Does your sales process need a tune-up?

Liz Wendling //February 10, 2014//

Does your sales process need a tune-up?

Liz Wendling //February 10, 2014//

Smart salespeople and top performers have a process for generating a steady stream of good leads from multiple sources and possess the ability to close more sales with ease. Everything they do is scripted, rehearsed, fine-tuned and memorized. They own it! They don’t perform random acts of selling; they’re disciplined and consistent in their efforts. Those efforts yield big results.

There are many moving parts to the sales process: creating rapport, building trust, asking impactful questions, discussing budgets, handling objections, gaining commitment, all the way to closing the sale. To be successful in selling, you should be able to move through each step with precision; any diversion from the process will result in a lost sale. Does your process need a tune-up or a complete overhaul?

When businesses and salespeople use a sales process, they have more success with their sales performance, generate higher revenue and have a smoother sales experience. When businesses and salespeople refuse to use a process, wing it or negate the power of the process, they wind up producing dismal results and severely decreasing their earning potential.  It’s a tool that no business should operate without.

Closing sales is essential to building any successful business. Every sale involves a process of defined steps, and skipping a step or going out of order typically results in a lost sale. Regardless of what you sell, the sales process is like a production line and it must follow a specific sequence.  Attempting to sell anything without a formal process is a guaranteed formula for closing failure.

Not using a sales process or using the “winging it” sales process is a flawed business strategy that has become all too common these days. But the winging it and flying by the seat-of-the-pants salesperson or business owner will never come close to the income of the systematic salesperson. 

Some companies I work with tell me they are using a sales process but that it’s just no longer working. I explain to them, and firmly believe, that if they have a flawed or outdated sales process, then forcing salespeople to use it is counterproductive – fix the process first, then show salespeople how they can be more productive and effective using one. 

If you’re not closing sales or not sure why you’re losing sales, then that’s a big clue that you need a process tune-up or overhaul. Those who don’t use a process or who don’t make their process integral to their sales operation will fail miserably in the area of sales success.

Some salespeople believe that a sales process isn’t necessary and declare they don’t work. Probably the same people that proclaim diets don’t work.  It’s not the diet, it’s the dieter. It’s not the sales process, it’s the salesperson.

The economy and the customers have changed. The faster things are changing–competition, market conditions, the way customers buy, the products and solutions offered — the more you have to update your sales process. There is just no good excuse for not using a current sales process.  A great sales process is a road map to success. It may be time for a tune-up or complete overhaul.