Why Hiring a Sales Consultant Makes Sense

If you are wondering about hiring a sales consultant, chances are you can use one. After all, if things are going extremely well and sales are through the roof, it probably isn’t even on your radar.

It would be difficult to find an organization that isn’t struggling with sales during the current pandemic. Therefore, hiring a sales consultant right now may be more important than ever. At any given time, there are several reasons you might want to hire a sales consultant but there are five tell-tale signs that it is critical.

1. Shifts in the marketplace. During COVID-19, situations that you never would have dreamed of a year ago are happening. A consultant can help you navigate these seismic changes. More importantly, a consultant can coach your sales team on how to make necessary changes quickly and efficiently, so no time is wasted.
2. Sales are falling. When trying to figure out why sales performance is down, you will likely come up with a variety of likely scenarios (COVID-19, for one). Ask your sales team and they will add to those scenarios. This is the time when an objective consultant can do wonders to get to the true cause of these issues and identify ways to address or – at the very least – mitigate them.
3. High turnover. Difficulty retaining salespeople guarantees lackluster sales performance. Sales managers are often too close to the situation to see what needs a revamp or to identify what type of employees would be best suited to your organization.
4. No official sales process. Sales reps need to know what to do and when to do it. This requires well-built and defined processes. If you don’t have these sales processes in place, you need to implement them. A sales consultant can help provide the clarity your sales team requires so they can do their best work.
5. Faulty forecasting. Managing the sales forecast is critical to accurately assess the performance of your sales team. If you are having difficulty defining expectations and qualified lead criteria for your sales team, a sales consultant can help.

Finally, once you make the decision to hire a sales consultant, it is important that you let them do their job. A high quality sales consultant can do wonders for a sales team and a company. However, if you don’t follow their advice or allow them to implement much-needed changes, it won’t make any difference. Remember, hiring a sales consultant isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign that you are committed to making the tough decisions necessary to elevate your sales team and your organization.