Sales skills will help you close deals and implementing a selling process will help you consistently close deals.
There has been a lot of debate around the advantage of sales skills over process, but a sales professional will never reach their full potential with just one or the other. Sweet-talking your clients might have worked in the past but the world of sales has changed so much that the people-buy-people effect is just a small part of today’s road to sales success.
Many companies and sales professionals believe that competition is their biggest challenge. We have news for you, its not! As technology advances at rapid speed, easy access to information on products and services have introduced a new breed of customer. These customers have become more informed, less attentive and enjoy at wider range of purchase options which has been mainly driven through social media. Today’s consumers have become active influencers in how products and services evolve.
So you have stronger competition and smarter consumers in a world where the rules change as quick as technology advances, how can you keep up? Fortunately, technology can be your saviour as much as it can one of your battles. For sales professionals, technologies like SET (a CRM), cloud computing, data visualisations and analytics help drive higher performance and better customer engagement. Technology will also empower sales leaders to create an ideal sales process that not only complements and enhances the selling skills of their team but also helps their people to develop habits that lead to consistent success.
Have you tried using a CRM to create the ideal sales process for your business?
Fine tune your sales process with SET for Business
As the title suggests, a sales process consists of a series of stages that your sales team performs to sell your company’s products or services but it’s more than just a process that you and your customers regularly go through. A sales process is a systematic approach that enables your team to close more deals, increase profit and grow your business
Not all sales processes lead to success, an overcomplicated process with random elements will almost definitely lead to a mediocre performance from your team.
Prevent this from happening by implementing the SET 4 step approach;
Release a Winning Pipeline
Your pipeline is a refection of the sales process you have defined. While pipelines will vary across businesses, a typical process might have the following stages;
Prospecting
Prospecting will involve both inbound and outbound activities designed to bring in new leads based on your target audience.
Qualifying Leads
A qualified lead is taken from a shortlist of prospects who either offer more value to your business or are more likely to make a purchase.
Proposal or Presentation
A proposal or presentation is where you present your proposition to potential clients, highlighting the ways your product or service can solve their problems or provide a great service.
Team Management
This stage is your team’s product knowledge and customer service skills to address complaints, doubts and any hesitation.
Decision to Buy
This is the stage where your prospect will give their final thoughts on your product or service which will result in them either moving forward to the next stage as an opportunity won or being removed from your pipeline as a lost opportunity.
Customer Satisfaction and Repeat Business
A closed deal should never be the end of your sales process. Stay in touch and keep customers happy about your products and service long after they have made a purchase. Referrals, up-selling and loyalty schemes are good activities to initiate at this stage and will ultimately result in repeat business.
For a winning pipeline, here are our 6 top tips;
The System Behind Sales Success
Pipeline management serves as primary factor in sales success. Systemising your approach by engaging customers and visualising deals enables your team to see things on the same page, manage expectations, set activity benchmarks and measure outcomes.
Another great thing about having a structured sales process is that it doesn’t impede on selling skills. Using SET as your CRM will also act as a reliable platform for skills training.
The more visibility you have into your sales pipeline the more revenue you will bring in, it’s that simple. When valuable information about customers, prospects and order details are scattered across spreadsheets and email accounts, it can be impossible to find what you need. Continuous consistent improvement is the game changer in any successful business […]
Could a Sales CRM Make Your Sales SOAR? The answer is YES! Your customers are the core of your business. It doesn’t matter what type of business you run, what your focus point is or what kind of product or service you offer. Your customers are the single most valuable asset of your organisation. Customers […]
