If you know anyone who works in a highly-specialized or technical field, you know that their people speak the same language and follow a fairly specific process:
• Accountants follow government-mandated rules and guidelines to file a tax return, or they run the risk of penalties and fines
• Architects and engineers adhere to proven metrics and methodologies in designing and constructing projects
• Marketers have ways to measure the success – or failure - of a new campaign, rather than by trial and error
But if you’re in sales or sales management, let me ask you some questions: What is the specific step-by-step process that you use to find and close new clients and customers? Do you and your team have a tried-and-true methodology for identifying and closing new business? Are you all speaking the same language, so that everyone is clear on the status of every opportunity? What, exactly, constitutes a qualified prospect? And, if one of your reps says a pending deal “looks good,” what does that mean?
Too often, sellers – and their managers – go to market with no structured new business prospecting, qualifying, selling, closing and/or account management process. They operate by the “churn and burn” method: make lots of calls, talk to anyone who shows faint signs of interest, send literature, hope something closes, then rinse & repeat. Some of your more successful sellers, undoubtedly, have a process that works for them, but chances are it’s proprietary and everyone else is figuring it out as they go.
Here’s an exercise: have your people list for you the exact steps they follow – from the time they identify a prospect to the time they write the order and collect the check. Then, compare the lists. Are they similar? Is there a wide disparity among the people on your team? Unless your people have been well-trained to follow your specific process, chances are they will all have their own home-grown sales approach and you’ll have a hard time gauging results and forecasting revenue for your business.
Take the time to identify and write down the step-by-step sales process they should be following – whether it’s the Sandler Sales System or one that has proven successful for you elsewhere. Get input from your sales team, publish the steps for everyone to follow and then train and coach your people to that process. Selling is a profession – no different than law, medicine, finance, accounting, and dozens of others. If process works in other professions, it’ll work in yours!
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Jim brings over 35 years of sales, management and marketing experience to the "training table." He has coached hundreds of business owners, sales executives, managers, and corporations to help them achieve greater levels of success and productivity. His areas of expertise range from sales and management training in the advertising and sports marketing fields to professional and business-to-business services, continuing education, new business development, staff hiring and assessments.
