Freedom Of A Sales Process

Processes are those boring things factories, accountants, auditors and government departments spend hours on and lead to nothing but bureaucracy - right? 

Wrong!

Sadly the view that processes are for “other” departments like manufacturing, administration and quality control is what leads to many reps taking ‘creative’ shortcuts.

The end does not justify the means. Getting an order at any cost rapidly becomes untenable and expensive.

A process is a discipline and as the quote goes “Discipline is the price of freedom.” 

 When working with teams, one of the single biggest frustrations emanates from sales reps who fail to follow agreed processes and who pass on incomplete information.  This leaves the rest of the team to begrudgingly find information and clean up the trail of destruction that sales reps are often so prone to leave. Inevitably this creates a “them and us” environment which spills over to the customer experience. The risk is that the customer is viewed as a nuisance and- in badly broken cases - the customer is treated like an ally of the enemy: as one of those “them” people in the sales rep camp. 

Any rep fortunate enough to work in a good system knows working inside of a clear process saves time and creates an experience the customer enjoys. A great sales process gives the rep confidence to go out and sell again and again.

A great sales process clearly defines the journey that the customer will be taken on,  detailing each step.  This detail covers what happens at each step, including paperwork  and the people involved, as well as how long the steps should take.  The clarity that comes from knowing what is expected at each point allows sales reps to clearly communicate what will happen, when and what is required at each stage. It gives clients peace of mind and confidence when they know that there are 10 steps and they are on step 4 and this is what they can expect. (The marketing department’s role is to refine how the customer will be communicated with so they feel connected and part of this journey that they are on with the company.) 

 A great sales process includes the handover step between sales and admin/ production/ processing/ Warehouse where the next party gets to confirm they have all the information they need to delight the customer.

Your internal process,  and how your team works within it, is a key part of what forms your culture.  Your internal culture is directly reflected in the external customer experience. 

Take the time to be clear on your process today.

Here’s to your success