plans, your managers' skills and how you bring new hires on-board are some of the other areas that play key roles in the success or failure of your sales efforts.
- I am considering a couple of different workshops. How do I know what is best for us? Our experience shows us that the results from seminars and workshops do not last. Choose a sales development consultant that offers on-going incremental reinforcement sessions with opportunities for practicing the skills needed to create true behavioral change in your salespeople.
- How do I train a geographically dispersed sales team cost-effectively? Ask the consulting company if they provide a blended learning solution for classroom training, one-on-one coaching and technology-delivered material for all members of your sales force. While you are at it, find out if they have skill-building solutions for their sales managers, too.
- What about measuring the return on investment? Make sure the consulting company holds itself accountable to specific measurable objectives linked to the bottom line profitability of your company and has assessment mechanisms in place both to benchmark and chart the return on your investment. Ask for the results you wish to see in order to ensure the best fit.
- What role should management play in the training? Include sales management training early on in the selection process. Managers' skills in supporting their reps will directly impact the effectiveness of the training. Inquire as to whether the consultant company supplies on-going training for management skills that are designed to work best with the sales skill building of the reps.
- How can I avoid being locked into a commitment that fails to yield desired results? Since no business partnership can be a 100 percent guaranteed perfect fit, make sure there are "off-ramps" built into the agreement so either party can declare a "no-fit" at periodic stages of the agreement in contrast to a multi-year contract that is essentially "for better or for worse."
Many sales consultants promise great results, but few truly deliver. Some offer one, two or three-day "boot camps" that are packed with glitz and glamour. The participants get excited by the pyrotechnics and the presenter's presentation skills, but real behavior change is not achieved. A couple of months later, not much has changed except the professional development budget is gone.
Other sales consultants are just that – consultants who haven't made a sales call themselves in years and have lost touch with the real world of selling. The best consultants are those that are selling as well as training and coaching, every business day. They have the experience, the war stories, and the "edge" that comes from executing the concepts and techniques that they are teaching their clients.
There are significant results available to companies who pay attention to these kinds of issues when selecting a sales consultant. A little homework can make it pay off for you!
Al Simon is president of Simon, Inc., an authorized licensee of Sandler Training. He can be reached at www.SimonSaysSell.net.
