Sales Process 101: What Is It and Why Do You Need It?

To gain the upper hand over your competitors, you need asales team that’s alive and kicking. A force that knows exactly what it’s doing, when, where and how to the nth degree is a godsend for sales success.

This is where a sales process comes in. A clear and well-thought-out process can boost the conversionofpotential customers into closed deals and make sure every customer pockets a positive buying experience.

Getting the process down to a T is at the heart of top sales training programs. This article will dive into the nitty gritty of an effective sales process, and help you build a successful strategy from scratch.

The nitty gritty

A sales process is a set of repeatable steps a sales teamcan follow to carry a prospective lead all the way to a paying customer. Not to mention that this process canconsistently close deals by offering reps a tried-and-tested framework to follow.

A general framework for a sales process is made up of the following steps:

·         Prospecting – determining the kind of people who might want to buy your product or service.

·         Connecting – initiating contact with potential customers.

·         Qualifying – further engaging with prospects to determine if their problems can be fixed with the solution you’re selling, and if they have the budget.

·         Pitching – demonstrating to the qualified prospects that your solution meets their needs.

·         Handling objections – anticipating and being prepared to address any questions or concerns that prospects may have.

·         Closing – ironing out the finer details as the prospect gets ready to buy. This could include coming up with a killerproposal, consulting the main decision-makers on both sides, and finalizing negotiations.

·         Onboarding – helping the customers get set up and introducing them to the team responsible for the onboarding process.

·         Nurturing – keeping in touch with the customers after the sale, answering any further questions, and addressing problems that spring up down the road.

Thebenefits

Here’s how your company can benefit from having a well-defined sales process.

Nurture long-lasting relationships

A well-structured sales process ensures you’re not stampeding like a herd of cattle towards closing the deal. Going slow and steady wins the race, especially when it comes to fully understanding your customer’s needs and providing them with anideal but still realistic solution to their problems.

Also, time spent in communication with the customer grants you optimal opportunities to form genuine connections with prospects.Loyal customers can also mean:

·         better customer retention rates

·         higher potential profit

·         lower customer acquisition costs

·         increased customer lifetime value

Increase profits

A research paper by the Harvard Business Review reveals that a sales process has a direct impact on your profits. An optimized sales process ready to go can vouch for more sales and revenue. How? By ensuring your sales team:

·         doesn’t skip a crucial step when managing a client

·         they are on the same pagewhen it comes to the steps that have been ticked off and which are still to come

·         gets support for their less experiencedmembers as theycome to grips with best practices at each step

A leg up in efficiency reduces time wasted.If time is money, then cutting time spent can guarantee the scale tipping in favor of bigger profit margins.Building an effective process can save time on trivial things. Also, some tasks will be less time-consuming if there’s a template to work from, such as sending emails.

Better sales training

Providing your teamthe support of sales training can help boost their motivation and skills, not to mention give your revenue a boost in the arm.If you already have a sales process already in operation, itcan give you a clearer picture of the needs of your team, especially any weaknesses or difficulties.

Going by how your sales reps perform at each step, you can pick a new program or adjust the existing trainingthat is not serving your team well. Either route should cater to very specific skills that need some beefing up.

For instance, if most of your reps are struggling with qualifying then it might be time to hone in on that chapter of your training program for better results.

Your company’s sales success

Closing is sweet but what you or your team does before closing is just as important. That’s why it’s well worth pouring time and effort into crafting the optimal sales process for your company.