Why You Need to Hire a Sales Consultant Immediately

There’s no way around it. You need a

. In any form of business, having an outsider step in and observe the inner workings of your company is a necessary way to attain new perspectives that will not only educate your salespeople, but help them do what you placed them there to do—increase revenue and put more money in your pocket.

Don’t be fooled by any negative people who say that hiring a sales consultant is a waste of money. It’s not. The only waste is you not maximizing your salespeople to succeed. And because of this, you’re missing out on tons of revenue every month.

The benefits of a sales consultant speak for themselves:

-No taxes, benefits, or need to involve human resources

-Scalable contracts

-Agenda-free advice

-Brings ideas from other companies and industries

-Flexible work

-More experience than new-hires

-CRM/software knowledge

-Sets a great example for your team

-Teaches your team how to thrive

The best time to hire a sales consultant is when you have a team in place that’s been working for at least a few months. When that team starts to plateau—that’s when you know that you need an outsider to come in and offer some guidance. Don’t put off hiring a consultant. Potential sales are being wasted every day while your team struggles. Oftentimes, those team members, even with impressive resumes, have wasted potential with skills that are underutilized. Worse, perhaps they operate without even being aware of some of the skills they possess. That’s why a sales consultant is so important—he/she can recognize how to maximize people’s skills and abilities in ways that you are not aware of. That’s not to say that a sales consultant will make you look bad or incompetent. You were probably able to, initially, unleash many skills in your team members that a sales consultant would not have been able to do on their own.

Again, do not feel negatively in any capacity for bringing in a consultant. Even though you can successfully run a sales team yourself, you are just one person who has plenty of other responsibilities. You’re always going to have dozens of things to do each day—so, proudly cross off sales training from your to-do-list and let someone else take the time to do the work. After hiring a consultant, you’ll now have more time to adhere to all your other tasks. Do not assume your salespeople will hold you in less esteem when you bring in a consultant; in fact, you will probably be held in higher regard by the team and others in your organization for doing all it takes to maximize the earnings of your company.

Common signs one needs a sales consultant include:

-There have been a lot of recent changes in the market place.

-You have a losing margin.

-You experience a lot of employee turnover.

-There’s no defined sales process.

-You keep experiencing inaccurate sales forecasts.

A smart business person should do all they can to hire a sales consultant who has these five qualities:

–Persuasion:

Sales consultants have to know how to persuade potential customers to purchase products. He/she must have extensive knowledge concerning how to convince a buyer that a) the purchase is necessary and b) the product is priced fairly. The salesperson must be thoughtful and creative enough to easily point out the benefits of any product or service. Persuasive ability is truly key, as the consultant should naturally be able to easily communicate information. Not to mention, a good consultant actively listens to potential clients and is always prepared to answer any questions the consumer has.

–Positivity:

Any respectable sales consultant is aware that a positive personality increases the likelihood of a sale being made. Your consultant should smile often and that smile should be real. The language used by the consultant should be positive—unless he/she is discussing something with you that has negative connotations. A really great consultant is enthusiastic and does not complain unless absolutely necessary. He/she will be aware that more positivity equals more sales. If your sales team lacks positivity, perhaps a consultant can be the missing link.

–Outgoing Personality:

All sales consultants have a naturally outgoing personality. They are ready to reach out to strangers in order to make a sale. Anyone who’s even slightly timid on your sales team can benefit from learning to be more outgoing. Your sales consultant should be so experienced that he/she can approach strangers without even having a sales lead. Consider it a huge red flag if your consultant has a cold, unresponsive attitude. That’s the last type of personality your sales team needs to be around.

–Attention to Detail:

A great sales consultant is naturally detail-oriented. He/she should step in and almost immediately be able to account for changing rates, leads, confirmed sales, inventory, accounting, and more. The person should be able to help your sales team become very knowledgeable about what they’re selling. He/she should teach the team to maintain logs and files so they can be easily be accessed when needed. The consultant should also utilize his/her detail-oriented skills to help sales people improve their ability to take notes before, during, and after client meetings.

–Diligence:

The most successful sales consultants are fighters who never give up or take the easy way out. They can almost effortlessly generate leads, follow-up, and do whatever it takes to complete a sale. Your consultant should have thousands upon thousands of hours of experience making phone calls and meeting customers in-person. Sales consultants never get behind on their work and focus on the tasks at hand. That’s the kind of person you want as an example for your sales team.

Sales consultants are important for more than just sales teams. Hiring a sales consultant can be extremely beneficial to a small-business owner or entrepreneur who has no choice but to be the face of the company but lacks much-needed sales experience. Just because someone has great communication or managerial abilities does not mean the person can properly execute sales. The consultant is useful for far more than simply teaching someone how to be a better salesperson.

A seasoned sales consultant will have experience with managing CRM software—which is vital to the success of many businesses. Oftentimes, a sales team will spend way too much time updating information in the software instead of selling. Don’t ever let CRM get in the way of your sales—and if it is—that’s reason enough to hire a consultant. Busy work should always be minimized and sales should always be maximized.

Hired sales consultants usually consider their task to be complete after they are done doing their analyzing and making recommendations. Remember, consultants can only do so much. It’s up to your sales team to utilize what they’ve learned. If you believe your consultant has done effective work, witnessing whether your salespeople increase their productivity will help you separate the contenders from pretenders when it comes to who you see fit to be a long-term employee.

The value a sales consultant can bring to your organization is limitless. Not only can they develop strategies, they can help manage your projects—which allows you to reduce your workload. Because consultants have a diverse background and have assisted other sales teams, they can truly offer a unique perspective and bring the best sales tactics over from a rival company to yours. If a consultant is good at what they do then he/she will always remain objective, which provides a unique set of ideas that, more than likely, in-house employees would not be able to think of on their own; thus, unique solutions to any problems you have will be solved. If you feel you or your organization is lacking a strategic sales plan—or if your plan is routinely not being executed correctly—a sales consultant is exactly what you need.

Don’t be scared of paying a consultant. Be scared of the revenue you’re losing without a consultant.