No one can deny the crucial role that sales play in a business’s sustainability and success. When sales are not growing as expected or, even worse, declining, it can be difficult to know how to right the ship. At the first sign of trouble, a business can turn to sales operations consulting to find new efficiencies and turn sales performance around before it is too late.
What Does A Sales Operations Consultant Do?
Many people believe that sales operations is focused mainly on lead management and sales strategy. There is no question that these are very important components of the sales process, but sales operations also encompasses a broad range of other factors that can have a big influence on the bottom line. This includes territory structuring, compensation plans, training, data analytics and reporting, sales automation and sales process optimization.
If that sounds like a lot, that’’s because it is! The sheer number of responsibilities that fall under the umbrella of sales operations should be enough to underscore the importance of bringing in sales operations consultants to make sure your sales department is operating as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Sales operation consultants essentially do all they can to help your sales team maintain sustainable growth and improve its productivity and success.
Analyze Sales Operations Data
We live in an age where we have access to more data than ever, and failing to use this to your advantage can be a huge mistake. Sales operations consultants can look at your internal performance data, competitor research and external market data to come up with a sales strategy that will help you bring in more of the right kind of sales. They can also use data to determine how effective a sales process, campaign or product is and make adjustments accordingly.
Help In Sales Communication
Although sales is a notoriously competitive field and, in some organizations, salespeople are competing even amongst each other, you don’’t want your salespeople to operate in isolation.
A sales operations consultant can make sure that your sales team is collaborating by setting up some good communications channels using tools like Slack. They’’ll also make sure that your sales team is aligned through solid reporting on sales and campaign results and communications on team news and sales wins.
According to research from Forrester, one of the big trends in sales operations in 2019 was a greater cooperation between sales and marketing in developing sales plans. They note that sales and marketing teams are increasingly joining in the planning room with finance departments to figure out the best ways to invest in campaigns and marketing resources to ensure sales and marketing alignment. Businesses that fail to follow this trend could see their competition gain a significant edge.
Predict Future Sales Trends
What if you had a crystal ball that could let you see the future of your industry? You would not hesitate to use that knowledge to adapt your business’s strategy to make the most of what the future holds.
Sales operations consultants are not fortune tellers, but they do have an uncanny ability to predict future sales trends thanks to their keen understanding of performance trends and how past data can be used to forecast future sales. This also allows sales teams to identify any potential issues while there is still enough time to prevent them or correct course.
Establish A Sales Operations Strategy
You can’t just tell your salespeople to try to make as many sales as possible and leave it at that. While this may indeed result in sales, your salespeople won’’t be using their time as efficiently as they could without a guiding principle.
A sales operation consultant is the person you need to establish a sales strategy for your team and set future sales goals. They will do this based on data analysis, forecasting and experience. If you want to maximize sales, shorten sales cycles and improve conversions, a sales strategy can make all the difference.
Assist In Organization Of Sales Operations
Have you ever noticed how many more clothes you can fit into a suitcase when you roll them instead of folding them? Sometimes a little reorganization can change everything.
Sales operations can improve the structure and organization of your sales team to give it maximum performance. For example, if they notice that some of your sales representatives seem to work well with small business customers while others shine with those at the enterprise level, your team could be reorganized to ensure that every representative is mainly working with the type of customers they work with best. As you can imagine, this can not only lead to more sales but also keep your employees happy!
Plan For Sales Operations Training Programs
Most companies offer some sort of training to new employees, but current ones are often left hanging, working for many years without any updates to their original training when they first came on board.
A successful sales team is trained on an ongoing basis on the latest developments in the field. Sales operations can help to develop training and sales mentoring programs that can encourage camaraderie and strengthen the sales team overall.
Contact A Sales Operations Consulting Expert
If your sales operations need an overhaul, get in touch with the sales operations consulting experts at RCG Workgroup to find out how their skilled consultants can help you discover solutions for a brighter future.
