The subject of this post will stretch across two weeks. Today’s, the first part, focuses on the sales process, whereas next few week’s post will cover the processes for training/cultivating talent (staff), and back end/administrative processes.
People often ask me how I manage to keep all the balls I’m juggling up in the air without dropping any. The truth? I sometimes do drop one, but I have reliable backup—that is, a whole team that covers me when I blunder. I can always count on my team because we have processes in place that ensure that things go right, but if something does go wrong, we have processes to fix the problem. Z, a close friend and regional manager in one of my enterprises often reminds me, “You’re one of the most organized people I’ve ever met.” I laugh when he says this because I often feel as if there is so much more I could do to prepare for every eventuality.
Today, I’d like to talk about the sales process.
Let’s ask some basic questions. How to you find clients? When you do identify people or businesses that you might target as potential customers, how do you size them up? That is, how do you identify their needs so you can tailor your pitch in a way that wins their business? Do you approach them with an aggressive or passive sales pitch? When potential clients are on the fence, what might you do to convince them to throw you their business? If you don’t initially make the sale, when do you follow up to find out why you didn’t win this job/project/sale in the first place again so that you can make a second pitch that is successful? If you did initially close the deal, when do you follow up again to see if you can win future business and referrals from the client?
Whether you are a sales force of one or a sales force of 100, having a clear process (and adapting it to reflect your selling techniques/persona) is critical for long-term success.
The Sales Process
Does every sales person on your team follow the process? The follow up step is one of the most important whether you make the sale or not, you want to find out why you did or didn’t’, how you can get repeat business and referrals by ensuring the client/customer is satisfied with their purchase.
These processes are also critical for creating backend processes for everything in your business. Payroll, A/R & A/P, supply ordering, HR etc. In next weeks post we will work more on this.