If you want to drive outstanding sales performance, we have found a sales process is vital to the success of business growth. It's the roadmap that tells you what to do and when to do it. There's the art of the sale and the science of the sale.
Why do you need a sales process? With many years in the industry, my mindset was convinced that developing a sales process would seemingly slow me down. What I've found, is that I'm more efficient, more focused, and more successful.
There are a few things you'll gain when creating your sales process.
- First, do you utilize a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system? This will help you keep track of your prospects and customers, and their interactions with your brand. The foundation of your process and management. We highly recommend Hubspot. For many reasons, I'm a sales mind all day long and the ease of use and how intuitive Hubspot is makes for a compliant sales team. It's no wonder G2 named Hubspot as the #1 CRM in their Spring 2022 CRM Ranking
- Secondly, you need a sales strategy. This will guide your sales process and ensure that you're making the most of your time and resources.
Now it's time to set expectations
Top performers set expectations by starting their calls with “upfront contracts.” These contracts are the deliberate process of gaining buy-in from the prospect before the sales process begins. The agent ensures their goals are aligned with those of the potential customer and that there is an agreement on how the call itself will unfold.
- The Pre-call: This sets the expectations for what will be covered in the call. We like to cover who KBK is and ask a few questions ahead of time so we can focus on the customer's business. This can be in the form of a template, a video explaining what the company is about, why you'd like to help them, how it is you can help them, and what it is you do. Using a pre-call video and a few questions that they can submit back will have you prepared for the call, and shows their interest in moving forward. Inviting the customer to speak about themselves and their challenges and successes helps you better understand their needs, and builds rapport and trust. Remember, People buy from People.
"So I am well prepared for our meeting, I'm going to ask you a few questions if that's ok with you."
- The Discovery: This is your opportunity to address the pain points and the prospect's needs. You have the background from your pre-call. Focus on them.
- What's the current situation/environment without your product or service?
- What's the biggest challenge in the current state?
- What would you like to see accomplished and/or what would success look like with our solution?
It's worth noting that top performers in sales do a great job at discovery. This can all be developed out in a sales process/playbook/template/automation to manage and be consistent.
- The Objection Management: You are selling way before you make contact. In today's environment, in most cases, your prospects are over 80% through the sales process long before you are contacted.
- The most obvious objections are around the price at 58%.
- A top salesperson will see objections as opportunities to build out the value of their solution.
- Address the concerns, price, consulting additional people
- See the sale.
"I understand that you may have some concerns about the price. Can you help me understand what those specifically are so we can address them?"
Closing: It's important to remember that sales is a process, not an event. The close is not the finish line, but rather the beginning of the customer relationship. The goal is to establish a long-term relationship, not to make a one-time transaction.
A great way to close is by asking for the sale.
"Based on everything we've discussed, I believe our solution can provide value and help you reach your goals. Would you like to move forward?"
If they say no: At this point, you should have a valid understanding of the hold-up. Timing? keep them in a nurturing campaign/communication. We always try to not leave a call without a follow-up scheduled.
"I understand. Can you help me understand what's holding you back so we can see if there's anything we can do to change your mind?"
If they say yes: Congratulations! Schedule the next steps and close the sale.
In summary, to be successful in your sales efforts, you need to:
- Take the time to develop a well thought-out sales process
- Invest in a CRM system
- Develop a Sales strategy; including
- The Pre-call
- The Discovery
- The Objection Management
- The Close
KBK begins every engagement with prequalifying to ensure a prospect is a good fit. Then we move into strategy development. Once in a workshop to develop the client's plan, it becomes very clear what the goals are, what the obstacles have been, and what resources would be necessary to achieve the client's goals. To learn more about how KBK Communications can help you increase your sales and profitability, contact us.
