Why a Sales Process May Be The Most Important Thing You Don’t Have

When you think about it, a Sales Process is the reflection of your Sales Strategy and defines “How You Sell”. Only 50% of companies would admit to even having one. If you believe you have one, ask yourself who created it and when? Is it truly reflective of how you sell or want to sell? Having asked this question of many Sales Leaders, the responses range from the good (focused cross-functional team effort) to the bad (no idea) and the ugly (it was the default in the CRM system).

The challenge that I would put forward to Sales Leaders is around both the understanding level and innovation that could or should go into creating a unique and differentiated Sales Process. The data would support why this is a good investment of time and resources. Teams that have a differentiated, documented and defined Sales Process that is consistently used realize a:

-increased Win Rates of 48%

-decreased Sales Cycle Length of 37%

There are lots of supporting measurements that would suggest there are further benefits tied to both why clients buy from you and what keeps them as loyal customers as well. We have developed methodologies that look at important and impacting forces that should influence your Sales Process. Those factors include your Value Proposition, Client Decision Making Criteria, How Clients Want to Buy plus Industry/Competitive Influences.

Further benefits of a clearly defined Sales Process include the focus and alignment it provides the Sales Organization and other functions impacted by Sales. The investments made help create leverage within the Sales function and allow you to continually innovate at every phase of the Sales Process.

Need more? You can now measure and adjust based on results achieved at every Phase. It allows for more predictability in the business as well. Give only 46% of Deals that are actually Forecasted (not just in the funnel, but forecasted as Wins), close at all, let alone when predicted, we will assume their is room for improvement. The last material benefit is the ability to coach directly from the Sales Process. Measured Performance at each Phase allows group and individual coaching opportunities based on the expectations and results overlayed directly to how you sell.

We view Sales Process voids as an important opportunity with high value and return for many Sales organizations.