Do you have a sales process in place?
It's commonplace for the major functions within a business, such as finance and human resources, to be built on some solid and proven processes, albeit, a response to regulatory and legislative demands. Yet, while 'selling' is certainly a major function in all businesses, it's surprising how few businesses have a standardised sales process in place.
The chances are you have something like a sales process in your business, but it's equally likely that this is not documented, managed nor trained in the way other key business processes are. As a result, you might not be making it straightforward and pain free for customers to do business with you and you might not be making the most of new business opportunities.
What is a sales process?
A successful sales process is a series of proven and documented steps (see example sales process above) that provides the most efficient and effective route for sales people to take to identify and engage with customers and to win new business. This process is commonly supported by a system (e.g. CRM), which enables the recording and reporting of activities (inputs) for each step, and the recording and reporting of the results (outputs) of this activity.
Why a sales process?
With the right sales process in place for your business, you can align all you do with the typical buying process a prospect or potential buyer follows to investigate and select solutions. This alignment, makes it easier for customers to identify that they have a need for your products and services, and it motivates them to buy. Furthermore, a proven sales process ensures your customers have the best possible buying experience - one which encourages them to buy again.
An effective sales process also provides you with invaluable sales information and sales management tools. It provides your business with a framework, against which you can measure both the sales performance of your sales people and the sales performance of your business as a whole. With standardised sales steps in place, you can measure the activity for each step (the inputs) - effectively measuring the effort being expended. Furthmore, you can also measure the quality of this activity, by measuring the results (the outputs). For example, knowing how many initial sales meetings it takes for a sales person to make one new sale, would provide an insight into the quality of his or her initial sales meetings.
With the right sales process and CRM system in place and accurate recording and reporting by the team, you'll also be provided with a real-time view of your sales pipeline (future sales forecasted for a given timeframe).
How can PDT help?
Using our robust Performance Development Process, we'll find out what sales process (if any) your sales people are currently using, help you to be sure about the sales process you would like them to use and then help you design, develop and implement the sales process, sales management and supporting infrastructure that will bridge the gap.