B2B sales training and consulting firms come in all shapes and sizes. Firms range from small one-person organizations to large global firms. Regardless of size all of these firms have a story—these stories can help others. This post is the first in a series of interviews with executives from B2B sales consulting firms designed to help others, meet Jim Hopes the CEO of The Center for Sales Strategy:
Tell me about the history of The Center for Sales Strategy:
The Center for Sales Strategy started as a one-person sales consultancy in 1983 and has grown to a group of 36 during its history. We work with our clients to turn talent into performance working in the areas of talent, training, and tactics to make measurable improvements in sales volume. All our consultants come right out of sales management or executive roles and have a track record of using our systems to produce superior results in their companies.
What are your firm’s keys to surviving 30 years?
I would have to say several factors: Bringing a strategy, common language, and set of best practices to our clients’ sales operations. Listening to our clients’ needs and responding to them. Having great clients who are serious about their sales and sales management culture.
What things or people have influenced you the most as the principal of a B2B consulting firm?
The entire B2B sales arena is undergoing a transformation due to technology and global competition. Seeing that the strategies tied to talent, training, and tactics we help put in place provide a replicable platform for clients in today’s fast-moving world is heartening.
What types of customers do you work with?
My firm consults sales organizations in the B2B space. Over the years, I have worked personally with our largest clients, both in the US and abroad. Although each client does indeed have a unique set of circumstances, it is interesting to see the issues they deal with in common as well.
What sets your firm apart from the others?
We don’t drop off training books or programs at the customer’s doorstep. We do ongoing work with our clients over multiple years. We are in the trenches, literally, and become an extension of a management team. Our belief in the combination of talent, training and tactics to develop revenue really moves the needle for our customers. Some consulting firms merely provide training. We provide much more.
What are the significant challenges facing The Center for Sales Strategy?
We still have a strong base of traditional media clients whose business is changing substantially. We have challenged ourselves to introduce new ways to help them. Many years ago we took on the challenge to broaden our base of beyond media as well. Serving these new customers in the general B2B space has been an exciting challenge.
Tell me about some of the recent innovations your firm has tapped into in the last couple of years.
Well, our inbound marketing practice is growing by leaps and bounds. Business need to cultivate prospects, people who want to see them and have genuine interest. We also have an outbound Appointment Lab where we set appointments for our clients. Our recently launched Partner Program also has great potential for us and for our training/consulting partners.
You mentioned the launch of your Partner Program as a recent innovation—tell me more about this innovation.
The Center for Sales Strategy is a content-rich organization as a result of helping customers for over thirty years. We have literally thousands of programs and concepts in our archives—all field-tested and part of our practice. We know there are many independent consulting firms and companies who don’t have the intellectual property or resources to build out these programs and systems like our online courses and onsite workshops. We can help them in a significant way with content and these firms can also earn a commission when using our material. We see this as a win-win!
What caused The Center for Sales Strategy to start the Partner Program?
Two reasons: We see an unmet need in the marketplace for training resources where we can help. Plus, this is a way for us further leverage our deep intellectual property and resources to help sales organizations improve sales volume.
Click here to find out more about The Center for Sales Strategy’s Partner Program. Learn how to earn commissions, grow your consulting business and enhance your training resources.
