Sales Process Steps: Convert Leads Faster

Although there may be a misconception that sales is all about winging it and waiting for the best to happen, there exists a well-defined sales process in reality. Successful sales organizations follow this process diligently to achieve the best results. Sales reps are required to adhere to the sales process while closing sales to ensure maximum efficiency and profitability.

Now, you’d be thinking, What exactly is this sales process, and what is the big deal about it?

Let’s read and understand exactly that.

What is a Sales Process? 

In simple words, a sales process is a set of steps that a sales rep follows, ranging from identifying prospects to closing the final sale. 

It can range from 5-7 steps depending on company requirements and needs. These steps include prospecting, preparation, approaching, handling objections, presenting, closing, and following up. You’re free to modify and adjust the sales process whenever necessary.

Benefits of a well-defined sales process:

• Improves Consistency: Ensures all sales reps follow a proven method.
• Increases Efficiency: Streamlines activities and focuses efforts on high-value tasks.
• Boosts Conversion Rates: Guides reps to identify and address customer needs effectively.
• Enables Tracking and Refinement: Provides metrics for performance analysis and process improvement.

What are the 7 steps of the sales process?

Prospecting: In this stage, you’re required to find potential customers and identify whether they need or require what you have to offer and whether they can afford it.

Preparation: The next step is preparing for initial contact with a potential customer, researching the market, and collecting all necessary information regarding your product or service. The better you understand your prospect and their needs, the better you can address their objections and set yourself apart from the competition.

Approach: The next step is to contact the customer. This could either happen over the phone or in person. 

Presentation: In this stage, you demonstrate how your product or service meets the needs of your potential customer.

Handling Objections: In this stage, you actively listen to your customer’s objections and address them. It’s one of the most crucial stages in the sales process.

Closing: This is the stage where the customer seems satisfied with your product or service and agrees to the sale. There are several ways to close a sale, such as:

• Assumption Close
• Alternative Choice Close
• Direct Close
• Scarcity Close
• Now or Never Close
• Trial Close
• Takeaway Close
• Puppy Dog Close
• Soft Close
• Sharp Angle Close
• Question Close
• Ben Franklin Close
• Visual Close

Follow up: Following up is an essential part of the sales process. Even if you have closed the deal, it’s essential to keep following up to ensure that the customer is satisfied with the product. Maintaining strong customer relationships enhances the chances of referrals and also of them returning as repeat customers.

Example of sales process steps:

Let’s look at a B2B software company selling a project management tool. The following example illustrates the steps in their sales process:

1. Prospecting

Goal: Identify potential customers.

• Activities:some text
  • The sales team uses LinkedIn to search for businesses that may need project management tools (e.g., IT startups or marketing agencies).
  • They generate leads through inbound marketing campaigns, webinars, and free trial sign-ups.
• Outcome: A list of qualified leads.

2. Preparation

Goal: After researching the leads, determine if they are worth pursuing.

• Activities:some text
  • The sales rep evaluates the lead’s Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline (BANT).
  • Example questions:some text
    • "Are you currently using a project management tool?"
    • "Who in your organization makes purchasing decisions?"
• Outcome: The rep prioritizes high-potential leads.

3. Approach

Goal: Understand the prospect’s challenges and goals.

• Activities:some text
  • The rep schedules a discovery call to ask:some text
    • "What challenges do you face with team collaboration?"
    • "How do you currently track project deadlines?"
  • The rep uncovers the prospect’s pain points, like poor task tracking and lack of team accountability.
• Outcome: A clear understanding of the prospect’s needs.

4. Presentation/Demo

Goal: Show how the solution meets the prospect’s needs.

• Activities:some text
  • The rep schedules a product demo.
  • During the demo, they highlight key features such as task assignment, timeline tracking, and team collaboration tools.
  • They share a case study of a similar company that improved productivity by 30%.
• Outcome: The prospect sees the value of the product.

5. Handling Objections

Goal: Address any concerns the prospect has.

• Activities:some text
  • The prospect raises concerns about the pricing.
  • The sales rep explains the cost-effectiveness by showing how the tool saves time and reduces project delays.
  • They offer a limited-time discount or a free trial.
• Outcome: The prospect’s concerns are resolved.

6. Closing

Goal: Secure a commitment and finalize the deal.

• Activities:some text
  • The rep sends a proposal with customized pricing and terms.
  • After a few follow-up calls, the prospect agrees and signs the contract.

• Outcome: The deal is closed, and the client is onboarded.

7. Follow-Up 

Goal: Ensure customer satisfaction and foster a long-term relationship.

• Activities:some text
  • The customer success team provides onboarding sessions.
  • The sales rep checks in after a month to gather feedback and identify upselling opportunities, such as adding more user licenses.
• Outcome: The client is happy and considers expanding their subscription.

Why is the sales process important?

• Keeps sales teams focused and on track
• Gives clear visibility into the sales process
• Delivers consistent customer experience
• Helps provide enhanced understanding of customer needs
• Improved lead quality and efficiency
• Enhances sales forecasting

What are the common pitfalls in the sales process and how to avoid them?

Poor Lead Qualification

• Mistake: Spending time on unqualified leads that lack the budget, authority, need, or timeline to buy.
• Solution: Use a qualification framework like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing) or MEDDIC to prioritize high-potential leads.

Neglecting To Build Rapport

• Mistake: Diving into the pitch too quickly without establishing trust and a relationship with the customer.
• Solution: Start by engaging with the prospect personally, showing genuine interest, and listening to their concerns.

Failing to Listen Actively

• Mistake: Focusing too much on selling and not enough on understanding the prospect’s needs. If you’re spending more time talking than listening, you’re doing it wrong.
• Solution: Practice active listening by asking open-ended questions.

Lack Of Preparation

• Mistake: Approaching a sales interaction without proper research on the prospect or their business.
• Solution: Research the company, industry, and decision-maker to tailor your approach and demonstrate professionalism.

Overly Focusing On Features Instead Of Value

• Mistake: Highlighting product features rather than explaining how the product solves the customer’s problems.
• Solution: Shift the focus to benefits and outcomes that matter to the customer, emphasizing ROI and impact.

Not Handling Objections Effectively

• Mistake: Becoming defensive or failing to address objections effectively.
• Solution: View objections as opportunities to provide clarity to the customer and reinforce value. Address them with confidence and empathy.

Failing To Follow Up

• Mistake: Not following up after initial contact, leaving leads to go cold.
• Solution: Establish a consistent follow-up system, leveraging email sequences, calls, or reminders to stay engaged.

Making Promises You Can’t Keep

• Mistake: Making unrealistic commitments to close the deal will lead to dissatisfaction later.
• Solution: Be honest about what your product or service can deliver, thereby setting realistic expectations.

Overprioritizing Deal Closure And Putting Undue Pressure

• Mistake: Pressuring prospects to decide too quickly could cause them to feel uncomfortable.
• Solution: Respect the customer’s buying process and timeline while maintaining consistent communication. Even though it is important to close the deal, it’s equally important to let the customer take their time in coming to a decision.

Failing To Use Data And Metrics

• Mistake: Making decisions based on intuition rather than insights from sales metrics.
• Solution: Track and analyze KPIs such as conversion rates, average deal size, and sales cycle length to refine your process.

Neglecting Post-Sale Engagement

• Mistake: Ignoring the customer after closing the deal can lead to less satisfaction and missed upselling opportunities.
• Solution: Maintain contact through regular check-ins with the customer to foster loyalty.

Expecting One Methodology To Work All The Time

• Mistake: Using the same closing technique with different buyers and products.
• Solution: It’s important to be flexible and keep experimenting and trying different techniques to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

How to improve your sales process?

Consistently Work On Your Existing Sales Process

It’s important to continuously analyse and review your existing sales process to identify areas of improvement and make necessary changes for sustained growth and increased efficiency. Utilize data and feedback to remove bottlenecks, optimize stages, and improve overall effectiveness. 

Improve Sales Tools and Training

Equip your team with advanced CRM platforms, data analytics tools, and automation software. Regular training of sales reps on updated techniques, product knowledge, and customer engagement strategies can also be extremely beneficial.

Streamline Lead Qualification

Use systems like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing) or MEDDIC to prioritize high-value leads. Ensure a strong alignment between the marketing and sales teams to enhance lead quality at the initial stages of the funnel.

Targeted Marketing

To maximize ROI, you need to filter out prospects who won't convert. By leveraging an ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) and targeting leads that match it closely, you can focus your marketing efforts on those most likely to close a sale. This streamlined approach can quickly accelerate the sales cycle, so you can spend less time chasing after dead ends and more time making good connections with customers most likely to convert.

Invest In CRM Software For Better Tracking

Customer relationship management (CRM) software can help you take your sales process to the next level. These tools enable greater efficiency throughout the entire process. With CRM, you can manage all sorts of customer information, from identifying qualified leads, filtering out unqualified ones, and creating custom reports - to scoring accounts and automating campaigns. 

Personalizing The Product Or Service

Buyers no longer respond to generic sales and marketing efforts. They are looking for meaningful and personalized interactions. Show your potential buyers that you understand their unique needs by personalizing email messaging, follow-up calls, and other communication channels. Demonstrate that you relate to them on a deeper level. This will help build strong and long-lasting customer relationships.

Automate Repetitive Tasks

Using technology can free up your sales reps' time and maximize their efforts. Leveraging automation tools that streamline manual tasks like data entry or research will help take tedious workloads off of your team's shoulders so they can spend more time and energy into selling. Also, always be on the lookout to find ways that enable complex processes such as emailing or customer onboarding so that you are able to save time and money while reinforcing revenue-generating operations.

Building Strong Customer Relationships

It’s necessary to build and maintain strong customer relationships, as the more customers you retain, the less time you have to spend on identifying new leads and converting them. Loyal customers also tend to give referrals and thereby bring more customers.