What if you could step outside your business and gain the perspective of the sales consultant? Would your goals – your sales destinations – be the same? Would you be able to recognize the most effective path toward those destinations and start down that path with confidence? Truth is, an experienced and professional sales consultant can bring the perspective it takes to identify your problems AND the ability to navigate shortcuts to meaningful sales growth. Here are some of the sales roadblocks businesses like yours often face, and the shortcuts around them only a sales consultants likely to see:
Roadblock #1: Lack of Vision
Just as you can’t see the forest for the trees, it is equally true that you can lose sight of your destination or the path to get there if you are bombarded with distractions. Such is the plight of the beleaguered business owner who tries to lead their own sales team. Again, it’s that perspective thing. If you can’t step outside the minutiae of running the business, how can you chart the right course for sales growth? The sales consultant can bring the kind of sales leadership experience, insights, and clarity of vision that may elude the small business owner.
Roadblock #2: Lack of Movement
When your sales team doesn’t understand your vision, mission and big-picture goals, they get stuck. Not knowing which direction to head, they often focus on their objectives, which are often inconsistent with yours, thus not taking you toward larger sales goals that drive growth. The sales consultant can lay out clear big-picture strategies as well as the sales processes that make it possible to reach bigger sales destinations.
Roadblock #3: The Wrong Driver
In a smaller business, it is common for the owner and/or founder to wear many hats. This is natural – and even smart – as the business finds its legs. As the business grows, however, so do the demands on the owner. When that happens, attention to the sales effort typically lags, often when it is most critical to keep sales momentum going. Even if the business owner makes it a mission to remain involved in the sales operation, there usually comes a time when the owner’s skills and background no longer match the needs of the maturing sales organization. Here again, a professional and experienced sales consultant can fill the void and take the lead in charting a course to sustainable sales growth.
Roadblock #4: The Wrong Passengers
A growing sales team often experiences growing pains and false starts. When the business owner doesn’t really know how to hire the right sales performers or manage the team, staff turnover becomes inevitable – and costly. So, even if the business owner knows a thing or two about how to drive toward a sales goal, if the wrong salespeople are along for the ride, chaos ensues and momentum is lost. A sales consultant, on the other hand, can help recruit, hire, and train the right sales team members to co-pilot the drive toward escalating sales success.
Roadblock #5: The Wrong Path
Particularly in a startup business, early success can lead your organization on a path that wasn’t necessarily the one envisioned in the beginning. Too often, business owners follow that path and lose sight of where they should be going. But without a roadmap or a “sales GPS”, it becomes hard to find your way back on track. The sales consultant has the professional distance and experience required to chart a course toward sustainable sales success – a course that aligns with company strengths and a clear and compelling sales vision.
Roadblock #6: No Mile Markers
In the small and medium-sized business, it becomes easy to simply take what comes –success or failure, growth or stagnation – and neglect using metrics that indicate your true position. Knowing how to identify and take advantage of leading and lagging indicators is another critical way a sales consultant can help a smaller business get ontrack and stay there.
The Bottom Line:
At Sales Xceleration, our deeply experienced sales consultants serve small and medium-sized businesses in fractional sales leadership roles such as outsourced VPs of Sales. They are pathfinders, helping clients navigate the sales landscape and steer toward sales success with the professional expertise of someone who has been there before. They help business owners drive sustainable sales growth using a sales engine by proven processes and strategic sales systems.
To find your nearest Sales Xceleration Advisor, click here.