If you are a tech business or you sell Software As A Service and you get most of your business from “word of mouth” referrals, your business hasn’t yet reached a consistent level of sales and you’re not yet making a good profit – you probably need to take a good look at your sales process.
What is a Sales Process?
A sales process is a systematic way to identify the problem your prospective client wants to solve, the solution you provide which has solved the same problem for other people like him or her, and the steps you will both take to solve the problem together and inspire them to buy.
How do we work around it?
All you need to know
So, it’s a structured way to start, maintain, and develop your conversation with your prospective customer until they convert. As far as possible that conversation is designed to continue across multiple media and interactions as you gradually get to know your customer or client well and educate him or her on what you can do. Like you are reading his or her mind and you can
Articulate his or her problem
Identify with his or her deepest fears, challenges, dreams, and desires
Build a relationship so that he or she knows, likes, and trusts you to solve his or her problem
Guide him or her to imagine that your services can solve the problem
Show him or her how to engage you to provide your services
What are the benefits of a systematic sales process?
Good salespeople are students of human behaviour and naturally start with an intense curiousity about other human beings and a sales process enables you to tailor the conversation to where your customer or client is in their decision-making process and guide them to make a good decision.
What are the steps in a good sales process and how many do you need?
We typically design sales processes with between 5 and 7 steps.
First Interaction – Often on social media or at a networking event to create connection (sometimes known as an elevator pitch or connection request on social media).
Educate and inform to articulate the problem and the solution you can provide to solve the problem.
Request more information – this is when your prospective customer asks for information from you (typically known as a “lead magnet”) in return for his or her contact details.
Qualification – a short conversation to ensure that you are a good fit and can solve the problem, within time, qulaity and budget constraints.
Conversion – a more “in-depth” appointment or conversation to build a plan, make your pitch and guide the prospective client to make a purchase.
These are illustrative steps and the process needs customising for each different context, to reflect your unique customer journey.
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