Do I Need Sales Consulting or Sales Training? It Depends.

Building an efficient sales team is at the forefront of B2B business objectives. Whether the goal is to boost productivity or hit new growth targets, there’s widespread demand for sales consulting services and training programs. 

But what is sales consulting? What is sales training? Are they the same? Definitely not. So what makes them different? Ultimately, it boils down to what the needs of your team are and the desired outcome. Before we get into the details though, let’s get some perspective from Skaled CEO, Jake Dunlap.

When You Need Sales Training

As Jake mentions in the video, sales training is geared toward leveling up your sales team’s skillset and efficiency. You probably have a successful sales process and playbook that your reps follow, and it’s proven effective for your team. However, maybe you’re trying to hit some new benchmarks and scale up your revenue goals. That could mean improving your messaging around products, strengthening your team’s negotiation skills, some TLC for account management, and so on.

Whatever skills your team is lacking or needs to hone up on, sales training will be the go-to for “getting over the hump.” According to studies collected by Training Industry Magazine, high-quality training programs can result in significant improvements to win rates, deals lost, and deals ending in “no decision.”

• Companies with effective sales training can see a 10% increase in forecast deals won.
• Sales reps who participated in high-ranking training programs post 5 percent fewer losses.
• Companies that invested in top-tier training programs reported 5.5% fewer deals ending in “no decision.”

The reason we mention “high-quality training programs” is because not all training programs are alike. You can Google the efficacy of sales training and find a reservoir of naysayers. However, the disappointing ROI for sales training in search results is a reflection of training quality. When you look through training programs that have a track record of success, you’ll find the ROI is more substantial:

• Every dollar invested in industry-leading sales training returned $29 in incremental revenues.
• Investing in valuable sales training can improve performance by 20%.
• 65% of employees say quality training and learning opportunities positively influence engagement.

So, if your system works but your team needs an extra edge, sales training can be the fuel to drive you toward your goals. 

However, there is also another reason sales training programs fail, and Jake hit the nail on the head. It depends on if your team is trying to become more proficient at a skill or does the issue run a little deeper?

When You Need a Sales Consultant Firm

Conversely, engaging with a sales consulting firm is much more elaborate. While sales training is concerned with the micro improvements to strengthen sales acumen, consulting revolves around the macro improvements. In other words, the issues stalling revenue aren’t so easily fixed by training alone. In fact, they might not even be fully manifested. More often than not, the problems they’re facing are rooted in the fundamentals, but they need an external perspective to bring them up to speed. What they do know is that there’s a problem. There’s lag in their system, and they need to change something to get their sales back on track.

Although an in-depth evaluation of processes and selling practices reveals different issues for different companies, there’s one commonality: they lack repeatability. Their current approach to sales is inconsistent, resulting in stagnated revenue and stunted growth. Thus, the goal for a sales consulting firm is to engage with the client to evaluate and expose what areas need consistency. In doing so, they realign the company’s sales operations with their objectives and allow sales to close deal after deal. 

Sales Consulting for People

The best way to understand how a sales consultant reveals areas of improvement is by looking at how they approach an organization and the questions they ask. Beginning with the keystone of excellence in sales, consultants want to understand the way a company hires, how they onboard, and how they set up their sales team for success.

• Are there procedures in place to show where your team can grow?
• Do you have a plan for identifying clear responsibilities and KPIs for the role? 
• Do you have a hiring process that allows for objective hiring? Do you include multiple departments to cross-examine how candidates will collaborate?
• Do you have finite onboarding processes that take reps from hire to ramp in three to four months?
• Does your sales team have idealized compensation plans and incentive programs to keep reps motivated?

Sales Consulting for Processes

If those are in place, then it’s obvious that their issues don’t stem from poor hiring. And if they aren’t, sales consultants begin executing a thorough people strategy for revitalizing your team. The next step is nailing down sales processes.

• Do you employ a successful sales process or methodology that sales reps can follow and managers can coach to?
• Do you have ideal customer profiles, buyer personas, and a buyer journey map that aligns with your selling strategy?
• Do you have playbooks in place and do they align with your methodology and strategy?
• Are sales and customer success teams working in tandem to capitalize on growth opportunities?

Consistent sales processes allow your business to enjoy a standard of sales excellence. It can provide a 7-20% decrease in the sales cycle and a 10+% increase in overall conversion rate from early to mid and mid to late stages of deals. If the sales process isn’t reinforced by methodology and strategy, then sales consultants can deliver a comprehensive implementation and execution plan for refining your sales processes.

Related Content: The Flaw in Your Go-to-Market Strategy

Sales Consulting for Technology

If the hiring operations are pristine and sales processes are well-structured, then the problem might be based on sales technology.

• Do you have the right tech stack? Are you integrating your technology to streamline sales ops?
• Do you have sales operations in place that allow for accurate forecasting, reporting, and lead response time? 
• Is your staff appropriately trained on necessary tools? Do they have access to the information they need to sell?
• Are there bottlenecks in your operations that slow down the sales cycle?

Having the right technology is key, but having your systems integrated and automated is essential. If your team is spending almost 30% of their time on mundane tasks related to tech and sales ops, then they don’t get to sell. Optimized tech stacks drive efficiency. Not just around administrative tasks, but process efficiency, lead response time, decreased sales cycles, accurate forecasting, and more. A major part of the sales consultant’s job is supplying the right tools to streamline sales and sales operations. 

Is the Need Below the Surface?

Sales consulting firms look at the entire structure of your sales operation. Where sales training addresses surface-level challenges, sales consulting does the deep dive underneath the surface. The difference between them boils down to your desired outcomes.

The outcome of working with a sales training program is more informed, better salespeople. They can build their skills in several areas and start selling smarter. With a sales consulting firm, the result is revitalized alignment and the strategy and competency to empower your sales team. You get the right mix of people, processes, and technology to operate as an efficient and sustainable sales organization. 

When improving the effectiveness of your sales team is on the table, think about what kind of outcomes you need. Are you trying to get over a hump? Or, are you having trouble getting to the hump? Do you need sales training, or do you need sales consulting?