1) Do I need to have a large sales team to do business with a sales consultant?
The most important thing is to have someone in charge of sales and customer relationship. This person can be the owner, an employee, or a manager but must have authority over the company's sales. From there, you can do business with a sales consultant. The tools and the duration of the intervention will simply be different depending on whether you have a team of several salespeople or if you are alone.
2) I already have a director or vice president of sales, why have an external consultant if I have a team?
It is good to compare this situation to other fields such as sports. When you have a team of good athletes and you ask them to win the Olympics, you won't tend to reduce the support staff around your future champions. On the contrary, by aiming for the highest peaks, you will have every interest in surrounding them with a coach, nutritionists, massage therapists, and physiotherapists. All these professionals will not be able to replace the team captain, but they will play a major role in the final result since they will provide specialized solutions to your specific needs.
3) Should I wait to have chosen my CRM or have all my promotional material set up before starting to sell?
It all depends on whether we are talking about a few days' delay or several weeks. You could have nothing, no website, no CRM, and no documentation and still sell. As long as the product or service exists, all other support is just a gain in efficiency and structure. Assuming that the situation is temporary, it's better to stay active and integrate the new tools as soon as they are ready rather than waiting and losing ground.
4) For how long can a sales consultant intervene in our company?
It all depends on the issues that led you to do business with the consultant. If your issue is mainly to provide occasional training to your resources, one or two-day training sessions may suffice. However, if you are facing issues of organization, processes, and annual growth, the support can last a few weeks to a few months and be staggered by phase. However, be reassured that the goal of a consultant is never to take up residence in your company. A consultant who integrates with your team will always seek to make your team autonomous.
5) What are the advantages of working with a sales professional instead of an expert in my product or service?
A sales professional focuses on ensuring that you adopt the best sales practices. It is not necessary for this professional to be an expert in your product or service to provide you with concrete and effective solutions. However, he must understand the type of sales cycle that prevails in your sector and organization.
That's why, when faced with the choice between seeking an expert in your products or services and a sales consultant, the choice of a sales consultant is the right one for your growth and customer loyalty challenges. However, if your issues concern production and design, it's better to talk to an expert in your products and services who will be able to fit into the very structure of your offer, such as the choice of materials and partners..
6) How can I judge the credibility of a sales consultant?
A sales consultant is directly a former sales representative, sales director, or Vice President of Sales who has overcome more than a hundred different challenges in the field of sales. The vast majority will offer their services because they have experienced significant achievements and victories in the sales sector and will be able to reproduce them in new contexts. In this regard, it is not advisable to do business with a consultant who has less than 8 years of practice in sales because they must have completed the attached cycle.
In case of doubt, do not hesitate to ask for case studies and examples of interventions that he or she will carry out in a given situation. The fluency of the responses and the named examples will give you a good idea of their experience. Let's not forget that references will not be very useful to you since even if the reference is in your sector, it is unlikely that you will have the same challenges, therefore the same problem-solving by the expert. So, feel free to ask questions and request context that is very personal to your reality in order to answer the famous question, "Is this the best person to help us in our situation?"
7) Is a sales consultant a marketing expert?
A sales consultant is a marketing expert in the sense of the English term "marketing," which means to market, to sell. In French, we tend to include communication, advertising, and public relations in the term marketing. However, a sales expert will not be concerned with whether you have an attractive message or nice graphics for your communications; they will focus on the essentials of your sales, such as: "As a customer, would I buy this product?" or "I am a customer, how can I order?" or "What would be the terms of the contract if the customer signs today?" In short, the challenge will always be that all actions lead to a transaction, that is, a sale.
8) Why work with an external sales consultant?
The main advantages are:
1) The addition of experience and advice from hundreds of different industries in a single expert.
2) The punctual nature and targeted interventions allow to pay for tasks that will be carried out and completed within a defined timeframe.
3) The consultant is autonomous and will act as a project manager on your project, thus ensuring to keep up with follow-ups, reminders, and meetings on the progress of the mandate.
9) Who is considered a salesperson?
Anyone responsible in the company for bringing in cash through the addition or maintenance of customers. To be considered a salesperson, the professional must maintain contact with their client and dedicate the bulk of their work and energy to the satisfaction of the company's clients.
