sales process
What Is a Sales Process? A Deceptively Simple Question That Divides Good Sales Teams from Great Sales Teams
If you ask ten sales professionals “what is a sales process?” you will get ten different answers. Some will say that it’s the stages you go through to move buyers through the sales pipeline. Others will tell you it’s the methodology you use to sell. Many will include “prospect to close” but leave account growth out of it.
The Most Overlooked Lever For Improving Sales Growth
When we talk about sales improvement, we often focus on one of these big three: Payroll and compensation, training and enablement, and the tech stack. But in many cases, there is a bigger drain–and a bigger opportunity– that most companies aren’t even using: Workflows.
Do We Even Need A Sales Process?
If no one is using our sales processes, do we even need them? Are we just wasting a lot of time?
How to Not Be Cannon Fodder
One of my pet peeves is salespeople sending out proposals too soon. You’ve heard me talk about it before. In complex sales, proposals should never be the first thing you send, unless it’s with an existing customer who already knows you and knows they’re ready for something specific from you.
Rethinking the Sales Pipeline: From Seller Stages to Buyer Journeys
For decades, sales pipelines have been built around the seller’s activities. Familiar stages like discover, qualify, demo, propose, negotiate, close are deeply embedded in most CRM systems, forecasts, and reviews.
You Can Fly a Plane in Five Easy Steps (And Other Ridiculous Lies We Tell Ourselves)
I was on a call recently with a very smart sales leader with a strong vision for how he wants his company to sell. His approach is proactive, ambitious, and thought-out. He knows which data points to track, how to create reports, how to guide his sales team, how to position the company, which methodologies he wants to use, and what the optimal sales process looks like.
