A true sales transformation partner will leverage your best practices, determine opportunities that will create the greatest impact and help you drive adoption and alignment throughout your organization.
When you consider working with an outside company, remember that you’re looking for a true business partner. You don’t want a company whose focus is “rip and replace.”
You know your company best. Keep what’s working, change what isn’t.
Here are three questions you should ask before you hire a sales consulting firm or sales transformation partner:
1. How will this partner ensure continued success of its methodology?
The best sales enablement initiatives “draft-in.” They build on your current best practices, while helping you make a positive impact in areas where you can make the greatest improvement. If you wipe the slate clean with every new program initiative, you’ll be left with one-off achievements, rather than long-term success.
Adoption and reinforcement are critical in making any sales initiative successful. Without a plan to drive and champion the initiative, sales reps will have no incentive to execute new methodologies, leaving your results to fall flat. Make sure your sales transformation partner has a clear plan to enable you and your front-line managers to reinforce success. Whether they provide refresher sessions, spaced learning opportunities, or on-site reviews, you want a partner who’s going to drive a cycle of commitment, coordination and competence around your sales initiative. Reinforcement and measurement should be built into the methodology.
2. How does this partner differentiate themselves from its competitors?
One of the first steps towards launching a sales initiative is to clearly outline the required capabilities and positive business outcomes (PBOs) you are looking to achieve.
Where would you like to see the most improvement?
• Improve margins across your sales team?
• Increase your average deal size?
• Boost sales productivity and decrease ramp-up time?
Once you’ve defined these key points, determine how your potential partners will execute on those PBOs differently and/or better than the competition. Assess their differentiators in terms of the initiative's requirements.
3. What tangible evidence of past work can be provided that will indicate future success for my organization?
Ask for the tangible points of reference on how each solution will provide the results your company needs. Look for measurable results and proof that the organization has been able to drive success for other companies, like yours. Interview a counterpart at a previous client company to help determine how this vendor will be able to drive sales transformation within your organization.
One of the keys to successful sales transformation is a partner who drives an adoption mindset, rather than a single training event. Do the work up front to find the right partner for the revenue goals you’re looking to achieve. This due diligence will ensure lasting and measurable results and long-term success.
