Nowadays many sales companies struggle with the process of selecting the right consultant for the job. It can be difficult to choose the right sales training consulting firm, especially if this is your first time hiring one. There are hundreds of sales training consultants that you can choose from. They range from one person operations to large companies.
Also, because there is often a significant investment involved, selecting the wrong one can be a very costly mistake. The good news is that there are some steps you can take as a decision maker to increase the chances that you select the right consultant for your company’s business sales training.
The first step in selecting the right sales training consulting firm is to recognize what you want to achieve. One of the biggest mistakes many businesses make is not clearly defining what they want to get out of the sales training.” For example, if setting appointments is a weak area on the team, you may want the training to focus on increasing the number of appointments by 200%.
It makes the process of picking the right consultant easier when you know exactly what you want to get from the training. Also, knowing what you want to get out of the training can make it easier for you to calculate the return on your investment.
Once you know what you want to get out of the business sales training, you can now go about selecting the right consultant. One of the areas that you want to look at is what type of companies the consultant has trained. Different products and services have different sales cycles, decision-making processes, and philosophies.
For example, if you are a real estate broker and the consultant you are considering a lot of clients who sell informational products over the phone, which is not necessarily a good match for you. Selling real estate and selling information products over the phone have two completely different sales processes and require completely different skill sets.
You want a consultant that has experience training products and services that are similar to what you sell. Also, look to see if the consultant has many clients that they can point you to as references who can talk about how the consultant’s training helped their team develop in the areas you are seeking to improve.
The final step in selecting a sales training consultant is to evaluate the method that the proposed training will be delivered. There are several different formats to be considered, and the best option for you is going to depend on your specific needs and budget. Business sales training can be delivered in a classroom setting. This is best because you have more interaction. Training can also be delivered by telephone or over the internet. While this could save time, travel, etc., it is not as effective as the classroom.
No matter what the format, what can ultimately make the training success is the follow-up. In selecting your consultant, be sure to have a follow-up plan to help your sales team develop the new skills they learn in training. Follow-up can range from one-on-one coaching to group follow-up sessions. If you want to return on your training dollars, make sure there is a follow-up system in place.
If you follow these steps, you should compare the types of clients the prospective consultant has served in the past and considering the format of the training, you can have everything you need to make the best decision possible for selecting the right business sales training consultant.