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1. B2B Sales Consulting

Klozers B2B Sales Consulting services have a flexible approach and are designed around the individual needs of our clients, their organisation and their people.

Whilst many organisations share common business challenges, including when they are growing, every business is unique and we recognise that there is no one-size solution that fits all when it comes to consulting services.

Our background and experience in Business to Business sales consulting provides a solid foundation to accurately diagnose and provide an initial analysis from which our clients can make informed decisions before committing to any next steps.

Additional resources you may find helpful from our Consulting Services team:

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2. Which Organisations Benefit from Sales Consulting?

We work with Chief Execs of SME’s and Mid Market organisations who need a Trusted Advisor specialising in Sales to provide objective & pragmatic advice.

They typically have a great product or service but are frustrated with their sales results and often need additional support for their time-poor Sales Leadership Team.

We work with companies who need to drive improvements, sales performance and revenue growth across the whole Sales function, and provide the vital Lead Generation strategies to hunt down, and Kloze new business opportunities.

We recognise no two businesses are the same, and therefore we spend time upfront to learn about the business and the people before we make any recommendations.

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3. Sales Training is not always the right starting point

Many companies believe that sales training is the starting point for improving revenue growth. Whilst this may be correct, in our own experience training is simply the wrong place to start and can even undermine the rest of the sales improvement project.

Sales Training by its nature is designed to improve sales performance. Sales Training will not fix higher level challenges such as sales strategy, sales planning, sales management, sales culture, employee engagement and productivity.

Success starts and comes from the top of every organisation. This does not mean that the Leadership team requires sales training. What it means is that with the best sales people in the world are going to struggle if the sales strategy they have been told to implement is flawed. If the sales process does not fit with the modern buying process then training sales people how to follow and execute the process will still yield little reward.

Often the biggest challenge companies face is implementing all the new strategies and tactics they learn on sales training. Salespeople are busy and the most common thing is for Reps to learn lots of new things during their sales training, but then revert to what they have always done when they get back to the office.

Before any form of sales training it’s important to have a structure in place to implement any new changes hold the salespeople accountable to them. In addition to accountability most salespeople will need coaching to help them implement and perfect the changes. Change does not happen overnight and starts with a plan.

Our Consulting services can help you quickly and accurately diagnose the priorities in your business and how to address them. If sales training is required then we will work with you to develop a program that addresses these priorities.

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4. Sales Transformation Consulting

Regardless of where the company is it’s important to acknowledge and evaluate the different options available for revenue growth. The smaller the change, the smaller the change in results. The larger the change programme is, then the outcomes can change dramatically.

That said, there can be many genuine reasons to only make small interventions and not go for the larger prize that a full-blown sales transformation project would deliver.

For example, if the Stakeholders are preparing to exit a successful business it might not make sense to start a full Sales Transformation project however if the Stakeholders are some years away from an exit then you could argue the sooner the Sales Transformation starts the better. 

Sales Transformation can take many different forms depending on the goals of the Stakeholders however the most common problems Sales Leaders face are:

1. Lack of employee engagement. Staff are there but their hearts are not in it and they are simply going through the motions and have become “stuck” in their comfort zones.

2. Substandard Sales Performance. The Salespeople are delivering results and in some cases good results however no records are being broken and what’s worse is there is no aspiration to break the existing sales records.

3. Accountability. There is no sense of ownership for anything other than the Sales Wins. Accountability is about taking responsibility and owning the day to day often mundane activities that drive results days, weeks and months down the line. Accountability is taking ownership when the sales are lost and working out how to ensure the reasons for the loss never happen again. 

4. Sales Vision and Values. Living the vision and values of the sales team is a core part of building a winning sales culture and are integral to the success of the company.

5. Sales Planning. Effective sales planning drives, records and reports on the changes in both the strategic plans and the improvement plans that drives every business forward. 

6. Sales Process. Every sale has a logical starting point and a logical end point. This is the sales process and from this one area there are many KPI’s that are critical to the overall success of the business.

Our consulting services team can create and deliver your entire sales transformation plan or work on individual areas as you see fit.

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5. Sales Leadership

Leading any organisation is never easy, however, leading an organisation through a period of change and transformation is probably the most difficult challenge any leader will face. The modern sales leader needs a broad set of skills, habits and traits that inspire and engage their team.

Arguably the most important trait of the leader is a level of consistency and determination to drive change and move the organisation forward. Leaders with Passion and Charisma all to often grab the headlines however passion can burn out and is no match for consistency and determination when applied in the right way.

More often the greatest leaders stand in the shadows allowing their team the credit of success but stepping forward to take responsibility when things go wrong.

Leadership often involves thinking the unthinkable and going against the tide of conventional thinking.

When Andrew Forbes the CEO of Intel and Gordon Moore the Chairman sat down in 1986 to discuss the squeeze on their profits as supplier costs rose and sales revenues declined.

They knew they needed to change the business and move away from semi-conductors but with 10’s of thousands of employees, 100’s of thousands of systems and processes based on the manufacturing of semiconductors they also know it wouldn’t be a popular decision with everyone at Intel.

The move from semi-conductors into microprocessors proved to be genius however the greatest achievement was leading the company through that change.

Years later Forbes noted that when people are emotionally involved which comes through years of doing the same thing they find it most difficult to embrace change.

The people new to the Intel organisation found the move to microprocessors easier than those valued employees who had been with them from the start.

Change is difficult for people and this should be acknowledged and included from the start.

The role of our Consulting services is not to tell you what you already know. We are here to tell you what you don’t know and why it is important to you.

This may be a huge change in direction or a small refinement of what you are already doing.

Unlike many other sales consulting services our team are happy to roll their sleeves up and help you implement the changes you are seeking.

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6. Sales Consulting Operations

Finding and applying the right sales solutions to help a business grow is never easy however it’s important to have a consistent approach to accurately diagnose the business first before rushing to any solutions.

Our approach includes:

1. Sales do not happen in isolation from the rest of the business, so we look at the business as a whole from a sales perspective, and we will advise you on any necessary changes across your business to “grease the sales wheels”.

2. We work with you to implement any changes and then we will help your team with the execution. Our clients like this approach because they don’t have the time to do all these things themselves and they recognise the benefits of an end to end sales consulting solution.

3. In most cases, training is the WRONG place to start, because unless you have the systems, sales process, structure and governance in place, then in all likely hood the training will just be great fun, and we are more interested in results. We will do training, but only when we’re sure it will be effective and stick.

4. Once we implement any new solution we will need your people to do certain things like phone, email, visit & network with prospects & customers. There are no shortcuts for hard work. and if your salespeople don’t like hard work, we cannot help them. We will not coach or train these people as it is not a good investment of your resources or ours.

Often sales training is the wrong starting point for a Sales Transformation project as unless the organisation and people have the ability, systems and structure in place to absorb and benefit from the training there will be little or no long term impact on results.

Sales Training and Coaching are an important part of the overall solution however in themselves they are tactical tools and we feel our clients must know and understand this.

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7. Sales & Marketing Alignment

Where traditionally Sales & Marketing operated as two separate functions within the business, study after study shows the benefits of aligning these activities. Best practice in Sales & Marketing now shows that the best marketers can sell and the best salespeople are themselves, marketers.

Wherever possible our strategy is to align sales and marketing and we do this by helping our clients create bespoke sales campaigns that both their marketing and their sales teams can deliver tangible outcomes. By working as a team at the very top of the funnel attracting new business and then following the leads through the whole sales process the salespeople learn by doing rather than by classroom based teaching.

This model not only delivers the increase in skills and sales performance the business desires it also delivers tangible new deals and genuine revenue growth which everyone loves.

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8. Sales Technology & Tools

With the advent of the internet and the world, wide web Sales Departments that were previously restricted to a single copy of the local Yellow Pages are now flooded with apps and tools to help drive productivity and results. Unfortunately, most apps and sales tools are rarely used to their full capability and some can even be a distraction to the real high-value sales activity that drives results.

It’s not uncommon for salespeople to demand a new CRM only to then not use the CRM in the same way that they never used the previous CRM system. We love technology and have successfully implemented many new CRM systems however changes in technology applications can be time-consuming and distract sales leadership from more productive areas of sales improvement.

We have no affiliation with any CRM or Sales Tool providers to ensure that when we are working with any business we can provide the best, impartial advice based on our clients needs not our own.

We have experience with Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Maximizer, Copper, Hubspot, Active Campaign and Zoho CRM systems which have a breadth of capabilities and pricing to fit all needs.

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9. Our Consulting Approach

Should you choose to work with us it’s important that you understand the processes we follow. With growth comes change and it’s important to recognise that Change in itself can be difficult for people and in turn for every business. We believe in including the people in the business as much as possible from the start via an 8 Step process adapted from Harvard’s wider business change model. This includes the formation of a Change team from your organisation to help design, implement and manage the changes throughout the business.  

We help Sales Change teams to:

9.1 Establish the Need for Change

For example, hosting a series of meetings highlighting recent successes of your competitors against your sales team. Show data if available confirming the rise of your competition and their overall successes. Identify industry trends and industry thought leaders that validate the need for change. 

Use customer complaints and poor customer satisfaction survey results to communicate end-user dissatisfaction. 

Where possible, share data that shows any losses to confirm the need for a change in sales strategy. Share any relevant and recent negative press clippings. Eliminate complacency and indifference. Use forecasting tools to reinforce the size and scope of the problem. Identify any obstacles, such as people and technology to the change. Create a sense of urgency towards the idea of change. 

9.2 Create a Driving Force – A Change Team

The more people driving change increases the chances of change taking place. A winning Change team will have the authority to overrule any people obstacles. Expertise in the relevant areas. Credibility within the organization so people listen when the team speaks and Leadership skills to drive the process forward. Lastly, the team must have a data analyst who is responsible for capturing and disseminating supporting data. Drive responsibility for the change downward and wherever possible use scorecards for measurement that tie into personal reviews. Where possible incentivise the Change team to reward success. 

The Change team must understand they are responsible for the success of the project. The Leadership of the organisation is responsible for Vision & Strategy, Management is responsible for planning and execution.  

9.3 Develop a Vision, Goals & Strategy

For any journey to be successful we need to define the destination or vision before we start. The Vision must engage everyone involved, not simply the company leadership and must get people on board and get them engaged. Set change goals which are both realistic and achievable and define the strategy for achieving the goals.

9.4 Planning

In order to ensure the Change team are engaged they should be responsible for creating the project plan and the budgets. Use external facilitators to “guide” the change team when planning as they may have never been involved in a similar process. 

There may well be pushed back from the Change Team in terms of what they envisage the solution to be. The Change Team must be prepared to accept external guidance in terms of the solution from experts and senior stakeholders. Effective planning would include bi-weekly meetings and contingency plans if the journey becomes difficult. Planning would also include any required changes with technology and people which could block the change process. Create and document examples of best practice and share among salespeople.

9.5 Communicating the Change Vision

Develop a communications plan so that the Vision is communicated daily in as many different ways as possible. Emails, Newsletters, Presentations, Meetings, Offsites, Video Conferencing, Intranet, Workshops etc. Create a Buzz within the organisation to ensure the Vision is front of mind for everyone, every day. Develop tag lines, competitions and rewards. Every employee must understand what is in it for them, security, financial, promotion etc. The Vision needs to spread like a virus through the company and stick. Salespeople need confirmation of their new roles and responsibilities and most importantly of all sales, people need to confirmation of any attitudes and behaviours. Use scorecards to measure performance and ensure salespeople know this is linked to their annual reviews.

9.6 Empower the Sales Team

Remove or realign any and all obstacles of Change such as technology and people. Provide training and then ongoing coaching to support salespeople. Have as many short stand-up meetings as time permits to keep people focussed.  

9.7 Generate Short Term Wins

Success breeds success so by generating short term wins that we can relay to the sales floor is essential to maintaining momentum. 

Furthermore, this helps undermine any people blocking the change, keeps people on board and provides hard data to validate the strategy. Develop mini case studies to share on the sales floor and use forecasting tools to demonstrate the long term effect of the change.  

9.8 Consolidate & Grow More

At this point the danger is the salespeople ease up as they feel a sense of accomplishment. Salespeople will claim they get it and are doing it, but in reality, they have only partially changed. This is the make or break point, as salespeople will only have adopted some of the change – the bits they are comfortable with. Easing up now will only see the change start to regress and before long the organisation will be back where it started. Managers now more than ever need to hold the salespeople accountable to the new behaviours.

Please note: the expertise and experience of our Consulting services in driving change within sales teams allows us to provide a unique and objective service, where we can facilitate the initial meetings that provide the foundation for change. This ensures the above process is refined and bespoke to your organisation for maximum impact.

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10. Sales Performance

Many companies interested in our Sales Consulting Services are unhappy with their teams sales performance.

Sales Performance, good or bad is driven by many things. A few salespeople can poison the team spirit and culture that may have taken years to build. Equally good salespeople can be role models that lift the whole sales team.

The reality is that Sales Performance comes from the very top. If the CEO accepts the sales results the sales management will do also. If the CEO does not accept the level of sales performance, they will challenge the sales manager and help them improve it.

Unfortunately we tolerate underperformers because:

1. We don’t know how to fix the problem or even what the problem is
2. We are uncomfortable having those conversations
3. We do not want to go through the process of firing and hiring
4. We are part of the problem and too embarrassed to look for help
5. We are concerned about the internal and external optics of letting someone go.

Sales Performance is driven by actions and we must be prepared to do whatever is necessary to drive sales growth.

We have a small team of Consultants who have many years of experience working with Startups, SME’s, Mid Market and with larger Enterprise organisations like Microsoft, Vodaphone and RBS.

This has allowed our team to understand first hand what works and what doesn’t work in terms of driving sales performance and growth.

Please contact our Sales Consulting Services team now and book a no obligation call.

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