In this guide we share our top five tips for choosing the best B2B SaaS sales consultants, as well as the key signs you need one.
B2B SaaS sales differ from traditional sales in a number of ways. One of the key differences is that selling sales as a service (SaaS), especially in a B2B environment, is about more than just making an initial sale.
Instead, it’s about pitching your service as the solution to their problems and presenting a case for why they should invest in your business.
As such, more organisations are recognising the need to invest in B2B SaaS sales consultants as a way of driving their business forward.
In doing so, B2B SaaS sales consultants are tasked with:
Helping team leaders to understand the key challenges they’re facing
Teaching them how they can overcome these challenges to meet their strategic goals
Generating ideas on how to grow the business
Increasing sales
For this reason, if you are hiring a consultant, you need to make sure you choose the right one.
So if you’re considering hiring a B2B SaaS sales consultant for your business, this guide is for you. Below, we’re going to take a look at the top signs you need to hire a consultant and how to go about doing this.
Read on to find out more.
When to hire a B2B SaaS sales consultant: The top signs you need one
If you have never used B2B SaaS sales consultants before, you might be wondering whether it’s worth the extra time and money.
The good news is, there are some very definite signs that it might be time you hired a consultant. These are:
You have started noticing changes in the workplace
Have you started to notice some significant changes in your business? Perhaps your:
Sales are dropping
Investors are pulling out
You’ve lost big clients
The competition is getting tougher
If any of these sound familiar, it might be time you started a conversation about hiring a sales consultant.
After all, they are hired specifically to help you pinpoint why you’re facing these challenges. They can then help your sales team to overcome these.
You don’t have a clear sales process
A clear sales process is crucial to the success of your business. Yet, if you notice that you (or your sales team) have never clearly outlined a definitive sales process, this should be a major red flag.
Your sales representatives need a strong and logical sales cycle that they can follow step by step. If they don’t have this, or even if your existing process needs some serious updating, it could be time to get a B2B SaaS sales consultant in to assist.
Your sales forecasting is inaccurate
Sales forecasting is so important for helping your team predict sales and revenue. It also allows them to evaluate sales figures and their performance at the end of the month, implementing new strategies where needed.
However, if you often find that your sales forecasts are way out and are therefore unhelpful when it comes to making changes, this is a sign you need some professional support.
B2B SaaS sales consultants can help to get a framework in place that helps sales professionals to create more accurate forecasts.
Your margins are decreasing
Have your profit margins been declining recently? Or perhaps you’ve noticed that the volume of sales is slowly dropping?
If so, this could be a big sign that you need to onboard a B2B SaaS sales consultant.
They will be able to help your team with identifying the top causes of these problems. They can then coach them to improve their sales cycles and get more effective sales strategies in place to help bring your company’s margins back up again.
Employee turnover is high
Employee turnover is a reality in every business. However, if you’ve noticed you’re losing sales representatives quicker than your actually making sales, this is a problem.
This is because recruiting new employees takes a great deal of time and effort and can be costly.
So rather than continuing to go through staff quickly, why not hire just one more employee to sort this out?
A B2B SaaS sales consultant can identify reasons why your staff aren’t sticking around and help you to address these issues. This can reduce turnover and help to create a hardworking, loyal team of sales reps.
How to hire a B2B SaaS sales consultant: Our five Tips
Keeping these key indicators in mind, you should now be able to determine whether your business is in desperate need of a B2B SaaS sales consultant.
Once you’ve settled on the idea of hiring a consultant, you need to go about finding the right one. But how do you do this?
Well, lucky for you, we’ve pulled together our top five tips for finding and hiring the right B2B SaaS sales consultant for your business. In order to do this you should:
1. Find out more about their approach
When looking at different B2B SaaS sales consultants to find the right person, one of the first things you need to take into consideration is their approach. Inviting someone new in to coach your sales team is only going to work if their approach aligns with your business culture.
Otherwise, you could actually create more problems for yourself and your team.
There are two main approaches that most B2B SaaS sales consultants tend to favour. These are:
The collaborative approach - In this approach, the consultant will work with you to diagnose any key problems and then show you some proven methods for addressing these. This approach is based on the fact that you will know more about the businesses and what will work best for your team. In short, it requires more input and time from you.
The doctor/patient approach - On the other hand, you might wish to place your trust entirely with the consultant and assume they will know more about sales situations and cycles than you do. In this approach, you tell them the issues and they use their expert skills to diagnose the causes and offer their solutions. This means they’re totally in the driving seat. Though you will, of course, have the opportunity to have your say and give them feedback.
So when looking for the right B2B SaaS sales consultant, you need to consider which of these approaches is best for you. Decide how much time you can dedicate to the process and which will be best received by your sales team. This will help you to choose the right consultant for your business.
2. Ensure they understand your organisation’s unique needs
Every service-based business will face its own unique pressures and challenges when it comes to making sales. This means you need to look for a consultant who understands the unique challenges your organisation is facing.
A cookie-cutter approach isn’t going to work nearly as well as a tailored one.
As such, you don’t want someone that simply relays what they know and expects your team to implement this. Instead, you need a consultant that will listen and learn about your specific business and industry and act accordingly.
So be sure to look for someone who understands that every business is unique. This way, they can create a tailored approach that is going to ensure the best possible results.
3. Look for someone that asks questions
One of the best ways to find a consultant that will understand your organisation’s unique needs is to look for someone that asks questions.
When speaking with various B2B SaaS sales consultants, take note of those that ask about your actions and current position. This shows that they’re concerned with learning about your business so they can offer the best possible solutions.
If they don’t seem interested in your organisation specifically, this could be a sign that they’re not right for you.
4. Choose someone with a proven track record
One way to find out how good someone is, in any situation, is to look at their track record. So you want to look for a consultant with experience, particularly with B2B SaaS sales.
To do this, you should look for case studies or testimonials on their website.
You should also ask the consultants if they have previous experience in your industry and ask them to reveal any key facts or figures that prove their track record.
You can then take all of this into consideration when choosing the right B2B SaaS sales consultant.
5. Ask for references
On a similar note, you should also ask for references.
Don’t just rely on the consultant’s website or word to determine their track record. Instead, ask for references from past clients. They will be able to give real insights into how the consultant dealt with problems that could be similar to yours.
This will help you to gauge their abilities and skillsets. It will also help you to find a sales consultant that can make a real difference in your business.
Key takeaways
We’ve reached the end of the guide, but we thought it might be helpful to do a quick recap on some of the key points you need to take away.
Firstly, if you notice any of the following signs, it might be time to hire a B2B SaaS sales consultant: changes in the workplace such as a drop in sales; you don’t have a clear sales process; your sales forecasting is inaccurate; your margins are decreasing; employee turnover is high.
If you do decide to hire a sales consultant, remember our five top tips:
1. Find out more about their approach
2. Ensure they understand your organisation’s unique needs
3. Look for someone that asks questions
4. Choose someone with a proven track record
5. Ask for references