What is a sales consultant? A sales consultant uses an advisory approach to promote their employer’s product or service. As a sales consultant, your end goal is the same as that of a traditional sales representative: providing product and service information in order to sell to customers. However, with an advisory approach, you make recommendations based […]
What is a sales consultant?
A sales consultant uses an advisory approach to promote their employer’s product or service. As a sales consultant, your end goal is the same as that of a traditional sales representative: providing product and service information in order to sell to customers. However, with an advisory approach, you make recommendations based on your experience with other customers, but you don’t push your thoughts.
For example, say a client wants to know whether buying 20 business phones for their field workers is a smart choice. Of course, you want them to make a purchase—but you’ll also give it to them straight. You may describe exactly who would benefit from business cell phones (a company that needs their field techs to give 24/7 customer support to clients) and tell them flat out if this would be a waste of money in their case. You’ll then leave the decision up to them.
What’s a typical day like for a sales consultant?
You walk into the office on Monday morning and there’s a company-wide sales call to go through the stats from the previous week. Next is your first appointment of the day, and you get a big-fish client on your hook—they’re ready to sign a one-year contract to your small business accounting firm!
To prepare for the formal meeting, you need to walk through your contract and give the potential client more in-depth details about your service. Once they sign, the onboarding process begins, where you roll out the red carpet and give your new client the 5-star treatment. It’s customary to give bigger clients a thank-you gift, like a shiny new pen or notebook. You learn any unique details about your client—maybe their small business uses specific software or the owner has a dog named Charlie—any tidbits you can pass along to their new account manager so they have a starting point to build a relationship.
When reeling in your next client, you may find a ‘worm’ on your hook. A worm is a client that has an issue, they bring in very little money to your portfolio, yet demand the most attention. Most B2B professionals carry themselves with tact, but some are not as polished. And some product issues are tenacious enough that you’re stuck all day or several days working with these tough customers. After you finish a ‘worm,’ you’re usually exhausted for the day, but you must keep pushing through.
Often, life happens or clients reschedule and you have to shuffle your events. Most days feel like juggling acts, but the sales floor has always been a circus.
What makes a great consultant?
A great inside sales consultant doesn’t have to try too hard or pester their customer to make a sale. They’ve perfected their , which is a series of steps a salesperson takes to close a deal with a prospect. The steps include sending out pre-planned emails, phone calls, voicemails, social media messages, and content over a scheduled period of time until the prospect agrees to set up a meeting or make a purchase.
Technology makes it easy to automate a slew of emails and messages that add zero value to your customer’s business, but a good sales consultant takes their time when reaching out and sticks to their principles. They think strategically about every interaction, only contacting a client once they have a good understanding of who the client is and what their business needs are. Most importantly, they respect the client’s time.
Messages are brief, clear, and to the point and don’t come barging into the client’s inbox or voicemail while they’re trying to enjoy their steak dinner.
