Sales Process - Six Great Outcomes
Tuesday Jun 14, 2011 by Frank Belzer - VP of Corporate Training, Kurlan and Associates
My peers and I have talked many times about the benefits of an effective sales process. There are the obviously essential things that a sales process needs to be - be repeatable, be criteria based, clearly defined and all in the proper sequence. Then there are the benefits that come from implementing this type of process - better accountability, easier to manage the pipeline and forecasts and an organization speaking the same language on any topic is always more efficient.
And then there are the "not so obvious" benefits. These are the things we hear some time after implementing or refining a sales process at a company. These were not the goals or an intentional focus, yet they were still desirable outcomes.
- It helps even weaker Managers manage - left to their own instincts many managers struggle at being effective when it comes to coaching people, yet they can at least manage to the process. It is like painting by numbers.
- It ensures your prospects and customers are treated in a consultative way - we all want our sales people to treat potential clients this way and yet too often they talk and present and fail to differentiate. A process that requires the specific gathering of information forces reps to move into a more consultative dialog.
- It gathers useful information from the field related to changes in your market or new needs - when everyone is working with the same process then any issues with the pipeline or forecast can be defined more easily. Rather than guessing or taking the individual rep into consideration you can ask "if we have so many opportunities stuck here might it be a competitive/pricing/product issue?"
- It helps new reps get on boarded quicker - they join the company and their expected activities are clearly defined.
- It helps veteran reps stay out of the "rut" - veterans can be the worst culprits of avoiding a process and shooting from the hip. Focusing on the metrics of the process will push fresh wind into their sails.
- It aligns the corporation - the pattern and the focus a process provides not only aligns sales but helps sales align with other parts of the company.
Before you dismiss the idea that you may have an issue with sales process think about this. Our research shows that even when leaders believe there is a sales process often the managers and sales people do not use it or are not aware of it.
Frank Belzer is the VP of Corporate Training at Kurlan & Associates. You can find this post, as well as additional content on his blog clocated here.
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