Services
The Consulting Engagement Cycle
Lily Pad Resources provides several types and levels of engagement, based on the needs or goals of the firm or individual client.
Every engagement, however, follows the same basic, cyclical path and may actually round the circle multiple times as we help the sales staff make incremental leaps in efficiency.
We’ll Establish a Winning Partnership by working together to learn about each other’s culture, philosophy, business objectives and the scope of the overall engagement.
The Discovery phase focuses on Lily Pad Resources gaining an understanding of the sales goals and overall sales process/cycle, the technologies in play or known gaps, and how well technologies and process are integrated.
Evaluation and Solution Design centers on Lily Pad Resources building a Sales Enablement Plan which will identify gaps on which to focus, potential new technologies or existing systems that may need to be enhanced or eliminated. Our solutions may consist of strategies to streamline or improve the current sales process, enhancements to the current Education & Learning process or a plan to increase overall adoption and effectiveness of current or new tools.
Solution Delivery may consist of Lily Pad Resources providing 1x1 instruction to individual sales professionals, delivering group training, or assisting the firm’s existing Learning & Development team to develop or deliver the solutions.
Measurement is a crucial part of the cycle. It is imperative that any solution be evaluated against the goals outlined at the beginning of the engagement. This will help guide the any future engagements.
Sales Organization Technology and Process Review
This engagement is perfect for a firm with a small-to-medium sized sales force, which wants to unleash the full potential and value of the sales team(s).
Firms typically have multiple goals for the sales staff to attain, and specific requirements for the processes used to meet those goals. As such, a firm may find itself with multiple applications or services purchased or developed over time, which may have varying levels of integration with each other or with the overall sales process.
We begin this engagement by evaluating current sales processes and identifying technology or process adoption gaps in relation to the firm’s stated sales goals and sales team expectations. This process could very well include an onsite tour of facilities, interviews of Sales and Technology Leadership, as well as with front-line sales professionals.
The primary deliverable in this engagement is a detailed Sales Enablement Plan which will identify gaps on which to focus, potential new technologies, or existing systems that may need to be enhanced or eliminated. Our solutions may consist of strategies to streamline or improve the current sales process, enhancements to the current Education & Learning process or a plan to increase overall adoption and effectiveness of current or new tools.
Entire Sales Organization or Individual – 1 x 1 Sessions
These sessions are often the Solution Delivery step of a larger Sales Technology and Process Review; however, they can absolutely be standalone engagements for individuals or sales teams.
Sales Professionals are not only unique as individuals, but as a collective personality type. Our philosophy at Lily Pad Resources highlights and embraces this concept, and we encourage individual engagements with Sales Professionals, preferably in their own environment, over group training sessions.
Highly successful sales professionals are often hesitant to vocalize flaws or talent gaps; private sessions allow them to be open about where they feel they could improve or require assistance.
These one-on-one Sales Enablement Sessions train or reinforce the use of various technologies to improve overall sales efficiency. These sessions can take place either virtually or face-to-face in either a corporate or personal home-office environment.
Sessions focus on implementing process changes or improvements to technology adoption, communication methods, time management practices, and better data management.
Another focus is often assisting individual sales teams (External/Internal/Assistants) to collectively improve or develop efficient processes to better manage calendars, pipelines, follow-up, and the sales cycle.
Hourly and Daily rates are available for smaller engagements.
Sales Professional Onboarding and New Technology/Process Launches
Whether or not your organization has a Learning & Development Team, an Onboarding Program, or outsources some or all these resources, this type of engagement is designed to evaluate, improve, or supplement what you are already doing.
One of the biggest gaps we see when firms onboard new sales professionals is an incomplete, rushed, or confusing process to bring them up to speed on firm policies, procedures, products, technology, and culture. A miss on any of these items can send your new sales professional out to engagements without the clear direction or knowledge necessary to succeed.
In short, if your newest sales professionals aren’t your strongest recruiters, there is something missing in your onboarding plan.
Another gap we see frequently is an incomplete or non-existent rollout plan for new processes or technologies. All too often, a firm will spend thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more!), buying or developing new tools, only to fall short on implementation. This leads to misuse, lack of adoption, or outright rebellion towards the ‘new requirements’ being asked of the sales staff.
Depending on your needs:
We will work with your Learning & Development team to evaluate and/or develop comprehensive sales team onboarding plans to improve technology and process adoption, and ultimately ensure sales expectations and metrics are met.
Working with Sales & Technology Leadership, along with your Learning & Development team, we will develop a comprehensive implementation plan for new process or technology rollouts.
We will implement, or assist in implementing your onboarding or rollout programs. This could include a communications plan, materials, videos, online modules, virtual training (group or 1x1), in-person training (group or 1x1), or assessments.