Sales Process - The Engine Driving Your Sales
Sales processes are vital. The sales team landing that big sale may well raise a cheer, and nothing beats the satisfaction of creating a clear, working sales strategy - but let’s not forget that both of them are doomed to fail if your sales processes don’t walk the customer from enquiry to delivery and then to repeat orders.
I reached out to Julie as I identified that we needed sales refresher training. Julie quickly established rapport with my team who were at first a little sceptical. She made each session fun and engaging and ensured she was able to involve all individuals creating action plans that were measurable and achievable. Julie also provided one to one training for a team leader on coaching which is proving to be popular and has improved communication. Whilst it is a little early to be talking results I am confident that the training will have a positive effect on our productivity and results going forward.
Natalie Eichmann – Managing Director – Gilt Edged Promotions'When I am looking at the sales process in a business, I have one person in mind… the customer.'
Your sales processes should make it easier for the customer to move from their initial contact through to the deliverable with the minimum possible delay and difficulty. You would be amazed how often I am asked to help because this isn’t happening. Sometimes it is because the sales process has grown over time and become disjointed, sometimes it is because it lacks definition and direction and sometimes it is simply because it has never really been assessed properly. Whatever the reason, without a good sales process you are risking losing everything you worked to achieve in other sales areas.
The importance of a robust sales process can pay in the success of any business is often underestimated.
Once we have worked together to assess and improve it you should be able to not only take your customer through the buying journey as effectively as possible but also:
- Increase the revenue generated by your sales team
- Retain customers more easily
- Understand your sales data
- Use the information from your sales process to predict everything from new sales targets to buying patterns
- Enhance the efficiency of your sales cycle
- Streamline the buying experience for your customers
When you see the benefits a great sales process can bring, you realise just how important it is to the success of your business.
The best sales process always comes from a full understanding of how it interacts with every other part of your company. So, I start by getting to know your business inside out. Only then can we sit down together and design the perfect sales processes to rocket you to new levels of efficiency.
FAQ
A sales process is the step-by-step journey from first contact to closing a deal. It is much more than a plan, though. It gives your team structure, consistency, and a clear way to move opportunities forward.
A strong process improves conversion rates, shortens sales cycles, and makes performance measurable. Without a defined process, sales become inconsistent, making it difficult to scale them and grow your revenue. Unless you have a clearly defined, appropriate process, you could well be restricting your own potential sales.
Typically, they would be
- lead generation
- qualification
- discovery
- proposal
- close.
Each stage should have clear criteria, so opportunities move forward with purpose.
Obviously, what you sell and to whom are part of the answer, but consistency is always a key factor. You need a clear process, a defined target audience, and regular activity that feeds opportunities into the pipeline. When done right, the sales pipeline becomes predictable, reliable and much easier to maintain and repeat.