I recently had lunch with a friend and listened to a sad story that occurs too often in the world of B2B sales consulting firms — another one bites the dust! After several years of making a run at building a company, my friend decided to call it quits and go back to work as a sales manager.
He had all the best intentions when he started his company. He had all the right dreams. He had all the right talents to be a great B2B sales consultant. He had all the right experience. He had all the right funding (initially). He was just missing some important elements of a successful B2B consulting firm.
A B2B Consulting Firm Autopsy
As I listened to my friend drone on about why he didn’t make it, I conducted a mental autopsy of his business failure. Here’s a list of what his consulting firm was missing and why it significantly led to its demise:
- A Strategic Account List Management System. Without this, an organization is like a ship without a rudder destined to float wherever currents allow.
- New Business Prospects. Growth does not occur without lead generation and new business development.
- Capacity. My friend oscillated from one side of this dilemma to the other: either too few customers to serve OR too many customers to serve.
- Content. Finding the time to create fresh and compelling training courses and materials just didn’t happen.