When it comes to selling our need to be busy and active will often convince us that following our sales process is not necessary. When we have a process, and we utilize it, it is important to work the whole process and not jump in and out or skip around it. A process by definition is a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. In the case of selling the end is a sale. Just by thinking about the definition it should be clear why following a process will yield success. We avoid things that seem like hard work. By nature, most people if left to their own choices will choose the easy way out. Taking shortcuts and skipping steps in our minds is a smart thing to do and by doing so we undermine our process and success.
The sales process for most businesses follows steps that look something like this.
- Identify prospect
- Qualify prospect
- Meet to gain understanding and discover pain
- Build a plan to address the pain
- Meet to reveal the plan and attempt to close the sale
- Rework the plan to match customer changes and close sale
- Recalibrate after the sale moves forward to remain in sync and grow account
So, if we follow the above process there is not a step in there that is more important than another. If you leave any one step out or do not fully complete one you will have a reduced chance of success. It is hard to ask great questions of your customer to find their pain if you have not spent the time in steps 1 and 2 to find out all you can about the account and make sure it meets the model for your business to have success. Looking at the process we achieve success by bringing the client along with us we ease their fears by providing proof of our ability to handle an account like theirs. We do this through client testimonials or other hands-on knowledge of our capabilities. When we pitch our solution and attempt the close we match the client’s employees at the buying table. We want to show and demonstrate the value that we see in them and our team that is ready to stand alongside and work with them to find success. So, if they have the owner present our owner will be there as well. We want to have Subject Matter Experts (SME) present in areas like IT or Digital Marketing to show our strengths or reach in a specific area.
If we do the steps in our process we will find success awaits at the end. If your business does not have a formal sales process maybe it should. Don’t be your own worst enemy. The Growth Factory is here to support you in building out your process or just having a review of your current process and maybe freshening up your team on how to sell successfully. Let us know how we can help you grow your businesses success.
Tim