Have you ever looked a picture of yourself from five or ten years ago? Chances are great that you look goofy. The level of “goofiness” gets worse with each additional year you add to the date the picture was taken.
This reality is really fascinating when you look at pictures from an important event like a prom, graduation or a wedding. Think about it—these significant events usually cause a person to dress to the nines and pose for pictures that will last a lifetime. Here are some captions that apply to most pictures from the past:
“What was I thinking when I purchased that (insert item of clothing)?”
“What was I thinking when I selected that hairstyle?”
Simply put, things that seem hip and in fashion today will look out of date in the future. This applies to items of clothing as well as the things we teach and the methods we practice as B2B sales consultants and trainers.
5 Things You Are Doing Today as Consultant That Will Appear Ridiculous in 5 Years
Here’s a list of five things you might be doing as a B2B sales consultant or trainer that will make you think “What was I thinking” five years from now:
1. Using outbound marketing to build your consulting business.
A better way: Outbound marketing combined with inbound marketing!
Many B2B consulting firms have figured out combining traditional outbound marketing with cutting edge inbound marketing is a great way to develop leads and increase the number of customers. Here’s a great definition of inbound marketing: the process of attracting the attention of prospects, via content creation, before they are even ready to buy; the best and most cost-effective way to convert strangers into customers of your business.
2. Conducting B2B sales training in workshops as the only way of teaching sellers.
A better way: Conducting workshops to deliver sales training is not a bad method to teach sellers; however, it is not the only method. Here’s a better formula to follow that improves the understanding of the material and creates revenue:
Online Training + Onsite or Distance Workshop + Revenue Initiative = Instant ROI
3. Traveling to deliver service.
A better way: Blending face-to-face market visits with distance meetings training sessions or phone consulting is indeed a better way because:
- It increases the amount of contact you have with a customer
- It reduces travel expenses for customers
- It minimizes travel time (time you can sell to other customers)
4. Treating sales training and revenue development as separate agenda items.
A better way: The best training programs combine training and revenue development by involving real customers via projects that occur during the training (learning) process.
5. Developing all of your own content and sales training resources.
A better way: Using sales training resources developed by other B2B consulting firms is becoming a common practice these days. Partner programs like the one offered by The Center for Sales Strategy make a great deal of sense for the following reasons:
- Partner programs minimize the time consultants need to spend developing training resources—this maximizes the time you can spend with customers
- Partner programs provide additional resources you can sell to customers
- Partner programs pay a commission to you—the best programs allow you to keep 100% of revenue from some of the services you provide using partner resources.
You don't have to go it alone. Sales consultants and trainers are finding value in partnering with The Center for Sales Strategy and using the tools and framework to provide value to their clients. Interested in learning more? Click here to connect.
