How Do You Know You Need to Hire a Sales Consulting Firm?

Bringing in the right sales consulting firm can be a game changer for your sales organization. Things like shorter sales cycles, predictable revenue and improved sales productivity can take an organization from being a company that struggles every quarter to one that facilitates a path to repeatable revenue growth. 

Bringing in a sales consulting firm is a great idea (we are a little biased), but it isn't a magic bullet. If you want true sales transformation in your organization, you need more than just your sales team involved. Every part of the organization needs to be on board. Often it can help to have an outside perspective to pull the best ideas together and move the unproductive ones to the side.  

When do you need to hire a sales consulting firm? 

1. When you’re making a bold leap forward

Expansion can be exciting but can create a daunting task for leadership. While your current staff may be the best in the industry, it can expedite your success if you use a partner. Expert advice can help ensure you leave nothing to chance and that your sales processes, content and tools are aligned to support your leap forward. Here are a few examples of strategic company-wide shifts that will likely demand strategic alignment the sales organization and how a partner may be able to help you get your team equipped to execute faster.

• Shifting to a new pricing model
• Selling new, groundbreaking technology
• Business maturity and upmarket growth goals

2. When there is a misalignment between sales and leadership

Misalignment between sales and leadership can often happen after a major transition, such as a merger, acquisition or a CEO change. Too often these shifts happen without a clear strategy for aligning your sales processes to the business strategy. A sales consulting firm can ensure you keep what's working with the new strategy and fix what isn't. Generating alignment with cross-functional leaders takes a concerted effort. As a busy sales leader, you've got a day job. A proven partner understands what it takes to drive organizational alignment around a strategic sales transformation initiative. They can lessen the burden on you, helping you generating cross-functional alignment on the sales strategy and ensure it's tied critical company priorities. 

Joe Marcin, former SVP of Global Sales at ClickSoftware shares how making their CEO and Senior Leadership team part of their sales transformation journey helped them achieve lasting results, including driving nearly 100% forecast accuracy, quarter after quarter. Read their story here.

3. When investors require it

Investors sometimes feel that a change is required in the company’s approach to selling. Perhaps they feel that the sales team is underperforming, or they may be investors in other companies that have seen dramatic improvements after a sales transformation. In such a scenario, sales leaders must be ready to have frank conversations about where their teams are succeeding and where improvements can be made.

Questions to ask when considering a sales consulting firm

Each sales consulting firm has its own methodology, its own philosophy, and its own set of previous customers who may or may not have seen an improvement as a result of their partnership.

When assessing the options, try to research the following areas:

• Methodology: What is the firm’s approach? How do they go about assessing existing processes? How do they identify solutions? What do they do to ensure their solutions have long-term benefits?
• Differentiation: What sets each firm apart from all the others? Is there something in their philosophy that makes them sound like potential partners for your sales team? What benefits do they offer that you can’t find elsewhere?
• Value: What’s the value of the kind of growth they are promising? How does that compare to the cost of partnering with this firm?
• Track record: What case studies and testimonials are available? Have they got a track record of delivering success? Have they worked with companies like yours in the past?
• Additional investment: Will the firm's approach likely result in you having to make additional investments, such as installing new systems or hiring additional people? If so, do you have the resources for such investments?

Working with the right sales consulting firm should feel like a partnership, not a vendor/client relationship. The more your partner understands your team and shares your vision, the greater your chances of success.