Is the value of your company falling? That’s “value” as in financial value, but also perceived value from your customers’ perspective. They’re linked, of course. If you’re less relevant to your target customers, you won’t close as many sales. Fewer sales, less revenue, less value. In the current economic climate, perhaps this is the moment to check whether you still have a solid sales process! It can be the basis of value increases in your business.

For that reason we’re going to take a look at what we consider the essentials of a solid sales process and how this works to improve your revenues and profits.

5 Ingredients of a Solid Sales Process

There are many factors that can increase the value of your business, but an effective and successful sales system is key and will have the following five characteristics as a minimum:

1. Consistency and scalability. Your sales department has a repeatable sales process that can be used with different customer segments over and over and be equally effective whoever you’re working with. We’ve mentioned this many times and unashamedly repeat it: You need a fully detailed sales playbook!
2. Streamlined with marketing and operations. Your sales department isn’t doing it all alone. Their activities are coordinated with these other departments in order to maximize new opportunities, new products or services, and new targets as the marketplace continues to adjust to economic, supply chain, and sustainability issues.
3. Responsiveness. Your sales process will have speed of response at its heart. There’s no place in a solid sales process for ignoring potential customers.
4. Orientation to action. Your sales process leads to action not busy-ness. It’s oriented to making the most use of contacting and meeting with prospects – particularly those most likely to close a deal and add to your business’s monetary value.
5. Adaptability. Your sales process is not absolute. It will be solid at heart but able to adapt regularly to your organization’s needs.

Why a Solid Process is Important

You remain profitable

Firstly, having a solid sales process not only makes life easier and more effective for your sales team but also increases your company value because you produce revenue and remain relevant.

You find your ideal and long-term customers

Secondly, having a standardized sales process adds structure to your sales activities and thus allows you to find the customers who fit your “ideal prospect” persona. When you have the right customers, they’re likely to become your long-term customers. And in turn you’re able to forecast revenue streams effectively and avoid chasing dead leads.

You build trust

Finally, a tailored, solid sales process builds trust with your customers. Why? Because you are the expert. You know your product or service better than anyone, and understand your buyer’s journey. The market is volatile, almost whimsical at times. You need a solid process that helps your target customers move through the buying process. With that in mind, you’ll have deliberately designed sales steps to generate trust in you and offer value to them. This provides an excellent foundation for a positive customer experience even before the deal is closed.

How Does a Solid Sales Process Increase Company Value?

Throughout the whole value creation process, it’s important to remember the power that the customer has over the success of your business.

Every interaction with a prospect in their customer lifecycle has to be valuable to them in order for them to truly engage with you. This is where a solid sales process that focuses on customer satisfaction is crucial, because that’s where the sales and financial value come from.

Here are a few ways in which your solid sales methodology increases your business value:

1 You don’t have to neglect other important business activities. Sales leaders focus on reliable and effective sales activities that bring growth, while senior management focuses on the bigger picture of possible partners, new directions, and innovation, for example.

2 You can access real-time feedback. If your reps record accurate data regularly, you have a valuable asset. Data acquisition is everything in modern business. To get your customers to value you and stay loyal long term, you have to listen to what they really want. So gather data on sales, of course, but also gather data during the prospecting and follow-up stage when sales reps interact with customers directly. And listen and respond on social media.

Feed all this data into a system capable of AI analysis, and look for patterns, upturns, downturns, etc. Then review those in an agile way with a view to adapting your sales processes where necessary.

3 Time management improves. In business, time is an important resource and one of the key ingredients for growth. A solid sales process streamlines your sales team to provide a better service. They can use the time they save to research new prospects and make more calls – or interact in a more timely fashion with the prospects in the funnel.

4 You’ve secured your future with satisfied, long-term customers. Make sure that your customers feel valued by:

• Involving them and asking for their feedback and perspective when it comes to upgrading or changing your offering.
• Being genuine in your sales process and remembering to always individualize your sales process however set in concrete it might appear! Solid is not the same as immovable.
• Being proactive about the services and products you’re selling. Communicate clearly that you’ve understood and taken on board your prospect’s pain points. Then relate that to your value proposition and how this provides the solution they’re looking for.

And if these last three points sound a bit like a mini selling guide, it’s because they are! With no satisfied customers, you have no sales and no increase in company value.

Ready to Prove That a Solid Sales Process Increases Your Business Value?

Here at 360, we practice what we preach. We also have a mantra (the first line on our home page!) that says your top line is our bottom line! That’s a pretty compelling promise we make to you about helping you increase your business’s value.

So schedule a free consultation today with one of our sales experts and they’ll help you see how you can move your top line even higher!

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