A Manual for Success
Imagine that you’ve just purchased a new bookshelf—some assembly required. Unfortunately, when you open the box, the instruction manual is nowhere to be found. Still, you’re eager to use your new bookshelf, and you’re usually pretty handy, so you give the project a try. Allen wrench in hand, you spend hours piecing together wood and hardware, unsure if you’re on the right track.
When you finally finish the project, the shelf looks stable enough. But you can’t help wondering how much faster and easier things would have been if you’d had the instruction manual.
In sales, the equivalent of that instruction manual is a sales process. Without it, your reps may feel unsure of what steps to take to close deals successfully and consistently. They can still make sales, like the shelf that eventually gets built, but they don’t work as efficiently toward that goal as they could.
In the next few lessons, you’ll learn exactly what a sales process is, why it’s beneficial, and how to develop an effective one for your team.
Watch this video to learn what a sales process is, why it’s beneficial, and how to develop one for your team.
What Is a Sales Process?
A sales process is a series of stages that cover the major milestones of a sale. Each stage consists of steps—or activities that a rep can do to move a potential customer from one stage to the next.
Think of a sales process as a road map that reps can use to stay on track when working with potential customers. By following a sales process, your team can better understand where potential customers are in the buying process—and how to move them closer to a completed deal.
“Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.”
– Oscar Wilde
How a Sale Process Is Structured
Typically, the initial stage of a sales process marks the beginning of the buyer’s journey. The final stage is either the completed deal or, in some cases, the follow-up with a paying customer. What comes between those stages, however, depends on what and to whom you’re selling, as well as other factors.
Your team may end up with a three-stage process, a 10-stage process, or somewhere in the middle. Ultimately, the number of stages, or what you call them, doesn’t matter. As long as the sales process aligns with your buyer’s journey and standardises your team’s approach to selling, your reps will all be following the most likely path to success.
Common Sales Process Stages
While no set-in-stone sales process could work for every company, there are some common stages to consider when developing your process.
Expand the rows below to learn about five of the most common ones:
Stage 1: Prospecting
Also known as lead generation to some sales professionals, prospecting involves identifying potential customers or clients. In this initial stage, reps gauge whether a “prospect” or “lead” needs their product or service.
Examples of tasks in this stage:
Gather contact information for potential customers at a conference or industry event.
Ask colleagues or current clients to refer people who may be interested in a product or service.
Research individuals and companies on social platforms, like LinkedIn.
Use a list-building automation tool to identify leads.
Gather leads from content offers on your website.
Stage 2: Qualifying Potential Customers
The qualifying stage deepens reps’ understanding of potential customers and clients. Rather than wasting time and resources on people who aren’t likely to buy, reps trim their opportunities down to only the most likely buyers.
Examples of tasks in this stage:
Identify decision-makers.
Investigate the potential customer’s needs and pain points.
Determine the potential size of an account.
Qualifying often takes place via a “discovery” or “connect” call or email. Questions that reps can ask to guide the conversation include:
What’s your role at your company?
What does your day-to-day look like?
What problems are you trying to solve?
What did you like and dislike about your last provider?
What other solutions are you considering?
Stage 3: Presenting Your Solution
Once a rep reaches the presenting stage, they’re confident in the likelihood of closing a deal with a potential buyer. At this point, the salesperson uses a product demonstration (“demo”) or presentation to communicate the value of their product or service to the customer.
Examples of tasks in this stage:
Schedule a product demo or presentation.
Conduct additional research about an individual or company.
Determine what solutions to recommend during the presentation.
Caution: Too often, reps pivot away from customers’ needs during this stage. While demonstrating product knowledge is important, reps still need to put customers first.
Stage 4: Handling Objections
The next step is handling objections. Potential buyers often have concerns that must be addressed before they’ll sign on the dotted line. For example, a potential buyer may think that a product costs too much or that the timing isn’t right to make a purchase.
To handle objections effectively, reps can identify buyers’ most likely objections ahead of time. That way, reps can prepare themselves with solutions to present. However, while keeping potential solutions in mind, a rep should still listen carefully to a buyer’s concerns to best understand how to address them.
Examples of tasks in this stage:
Follow up with a potential customer after a demo or presentation.
Ask questions to clarify a customer’s needs or concerns.
Share customer testimonials and impact stories.
Stage 5: Closing the Deal
The final stage in the sales process is closing the deal. This often involves delivering a proposal or quote, negotiating, and achieving the buy-in of decision-makers. Once a deal is complete, the account typically passes from the sales rep to a customer success representative or account manager.
Examples of tasks in this stage:
Review a proposal with a potential customer or client.
Negotiate to find an arrangement that works for all parties.
Let a customer know their new point of contact when passing off an account to a customer success rep or an account manager.
The bottom line: A sales process is a road map that salespeople can use to guide customers from the initial stage of awareness to the final closed deal. The most effective sales processes align with a company’s buyer’s journey.
Why a Sales Process Is Beneficial for Your Team
Think about the sales reps on your team who consistently close deals and exceed expectations. What sets them apart from lower-performing team members?
Often, high-achieving sales reps follow a proven and effective sales process. They know exactly what steps to take to close a deal. Meanwhile, those without an effective sales process may struggle to replicate their teammates’ successes, forfeit time to ineffective strategies, and miss out on opportunities.
By standardising and documenting a sales process for your entire team, you level the playing field. You minimise the need for guesswork. And you create a common framework for selling, making it easier to measure results, replicate them, and forecast accurately.
An effective sales process equips reps to achieve consistent results when working with potential customers.
Summary
No matter the number of stages or what they’re called, a sales process standardises selling and levels the playing field for your reps. The process allows them to guide potential customers toward a purchase, predictably and consistently.
When developing a sales process for your team, remember that your process should align with your buyer’s journey. First, evaluate your typical customer touchpoints. Then, look for trends in those touchpoints that may indicate particular stages in your team’s selling process. And finally, determine what it takes to move a potential customer from one stage to the next. Don’t worry if your sales process isn’t perfect—adjust it as needed.
- Create a playbook for each stage of your process. With your sales process in place, you can take your team’s efforts to the next level by creating a playbook for each stage. Include an overview of each stage, its purpose, the exit criteria, and a step-by-step guide for successfully moving potential customers and clients forward in the process.
When you’re confident that your sales process is producing positive results, the next step is to automate repetitive tasks. Continue to the next lesson to learn about sales automation.
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