Every sales professional has learned at least one – and probably at least three or four – standardized sales process systems. Some of them are standard process readily available, others are highly customized, proprietary programs developed in-house by an organization’s sales executives in an attempt to better align the efforts of the sales team with the unique challenges and goals they face in their markets or sales cycles. No matter where they come from or what they look like, they all exist to fulfill the same purpose, which is to define how sales reps will approach, qualify, work with and close their customers.
However, all these sales processes carry the same potential pitfall; they can become so cumbersome and complex that they can actually inhibit the sales rep’s ability to do their job, which is to close business and drive revenue.
You are no doubt familiar with sales process maps – those rambling flow charts with little boxes connected by squiggly lines, each one defining a step or a responsibility that sales reps must accomplish along the way to closing a sale. Some of these process maps are so intricate you feel like you are reading the schematics for the next secret NASA project; others are more like works of art, with creative shapes and colors and stylized arrows that seek to inspire as well as educate the sales rep. Obviously, someone has put a lot of thought and effort into creating these processes and the maps that support them. If only they were half as effective as they were complicated.
The truth is that over thinking and over mapping the sales process can lead to overlooking some important, simple principles. Here are four common mistakes in over-engineered sales processes:
Sales managers might think that more steps means greater clarity, but micromanaging a sales process can only lead to problems. For one thing, sales representatives resent being told how to think and what to say; it can quash creativity and lead to “paralysis of analysis” in which sales representatives begin to feel like they are trapped in a maze with no way out. A good sales process should have clear goals and outcomes for each stage, but leave enough flexibility for the sales professional to use their own good judgment to develop the opportunity.
This is perhaps the number one mistake made by all sales representatives and sales organizations – thinking too much about pushing products and closing deals. If the sales process is simply a set of scripted steps designed to outmaneuver the customer and convince them to buy something, the process is doomed to be mediocre at best. The heart of any sales process should be focused on understanding the needs and goals of the customer so the sales professional can craft solutions that offer real value that the customer will recognize and appreciate. The sales process must leave room for the sales professional to ask questions, listen, improvise and come into alignment with the customer. This is something that is hard to capture on a flow chart.
Let’s be clear about this; sales representatives only care about one thing – closing quota and driving revenue. Anything that creates more work for them without making more money for them will only lead to resentment, frustration and avoidance. For instance, high-minded language like “engage and nurture the relationship network” sounds important, and it might even be important, but what does it really mean, how is it measured, and why is it important? Will this step really drive revenue? How soon and how much? Don’t make your sales team guess when it comes to the sales process. The sales process must clearly point to the pot of gold at the end of the process, and the easier it is to understand and apply, the happier and more effective sales professionals will be.
Finally, some sales organizations invest heavily in customized sales training programs, under the assumption that the more complicated and expensive the process is, the better it is. Sadly, they do this without taking the time to consult with sales team members or assessing the culture and processes they are accustomed to following already. When this happens, sales professionals push back, procrastinate, and ultimately underperform, because they don’t feel comfortable or confident in the new system. Whatever you do, make sure the sales team members have input into the process, and that they clearly understand both what they are supposed to do and why there are supposed to do it.
The good news is that this can all be accomplished without having to consult a rocket scientist. Whether you are working in the small/medium business space or the large enterprise space, the basic process is still the same, and they are easily mapped out in the salesforce.com Opportunity object. For instance, for a B2B product company, we typically see the workflows mapped out like this:
Even though the opportunity itself may be large and the sales cycle may be long – depending on the complexity of the customer organization, the stages of the process are very simple, clear cut, and easy to follow. By clearly mapping the sales process and the expected outcomes from each process step and then embedding these in salesforce.com make it easier for both sales managers and sales professionals to stay follow a successful patter of success. If you use Enterprise Edition, you can then use Stage Alerts associated with each Opportunity Object to further automate the optimal advancement of each stage. Consider setting up these simple but highly effective alerts using workflow:
This combination of workflows and stage alerts helps sales managers keep a sharp eye on the progress of every member of the team so that any breakdown in the sales process can be quickly identified and addressed through coaching or re-tasking. These features also enable the sales professional to monitor progress and open tasks for each stage and stay on track to effectively maximize every opportunity.
The bottom line is this:
Salesforce.com provides a unified collaboration platform to ensure sales process alignment and execution. Take the time to define the stages and then monitor the progress of those stages against the identified best practices of your industry or company to ensure maximum pipeline throughput.
Baker Communications offers leading edge training solutions for sales makers and sales managers that will help you address the goals and achieve the outcomes addressed in this article. For more information about how your organization can achieve immediate and lasting behavior change that will uncover new opportunities, drive revenue, and boost your bottom line, click here.
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