In the first 90 days of a sales consulting engagement, establish a baseline, inspect lost and stalled deals, agree on the target customer, test a small set of changes and assign owners. A new CRM dashboard is useful only when it changes a decision.
The first request from a growing company is often for more leads. Sometimes that is exactly what it needs. Sometimes the team already has enough conversations and is losing them after the first meeting.
Since November 2024, I have advised eight to ten companies and startups on sales plans, target accounts and CRM follow-up. I do not begin by assuming they share one problem. A small team with a weak offer needs different work from a capable team trapped in a slow approval process.
First month: listen and inspect
Talk to the founder, the sellers and, where possible, the people who deliver the product. Read a sample of recent wins, losses and stalled opportunities. Compare what the CRM says with what happened in customer conversations.
Choose a baseline the team understands: qualified opportunities, movement by stage, cycle time, conversion and retention where relevant. Do not build a report that takes more effort to maintain than the sales motion itself.
Second month: test one change
Pick the most expensive friction. It might be poor qualification, proposals sent too early or a handoff that leaves prospects waiting. Write down the new behaviour, the owner and what improvement would look like. Try it with a small group before rolling it across the company.
A good test can fail. That is useful information if the team records why.
Third month: decide what stays
Review the evidence with the people doing the work. Keep the change that helps customers and sellers move. Remove extra fields or meetings that only create administration. Leave a simple operating rhythm the team can continue without a consultant in the room.
Ninety days will not fix every revenue problem. It is enough time to stop guessing where the first one lives.
Enterprise sales leader and independent consultant in Ahmedabad. Twenty-plus years across key accounts, B2B solutions, channel partnerships and sales teams.
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