Let me begin by saying that I believe in having a great sales process. At the same time, I do not believe that a sales process is going to provide any value. I have seen way too many sales teams try to anchor their entire strategy on the implementation of a sales process. And it's just stupid foolish such a colossal waste of effort. (Man, I can tell already that this is going to be a rant - sorry)
As we discussed last week, very few companies currently have an effective, actionable sales process in place that meets the needs of the current market environment for their industry. This failure of sales process has led to a global sales effectiveness crisis that gets worse every year rather than better.
When I ask sales managers whether their company has a sales process, most say, “Yes, of course.” When I ask them to describe it, few can demonstrate a clear and actionable command of that process. In most cases, salespeople and managers from the same organization will describe vastly difference stages, milestones and steps, indicating that the company has no shared view of the process at all.
Can One Simple Change that Decreases Patient Death Rate by 47% Work for Sales Too?
I’ve been buying and selling for close to 20 years. And when it comes to finding ways to get in front of decision makers, I’ve tried them all.
If it is one thing research shows time and time again, it is that top performing sales organizations adopt a structured approach to the way they sell. A key component of this structure is the sales process, which should reinforce the right behaviors and guide each member of the sales team towards the right next action.
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