Use a Custom Sales Process to Increase Sales by More Than 28%

Despite writing about sales process quite frequently over the years, this article will take a very different approach.

Let’s define a couple of terms:

Sales Process – a series of 4-6 stages, each with 5-10 milestones, that provide salespeople with a repeatable framework for sales success.

Sales Methodology – a repeatable approach that guides salespeople to have quality conversations that move the sales process forward from milestone to milestone and from stage to stage.

Sales Model – a blueprint of daily activities and outcomes required for sales success.

The Existence of Sales Process

You and your sales team fall into one of four categories relative to having a formal, staged, milestone-centric, buyer-focused sales process:

1. You don’t have one – salespeople just do their thing
2. You have a seriously incomplete sales process consisting of fewer than seven steps.  For example:
   1. Get Referral
   2. Initial Contact
   3. Schedule a Meeting,
   4. Make the Sale
   5. Manage the Account and Make Additional SalesThose five steps represent an actual sales process that a company “borrowed” from an “expert” who wrote about what a sales process should include.  While it has multiple “steps,” the last three steps are simply outcomes, similar to what happens when an unqualified Little League Coach watches a 12-year-old pitcher who fails to throw the ball over the plate, thereby walking every batter.  Instead of suggesting a change with mechanics or mindset, the unqualified dad/coach screams, “Just throw strikes!” That’s an outcome.
3. You have a sales process with multiple stages, each having multiple steps.  Category 3 would be ideal if all of the required stages and milestones are included, and they are occur in the proper sequence.
4. You have a complex sales process with many stages, each with multiple steps.  For example, check out the sales process in the graphic below.  Note – category 1 is an improvement over this monstrosity!
   
   This is also an actual sales process that a client started out with.  The only thing that’s really important about this overly complex process that isn’t possible to follow is that I placed a red border around the only step of this process that represents a selling activity conducted by a salesperson. Unfortunately, the placeholder lacks both stages and milestones and provides no guidance to the salesperson.  The rest of the process?  They are all internal processes that must occur before the opportunity can be approved by management.

The Existence of a Predictive Sales Opportunity Scorecard

When it comes to sales process, most companies fall into category 1 or 2 and when it comes to a Predictive Sales Opportunity Scorecard, most companies are definitely in category 1.  Some companies have a lead scorecard that scores an opportunity based on its proximity to the desired ideal customer target.  Lead scores do not predict the likelihood of a winning a particular sales opportunity! There are some opportunities that will be a slam dunk – you will win them no matter what you do.  There are also some opportunities that are not winnable – you will lose no matter what you do.  If these two categories each represent 25% of your opportunities, then half of your opportunities are up for grabs and your predictive sales opportunity scorecard will identify will predictive accuracy which ones to focus on. It’s important, especially in today’s selling environment, that if you’re going to lose, you must lose quickly and a predictive sales opportunity scorecard will help that happen.  If you have an excellent chance of winning an opportunity, you need to put on a full court press and make sure that all of your resources are devoted to winning a winnable opportunity.

The Benefits of a Quality Sales Process With a Predictive Sales Opportunity Scorecard

I could wax poetically about the many benefits of a sales process/scorecard that meets the requirements for sales best practices but suffice to say that with proper customization, integration into CRM, introduction to the sales team, utilization, governance and coaching in the context of your sales process by sales leadership, I can guarantee the following outcomes based on four decades of experience with such things:

1. Your win rate will will experience a significant increase
2. The length of your sales cycle will be significantly shorter
3. Your salespeople will stop wasting time on opportunities they can’t win
4. Your sales pipeline will experience significant growth in quantity, quality and opportunity size
5. Revenue will increase by at least 28%

You wouldn’t draw up the blueprint for an addition to your home, or a new kitchen yourself.  An architect would be required.  Similarly, you should not waste time attempting to customize your sales process and sales scorecard because unless you have done this a hundred times or more, you will fail to meet sales best practices while missing nuances that are game changers for your company.  Every milestone, inside every stage is purposely placed and sequenced so that the sales process builds upon itself.  The biggest mistake I see, from even the best homegrown DIY sales processes is that companies get the sequence wrong and when the sequence is wrong, the process becomes hit or miss, isn’t repeatable, and fails to be predictable.

We specialize in sales process!  Ask us for help.

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