Sales consultants offer another dynamic to startups, using their expertise to pinpoint areas where the company can improve. Hiring the right sales consultant adds value, as you have a professional or a team working to move the business forward. In this guide, we’re exploring the value a sales consultant adds to a startup and how they can increase sales.
How sales consultants add value
- Improve team members
- Design a strategy
- Save money on expensive hires
- They’re accountable
- Enhance product or service
Improve sales reps
Convincing clients to buy products and services is a key part of any sales rep’s responsibilities. A sales consultant can already demonstrate that skill set and teach it to sales reps and other team members at the startup, improving their ability to close in the process.
Often, the action of being persuasive is confused with deceiving someone. That’s not the case, however. The sales consultant will be able to communicate clearly, provide information about the product or service and, most importantly, listen to customers and their questions in order to provide answers. They can help instil this mindset and confidence into other reps and increase output in the team.
Creating a strategy
Every business needs a sales strategy, whether a startup or Fortune 500 company. One of the primary areas where sales consultants add value is in the early stage when it’s important to create a sales strategy designed to boost business.
They will come into the company and conduct their own research before making suggestions about how to implement a robust sales process. Part of the strategy includes clarifying the business’s core message, so it appeals to the right target audience. It will underline how to identify the correct type of employees to help drive the team forward and include a value proposition, looking at your product or service’s place in the market and where it fits.
The cost-effective option?
Most startups aren’t quite at the stage where they’re ready to hire a head of sales or a sales-oriented role in the C suite. But a sales consultant or consultancy can provide the same level of value without costing the yearly salary of a high-level salesperson.
Costs associated with new hires include training (even if they’re experienced), PAYE, bonuses and other aspects. It could also take nine months to a year to establish whether the hire was the right one. With a consultant, however, you’re tapping into a setup that’s experienced working with startups, and the work is scalable depending on your needs. Not every startup necessarily needs 40 hours per week of consulting. The approach is more flexible, allowing for a more transparent relationship.
Accountability
A sales consultant doesn’t just arrive and tell a few people what to do before sitting back and relaxing. They’ve reviewed the business thoroughly, put the strategy in place and trained sales reps. But they also have to deliver on those aspects and show their true value.
The best consultants challenge reps (in a positive way), strategising to help the company develop further. Sales consultants can be ongoing, ensuring the business goes from a startup with plenty of promise to realising its potential.
Add value to the product or service
Hire the right sales consultant, and you can expect to get more out of your product or service. Part of their remit is to understand everything about what you offer as if they created it themselves. This will help sell it to potential customers and unlock new ways to market the product or service.
They may even unearth new uses or identify niche areas in the market where the product or service can excel over competitors. Sales consultants always find ways to add value – sometimes in a way you might not have expected.
The value of a sales consultant
From setting the strategy to improving reps’ skills and enhancing your products, a sales consultant should always find ways to add value to the business. Their role is to improve outputs. Find the right one, and you can set your business on a path from being a startup with potential to a thriving company exceeding its targets.