Every business process goes through a process of assessment and refinement over time, adding inefficiency and improving effectiveness. However, there is one area that often features less objective scrutiny other than outcomes, and that is the sales strategy. It may seem sensible to simply look at sales performance in terms of sales volume alone; however, this might hide underlying challenges. As we operate in a rapidly evolving world with needs and attitudes under constant flux, that sales volume may not be revealing the reality of the effectiveness of the sales process as a whole.
As such, formulating refinements and changes to the sales process may produce unwanted consequences that have a negative impact on the business. Instead, evaluation of the sales process should be ongoing and throughout the process, rather than simply reviewing the final outcomes.
This gives a more nuanced understanding of where successes and failures occur, allowing a more precise approach to refinement that enhances performance overall. In a competitive market, this more effective analysis can be essential for an organization to maintain its market position.
However, for many businesses, that level of assessment can be a challenge itself, as many sales teams operate an ad-hoc approach to the sales process overall. This is where having an established sales strategy matters, and why it is crucial to an agile sales strategy that can adapt to the changing needs of current and potential clients.
An Established Process
Implementing an established sales process across all sales activities allows consistent data collection at every stage. Because the process at each stage is quantified and normalized regardless of the personnel enacting it, performance can be compared over time to give a clearer picture of issues and where they occur within the sales funnel.
Crucially, the performance of team members can also be compared across a specific process, enabling leaders to identify issues that can be rectified with additional training for individuals as required.
With measurable processes within the sales strategy, assessment can be more granular, and with that, solutions too. Targeted changes can address specific issues without impacting broader performance levels, maintaining and improving outcomes over time.
Building a Strategy
The advantages are clear then, but how can you adopt an organizational-wide, unified sales strategy while minimizing disruption to the process? The Sales Playbook offers a blueprint guide for building a strategy that fits your unique needs.
Instead of imposing a set of rules that may not suit your values or approach, the Playbook offers a framework for a defined process that is created to fit with your existing values, team and skillset.
Working through the Playbook with the sales team, leaders can craft a unique, but defined, overall sales strategy that plays to the strengths of the team and business, but also allows for the precise, quantifiable assessment required at multiple stages.
In this way, businesses can maintain the market separation and brand identity they have worked hard to create, but also enjoy the benefits of a unified sales strategy that is measurable and effective. Grab your copy of a Sales Playbook specifically designed for Professional service firms today.