Getting Started Developing a Sales Process

Do you have a sales process? Most of you probably said yes. Now, do you have that process documented? A few less probably said yes. And, do you have it documented to the point that someone could pick up the documentation, follow the process and be successful? I may have lost a few more of you there.

One common shortcoming of many sales process is in fact taking the steps to write it down. It doesn’t need to be sophisticated at this point—but it does need to be written. So, let’s get started with the basics you need to consider as you write your process.

First, you need to determine who is going to manage the process. Some companies may be small enough for the owner to do this. Others, may warrant hiring a sales manager. You should evaluate your needs based on the size of the company. Warning here—your top sales person is likely not the best choice for a sales manager. The skill sets needed to successfully perform in sales are much different for those managing the process.

Second, you’ll need to make a list of data you need to track. As your process goes on, you’ll want to be able to analyze different cross-sections of the information to determine what is or isn’t working.

• Number of leads- overall, by marketing tactic, by salesperson, in certain stages of the sales cycle

• How the leads were generated- this may fall more into your marketing team, but you’ll want to know which tactics are working the best. Did they come through an ad, find you in search engine results or hear about you word-of-mouth?

• Salesperson activity- what are your various salespeople doing with customers and leads? Is there a good balance of phone, email and face-to-face contact? Are their prospects moving through the sales funnel at the appropriate pace? Are there areas where the prospects are getting stuck?
  

This data is important for the sales manager to continually monitor for results—plus it will help you create your flow for the sales process.

Next step, input the data into a customer relationship management (CRM) system of some kind. There are inexpensive software packages available such as ACT or Outlook’s Business Contact Manager. You can get helpful training on either of those—and there are a number of more advanced options should you need those. The main function of the CRM system is to allow you to track sales activities and prospect/customer history. Of course, you’ll be able to develop more advanced processes and determine progress based on statistics after setting up the CRM tool. Plus, it allows you to hold your sales team accountable for the sales plan.

Be sure you add your current customer data in the tool also. You’ll want to categorize current customers and prospects separately. Plus, add the ability to subdivide those two audiences by other variables. For example, you may want to see customer information such as needs, length of customer, volume of orders or income generated.

After you have a CRM up and running for a few weeks, you can begin to see trends—and therefore develop a more thorough sales plan, goals and budget.

Once you’ve taken the first steps of analyzing your current activities, you can begin to improve the entire sales process.