know that your business is growing and profitable. Strategy #18. Encourage professionalism through specialization. Not many parents hope their children get into sales rather than, say, the medical profession. This is the consequence of a lack of professionalism in the sales field. Consider: There are over 4,000 col- leges in the U.S., but only 13 will let a student minor in sales. Therefore, it’s up to sales leaders to create a sales profession that specializes beyond vague roles like “hunter” and “farmer.”
Strategy #19. Do your homework. Being a sales lead- er is a race with no finish line, so you can never afford to let up. Constantly seek talented team members who can help your organization become successful. Constantly learn more about the customers so you can create sales processes that mirror how they want to buy. And constantly manage your results so you know the exact status of your numbers – and can communicate to top management how you’re going to achieve your goals.
PART OPTIMIZING THE SALES PROCESS 4
Strategy #20. Base process on the ideal customer ex- perience. Most sales processes define how a company wants to sell their products or services. That process is usually directly contrary to the way customers would prefer to buy. If you can discover the ideal customer experience when it comes to buying your products and services – and then replicate it in your sales process – you’ll have a big edge on your competitors...even if they’re on your level everywhere else. Strategy #21. Base process on questioning rather than convincing. Sales process is traditionally viewed as a process of persuading the prospect to do something – and then overcoming resistance in order to make the final close. The most effective sales processes, however, are based on directed questions that help buyers visu- alize how a product or service will help them achieve their own goals, solve their own problems, and satisfy their own needs. Persuasion isn’t necessary since the customer is driving the sale. Strategy #22. Make process steps measurable. If you can’t measure your sales process, it’s not a sales
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process. The only way to discover what’s working and what’s not is to measure the individual steps of the sales process. If you know the percentages of pros- pects that proceed through each stage of the process, you accurately predict how many sales will close in the future based upon the current pipeline. You can also compare the performance of team members and take appropriate action – like additional coaching – in order to ensure the team remains productive. Strategy #23. Turn the funnel upside-down. A sales
process is often seen as a “funnel” – with prospects entering at the larger top and a smaller number of customers proceeding through the smaller bottom. As you improve performance at each step in the process, the traditional “sales funnel” becomes a “sales cylin- der,” where nearly every prospect eventually becomes a real customer. In fact, with a solid, measurable sales process, you can “turn the funnel upside-down” so every prospect not only buys, but also brings along ad- ditional sales. Strategy #24. Transform first-level managers into
role models. In many cases, front-line sales managers become successful using a sales process that’s out of date. When confronted with a new process, they hope it’s just a management fad and that “this, too, will pass.” However, the buy-in of your first-level managers is critical because they’re the ones tasked with help- ing the reps execute the new process. To make sure front-line managers help rather than hinder, tie their compensation directly into the successful execution of the new process.
Strategy #25. Keep the process simple. Don’t build every possibility, exception, and eventuality into your sales process. When a sales process becomes too com- plex, sales reps don’t know what comes next and will be strongly tempted to “wing it” in the hope that some- thing – anything – will work. What you want is a sales process simple enough that, over time, it will become second nature to the sales staff. If a sales process can’t be encapsulated in a few sentences, it’s probably too complicated for the sales staff to understand. Strategy #26. Avoid burnout. Statistics show that, even when a sales team makes its quota during hard times, it’s usually because the company is throwing resources at the sales effort. The danger here is that pushing people to work harder will eventually push them to the brink of burnout. Design a sales process that gives you real metrics (e.g., leads generated, con- version rates, discounts) so you pinpoint problem areas and make the team more effective – without driving your best employees over the edge.
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